The wife left her disabled husband but when he entered the courtroom everyone was in horror

The wife left her disabled husband, but when he entered the courtroom, everyone was in horror. Tom went to serve in the Army under contract right after high school. He went through hell; he saw death and pain, maimed young bodies. But fate was merciful to him, and Tom returned to his native village unharmed. What followed was a peaceful civilian life.

There was no sense in staying in the village. The local agricultural company was falling apart before his eyes. His parents advised Tom to go to the city, so he left. In the city, life was difficult at first. There was barely enough money from odd part-time jobs to live on. Then Tom got a job as a truck driver and started making good money. Some of the money he sent to his parents, and the rest he spent as he saw fit.

Sometime later, Amanda came into his life. The woman was a salesperson in a store where Tom had gone to buy a jacket. They exchanged phone numbers, began dating, and sometime later, they married. Amanda had a son, also named Tom, who was four years old, and Tom accepted him as his own.

Time passed. Over time, the couple bought a spacious apartment in a good neighborhood, made good repairs, and started to live even better. They lacked one thing: mutual children. Amanda understood this and tried to get pregnant, but nothing worked. Going to doctors did not bring any results, and in the end, Tom accepted his fate. He didn’t think about divorce and was happy to have Tom and Amanda.

But as soon as his quiet life was over, Tom began to suspect that Amanda was cheating on him. So far, it was only a suspicion. One day, Tom returned from another business trip and, entering the bedroom, he was shocked at what he saw. Amanda was half-naked and asleep in bed with an empty champagne bottle and two glasses on the bedside table. Tom woke the sleeping wife and asked, “What happened here? Who is he?”

Amanda sobered up instantly. “Nothing happened; I was just sleeping.”

“And what’s this?” Tom pointed to the nightstand. It was obvious that Amanda was nervous, but she answered quickly.

“You mean the champagne? Oh, R dropped by. We haven’t seen each other for a long time, so we had a little drink with her. Why, is that not allowed?”

“Who’s R?” said Tom. “Where’s the lipstick? There’s no lipstick on the glass; obviously, a man had been drinking from it. And why did you take your friend into the bedroom instead of the living room or kitchen? You’re lying to me.”

“I’m not lying, Tom,” Amanda justified herself. “It just happened. I didn’t invite her into the kitchen; it was messy. I didn’t have time to wash the plates, so I had to invite R into the room. Otherwise, she’d think I’m a bad housewife. Besides, I was showing her my new clothes I bought yesterday.”

“And why are you not at work?” asked Tom, visibly calming down.

“They gave me the day off. I got overtime for last month. They don’t give a bonus, but a day off is okay,” replied Amanda, looking at her husband with wide-open honest eyes.

“Well, look, Amanda, if I find out you’re cheating on me, I won’t forgive you.” They never came back to this conversation, but Tom did not trust Amanda as before.

That ill-fated morning, Tom was on his way to work. An SUV crashed into his car at a crossroads at breakneck speed. Tom was in a coma for two days, but he survived. The consequences of the accident were devastating; doctors said Tom would never walk again because it was impossible to restore the spine to its former state. Then there were months of rehabilitation and returning home.

Amanda and Tom usually left in the morning for work and school and returned in the evening. On weekends, they did not pamper Tom with their company either. A shopping mall or a water park was more interesting to them than a half-paralyzed husband and stepfather, so Tom spent almost all of his time alone in the apartment. But even that kind of family life soon ended.

Amanda began a difficult conversation without any preamble. “I’m sorry, Tom, but I need a divorce. I can’t go on like this, and I’ve been asked to marry.”

“So it wasn’t R who came to visit you then after all?” asked Tom.

“No, not R, but my first love from school. Don’t think I’m asking for a divorce because of your disease, no. It’s just that I still love him. He’s divorced now, and he asked me to be together with him. I gave my consent.”

“Then what else is there to talk about? You’ve already made up your mind. Let’s divorce,” replied Tom. “I’ll go to my parents. There’s nothing more for me to do in the city.”

“And the apartment?” asked Amanda. “What about it? Shall we sell it and share the money?”

“As you like. I don’t care, but it’s better not to sell it. Keep it for Tom in the future.” After the divorce, Tom’s cousin came by car and took him to his village. Tom now lived in his ancestral home with his mother. His father had died three years before. Tom’s mother was glad to see her son back, although she grieved over his unhappy fate. Her soul was at peace now; her son was under her care.

