Chapter 5 Lucas And The Sex  

Lucas’s POV

I shifted in the expansive breadth of our matrimonial bed, the silk sheets cool against my skin as I turned toward Claire. She was still deep in the throes of sleep, her chest rising and falling in a rhythmic, peaceful lullaby. 

I couldn't help the smile that tugged at my lips as I looked at her. We’d been sleeping in the same bed since the moment she came back, and every morning I woke up feeling like a man who had finally been granted a miracle.

Her eyes were still closed, her lashes dark against her skin. I couldn’t resist the urge to lean forward and press a kiss to her forehead.

There was a striking, almost haunting resemblance between her and Judy. In fact, if you hadn't been forced to look into both of their faces every single day for years, you’d never see a difference. They were mirrors of one another. But then, there was something about Claire. There was a warmth there, a "heart of gold"—or so I had told myself every day for twenty years.

As I watched her sleep, the memories I had tried to bury under layers of work and bitterness began to crawl back into my mind like uninvited ghosts.

Twenty years ago, I was just a boy. I had gone to their house to play, a family friend who felt more at home in their yard than my own. During that time, Judy was the one I loved. In fact, the only reason I spent so much time at their home was to be near her. But on that fateful day, pride had gotten the better of me. I wanted to impress her. I wanted her to see that I was a better swimmer, a braver boy, a man-in-the-making.

I had walked to the tip of the riverbank, just minutes from their home. My heart had been pounding a frantic rhythm against my ribs because I knew, even then, that the current was dangerous. The water was deeper than it looked, churning with a dark, deceptive strength. But my ego pushed fear aside. I wanted Judy to watch me conquer it.

I was never ready. My leg slipped on a moss-slicked rock, and the world flipped upside down.

The next thing I knew, my head was deep in the freezing water. The current was a physical weight, dragging my body down into the dark. I struggled to breathe, panic filling my chest as the silt-filled water rushed into my mouth and lungs. I was drowning.

Then, everything went black.

When I finally came to, I was miraculously lying on the grass. I was coughing violently, my lungs burning with every gasp of air as I spat out the river water. Judy was lying right beside me, pale and unconscious.

Claire had saved me.

That was the story I had held onto for twenty years. It was the only version that made sense of the chaos. It was the only version I never questioned. I felt a heavy, permanent debt to Claire, and slowly, that debt turned into a love I couldn't escape—even when I struggled against it.

Little did I know that Judy had grown jealous of that. Or so I thought. Or so Claire had whispered into my ear until I believed it. What started as childish envy had turned into something darker. Judy had harmed Claire, and Claire had fled for her life, paralyzed and broken.

We had looked for her everywhere. My family, the villagers, the police—everyone searched until their hope ran dry. Claire was gone. And when we couldn't find her, I went cold. I went crazy with a need for justice.

To punish Judy, I married her. I wanted to show her what a devil could be like. I wanted her to feel the weight of my hatred every single day. And though there were moments during our five years of marriage where I saw flickers of kindness in her—moments that made me wonder if the past was wrong—I always shifted them aside. My marriage wasn't about love. It was a five-year sentence of revenge.

But now, the nightmare was over. Claire was back.

“Hmmm…” she sounded softly, the faint movement pulling me out of my thoughts. Her eyes fluttered open, and she caught me staring.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” she smiled, and the warmth of it seemed to melt the ice around my heart.

“I just can’t keep my eyes off you, darling.” I leaned forward and captured her lips in a kiss that tasted of reclaimed time.

“What’s so special about my face?” she teased, her voice light. “Is it not the same face that woke up next to you for the past five years?”

The question was like a physical blow to my chest. For a brief, agonizing moment, my heart tightened. She wasn't wrong. Judy had the same face. The same eyes. The same voice that had followed me through the house, pleading for a kind word I never gave her.

“Don’t say that,” I said, a little too quickly, my voice sounding strained even to my own ears. “Judy and you might look alike, but trust me, you are the original. To me, you are the most beautiful woman in the whole wide world.”

The tension in her face softened at my words. We kissed again, and soon the kisses deepened, turning into something more intimate, more frantic. We made love like two people who had been separated by a lifetime of shadows.

Later, as I was preparing for work, I watched her. Since she had just returned, she was going to be staying at the house 24/7 until she settled back into the world. I wanted to make it easy for her. A little pampering felt like the least I could do after everything she’d lost.

“Here, take this,” I said, stretching my ATM card toward her as we sat at the dining table finishing breakfast. “Go shopping. Buy everything you want. Don’t look at the price tags.”

She rose from her chair and pressed a sweet, lingering kiss to my cheek. “Thanks, boo,” she said warmly, her eyes sparkling.

She sat back down, and for a moment, we continued eating in silence. But then, a thought that had been lingering in the back of my mind since she arrived finally became too loud to ignore.

She had never actually told me the story. Nineteen years ago, when she vanished after being paralyzed... what had really happened? Two days ago, she had simply driven up to me. She was on her feet. She was walking as if the accident had never happened.

How? How was she no longer paralyzed?

The curiosity became a physical itch I had to scratch.

“Babe,” I called softly, setting my fork down.

“I was too excited to see you to ask before. But I really want to know.” I paused, my eyes searching hers for the truth. “How are you walking, Claire? What happened during those nineteen years?”

I saw it immediately—a reluctant shift in her posture. She blinked rapidly, her gaze darting away from mine. Her fingers moved through her hair, a nervous habit that didn't fit the "hero" I remembered. Something about her reaction screamed that she was hiding something.

But this was Claire. The girl who saved my life. There shouldn't be secrets between us. And yet, the hesitation in her eyes lingered far too long.

“Do you not want to talk about it?” I asked, my voice careful, measured.

I expected a simple answer. Instead, Claire suddenly burst into tears.

My heart sank. Seeing her cry like that—it made me feel like a monster for even asking. I thought of the pain she must have endured, the struggle of a long recovery in some distant place.

“I don’t feel comfortable talking about it for now,” she choked out, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

I rose immediately and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into the crook of my neck. “It’s okay, babe,” I said softly, pressing a kiss to her temple. “You don’t have to force yourself. I’m sorry I brought it up.”

She leaned into me, but her body felt... tense. It wasn't the kind of tension that comes from a painful memory. It felt like restraint. It felt like a lie held behind clenched teeth.

“You can tell me when you’re ready,” I added, trying to convince myself as much as her. “The most important thing is that you’re back. And I won’t lose you again.”

She nodded quickly, her eyes still red, but she remained silent. For a long second, I studied her face. It was the face I had dreamt about, the face I had built my entire life of revenge around.

And yet, something felt off. The way she avoided my eyes. The way her fingers wouldn't stay still. It wasn't right.

“No!” I told myself, blinking the doubt away. This was Claire. The girl from the river. The girl who deserved my loyalty.

I exhaled slowly, forcing the suspicion to the back of my mind. But the silence that followed made my heart feel heavier than it had in years.