Chapter 1
“Honey, this will be the last time I bathe you,” Eleanor Cohen whispered softly. “We’ve been married for three years, yet we’ve never shared a night together as husband and wife. Before we part ways, I want us to be truly connected.”
Alex Novák sat silently in the tub, his body submerged in warm water, with Eleanor behind him. Her delicate hands roamed across his toned body, and her curvaceous figure pressed gently against his back. The air was filled with the fragrance of body wash as the water cascaded over them.
Eleanor carefully squeezed body shampoo onto Alex’s muscular frame, her slender fingers tracing the contours of his abdomen. Despite the intimate moment, sorrow filled her heart, and her eyes welled with tears. Alex’s once bright and alert eyes were now vacant. His head drooped slightly, his handsome face devoid of emotion, and his mouth hung open, drooling—his mind seemingly lost.
“What happened to you, Alex?” Eleanor’s voice cracked as she gently wept. “What could have turned you into this in just three years?”
Their wedding three years ago had started as a celebration but quickly spiraled into a nightmare. On the night of their marriage, Alex had mysteriously vanished without a trace. The story of his sudden disappearance spread like wildfire, turning the Cohen family into a laughingstock across Lilyrose City. Her grandfather, Master Cohen, insisted that Eleanor divorce Alex, but she had refused. She clung to hope, believing there must have been a reason for his disappearance, that he would eventually return to her.
Angered by her defiance, Master Cohen stripped Eleanor and her family of their wealth and status, casting them out of the family business. Three months ago, Alex was unexpectedly left on Eleanor’s doorstep—alive but in a deeply unresponsive state. He had no memory of his past, couldn’t speak, and drooled uncontrollably. Despite her heartbreak, Eleanor had taken him in, caring for him every day, even as the world around her crumbled.
Alex’s return had only deepened the Cohen family’s disgrace. Her grandfather once again demanded that she divorce him. The pressure was unbearable, and with no income and mounting medical bills, Eleanor found herself at a breaking point.
“Alex,” she whispered as she rested her head against his shoulder, “I can’t do this anymore. My grandfather has cut us off completely. We have no money, no company, and no future if I don’t listen to him. But before I let go of us, I want to share this one moment with you.”
Blushing, Eleanor let her hands glide down Alex’s torso, inching lower toward his waist. But just as she was about to continue, her phone rang abruptly.
“Eleanor, where are you?” came her mother’s impatient voice from the other end of the line.
Eleanor hesitated. “I’m... I’m busy right now, Mom.”
“Busy? I can hear the water! Are you bathing that useless man again?” her mother snapped. “Why are you still wasting your time on him? Do you know how many eligible men are vying for your attention? Rich, successful men like Davis from the Anderson family! And yet, you reject every one of them?”
Eleanor clenched the phone tightly, frustration brewing inside her. “Mother, please...”
“No! I won’t let this go! You need to come home right now. Do you hear me? If you’re not here in half an hour, I swear I’ll make you regret it. And don’t forget, tomorrow is your grandfather’s seventieth birthday. You need to bring something special and make him happy. If we’re lucky, it might save our family from this nightmare!”
With that, her mother hung up abruptly, leaving Eleanor feeling more overwhelmed than ever. She didn’t have the means to buy a gift that would please her grandfather, let alone to fix the disaster her life had become.
“I have to go, Alex,” Eleanor said softly, her voice tinged with sorrow. She quickly dried off and dressed before leaving the room.
As soon as the door closed behind her, something unexpected happened. Alex’s body shuddered violently. His dull eyes snapped open, wide with confusion, and he gasped for air.
“What... What’s going on? Where am I?!”
Suddenly, memories came flooding back, overwhelming his senses.
Three years ago…
“Alex, we need someone to represent our family on the battlefield, but the second son is too valuable to risk. You, on the other hand, have already been cast aside. Make your life worth something for once by serving in the war.”
“You better go, or we’ll destroy not just you, but your new wife and her family too.”
The battlefield…
“God of War, after three long years, the enemy has finally fallen! We’ve won! The battle is ours!”
“God of War! God of War!”
Alex’s brother…
“My dear brother, you were never supposed to return. You should have died out there. But now that you’re back, I had no choice but to poison you. I couldn’t let you inherit the family’s empire. But don’t worry—I won’t kill you. Instead, I’ll let you live as a broken man, a shadow of who you were.”
Alex had been the eldest son of the powerful Novák family, the most prominent family in South River State. At eighteen, he was disowned due to family politics and left to make his way in Lilyrose City. There, he met Eleanor, and the two fell in love. But on the night of their wedding, his family forced him to the front lines of a brutal war.
For three grueling years, Alex fought, earning glory and the title of God of War. But when he returned, his own brother poisoned him, leaving him in the helpless state he had lived in for months.
Now, as the memories rushed back and the fog lifted, Alex clenched his fists in rage, his nails digging into his palms until they bled.
“The Novák family... Lucas... You will pay for everything you’ve done to me.” His voice trembled with fury. “Thank God my identity as God of War remained hidden. If they had known, I wouldn’t have survived this long.”
As Alex’s fury subsided, his thoughts turned to Eleanor. She had stood by him through all of this, never once abandoning him, even as her world crumbled around her. He owed her everything.
“Eleanor,” he whispered, his resolve hardening. “I’ll make sure you never have to suffer again. I swear, you’ll be the happiest woman in the world.”
Determined, Alex grabbed a phone from the nearby drawer, its number etched in his memories. He dialed it.
The call connected, and a deep voice answered.
“Hello?”
“Williams, it’s me,” Alex said, his voice filled with emotion.
On the other end, Williams Fisher, one of Alex’s most loyal War Generals, was silent for a moment before replying with equal intensity. “God of War... Is it really you?”
