Tale of a Hedonistic wizard

As Jaegar studied Diana's painful expression, the full weight of her suffering crashed over him like a tidal wave.

The year of his absence had etched new lines of worry around her eyes, dulling the once-vibrant spark in her gaze. He was the reason she had been drawn into this mess in the first place - an ordinary woman caught in the dangerous crosscurrents of the magical world.

With a heavy sigh, he reached for the whiskey bottle again, the liquid amber catching the dim kitchen light as he poured another measure. "I'm sorry that this all happened to you," he said finally, his voice low and rough. "It won't happen again."

Diana's laugh was bitter, almost brittle. "Baby, I know we have a very complicated relationship, but you have to understand that I can't stay like this while you leave out there in your own world."

She paused, her fingers nervously tracing patterns on the kitchen counter. "Thomas, he's been a great help around the house. He helped me get back to myself. He really loves me."

Jaegar's eyebrow arched sharply at her words, a spike of jealousy piercing through his guilt. "Do you love him?" The question came out harsher than he intended, echoing in the quiet kitchen.

Diana's expression turned grim, her eyes dropping to the floor before meeting his gaze again. "I don't know," she admitted quietly. "But I certainly love you. And I want you home, all to myself, to stay by my side. Is that possible?"

Jaegar's brows slammed together at her question, frustration building in his chest. "You very well know I can't do that. There are things I need to do in the Empire."

The Magical Empire, with its politics, its dangers, and its demands, had always been a wedge between them - a world Diana could observe but never truly be part of.

Diana scoffed, anger finally breaking through her careful composure. "See? You can't even do that for me. But Thomas stayed with me; he took care of me all these times while you were gone."

And this made Jaegar lose all his reasoning. Why the heck was she comparing with him?

Her voice rose slightly, years of pent-up frustration spilling out. "I don't think you would understand. We can't talk about our relationship to others; we can't go out like regular couples; we can't even enjoy a date like a normal couple!"

Jaegar shook his head, his own anger rising as she began to sound more and more like a petty, ordinary wife. She had known what she was getting into when she started their relationship - known about his life in the Empire.

She very well knew he can't stay here, his life was in the empire and he belong there.

Yet here she was, asking him to abandon his life there, his very nature, to play house with her.

A cruel voice in his mind whispered that he was a hypocrite. He hadn't done anything after what she did for him.

Here he was, bristling at the thought of Thomas touching his wife, when he himself had not been entirely faithful during his time away.

More than once, he had found comfort in the arms of other women, his philandering ways.

The silence stretched between them, heavy with unspoken accusations and admissions.

Outside, the last traces of daylight were fading, casting long shadows across the kitchen floor.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

From somewhere in the house, a clock chimed the hour, the sound seeming to emphasize the gulf between their worlds.

Diana moved to the window, wrapping her arms around herself as she stared out at the darkening yard. "Do you know what it's like?" she asked softly. "To be the only one who doesn't understand the jokes at parties? To have to pretend I don't see the things I see? To wonder every time you leave if this will be the time you don't come back?"

Jaegar watched her, noting how the fading light highlighted the silver strands in her hair - strands that hadn't been there when he'd left. At thirty-eight, Diana was still beautiful, but the age difference between them seemed more pronounced now than ever.

Not just in years, but in experiences, in the weight of the worlds they inhabited.

"When those men took you," Diana continued, her voice barely above a whisper, "I didn't know where to go. What can I even do, a single ordinary woman with no magic? I had to sit here, day after day, wondering if you were dead or alive, without even the comfort of being able to share my grief with anyone who would understand."

Jaegar drained his glass, the whiskey burning a path down his throat. He thought of the past year - of the cells and the arena, of the battles and narrow escapes. He had been fighting for his life, yes, but also for his return to her. Yet standing here now, he wondered if there was anything left to return to.

"And then Thomas came back into my life," Diana said, turning to face him. "He remembered me from before, from when I was just a normal woman with normal dreams. He took me to dinner, to the theatre. He listened when I talked, even though I could only tell him half truths. He made me feel like a person again, not just the wizard's mother."

Jaegar's jaw clenched at her words. The image of Thomas and Diana at the theatre, enjoying a simple evening out, sent a spike of jealousy through him that was immediately followed by shame. How many times had he promised to take her to such places, only to be called away by some magical crisis?

"What do you want from me, Diana?" He asked finally, his voice tired. "Do you want me to give up magic? To pretend I'm not what I am?"

She flinched everytime when he called her by the name. But she didn't let it show on her face as she stood her ground. He maybe a grown up now, to her, he was her little boy.