Maya, a nurse, was a frequent visitor to their house. She checked on Tom’s health, gave him painkilling injections when necessary, kept his spirits up, and prevented him from falling down and starting to drink. Tom liked her more and more every day. One day, he asked his mother where she was from, how long she’d been working, and whether she had a family. The elderly woman told everything she knew about the nurse.

“Do you like her, son? She’s not married, by the way, and she doesn’t have children. Apparently, as a young girl, she was in no hurry to get married, and now there are no single peers left. She doesn’t want to marry unworthy men, so she lives alone. If you were healthy, I’d ask you to court her. I like her; she’s a good woman, she’s warm-hearted.” Tom sighed, perfectly aware that he could not be a good match for any woman now.

After getting used to village life a little, Tom brought the internet into the house and bought a laptop. Now he could listen to music, watch movies, and chat online. It was in social networks that Tom found many of his comrades in arms. Once, he received a letter from his captain, Shane. Lieutenant Shane wrote that he also resigned a long time ago and was now in business. He thanked Tom once again for saving him from death fifteen years ago. Tom had not left him seriously wounded but carried him out of the fire on his shoulders.

“Anyway, Tom, why are you sitting there in your backwater? Come to me in the capital. We need reliable people like you here.” Tom thanked the former commander of the platoon for the invitation but refused to visit, briefly writing in response, “Sorry, Commander, I’m unable to come now. I’m like in a trench for the rest of my life; my legs can’t walk at all. I move around in a wheelchair.”

A week later, on Sunday, Tom was shocked to see his commander on the doorstep of his house. And he did not come alone but with a doctor. After joyful greetings, the doctor examined Tom. “Well, would it be possible to help him?” asked Shane impatiently. “Will you put my comrade in arms on his feet?”

“I think so, but that’s all, of course, still my guess based on the examination and the patient’s medical history.” That same day, Shane took Tom to the capital. The operation was a success. A few months later, Tom began to learn to walk again because, in three years, his legs had already forgotten how to walk. In six months, Tom was already walking without crutches.

Meanwhile, Amanda’s life with her new husband was not all she had imagined. He often went on drunken raves with his friends and girlfriends, partied for weeks, and consequently did not go to work. Amanda was the only one who had a job, and she barely had enough money to pay for a living. Eventually, she was fed up with such a life, and she and Tom returned to their apartment. The woman was now very grateful for her ex-husband’s advice not to rush into selling their apartment. Left alone, Amanda often thought of Tom. She regretted that she divorced him. She understood that there had never been a better man for her than Tom and that he was the only one who had truly loved her.

One day, she took the courage to visit him, hoping that he would be glad to have her back. “Who needs him but me and his mother?” she thought on her way to her ex-husband’s home village. Amanda stopped the car near the grocery store and decided to buy some presents for Tom’s mother and at the same time to stretch her legs, which were numb from sitting for so long. She went into the store and walked past the shelves for a long time, not knowing what to choose for her former mother-in-law.

“I’m sorry,” heard Amanda suddenly. “Are you going to buy anything or not? What’s the matter? When I choose, then I’ll buy. Are you rushing?”

“Yes, I’m closing the store early today,” answered the saleswoman. “There’s a wedding in our village today, and the wedding ceremony is about to start. Our paramedic is getting married, and I’m already late because of you. I’d like to see it; it’s not every day we have weddings in our village.”

“Ah, that’s the thing,” smiled Amanda. “All right, then give me that biscuit

for tea, and come on, I want to see the village wedding too.” They left the store and hurried to the church. Tom, handsome and slender, was just coming out of the building. The villagers clapped their hands and threw field flowers and candy at the newlyweds’ feet. Amanda tore open the package on the roll and nervously began to eat the sweet confectionary, but it wasn’t getting any sweeter. She felt bitter; her cheeks were wet with tears of annoyance and anger at the fact that she was late.

“You should tell everyone that he’s weak and cowardly and he’s running from trouble and leaving you in the lurch. When you get divorced, demand a larger chunk as you’ll have greater need. And if you had a traditional marriage, he promised ‘in sickness and in health,’ so he’s already committed to supporting you in your disability. And a legal contract, a marriage is a legal contract, not just something for show. If he left you for another woman, sue her for alienation of affection and make her pay as well. She’ll be real happy with your loser husband and will likely dump him. Talk to a lawyer; many will give an initial consult for free.”

It was a great shock because she was completely helpless and had no income. She was devastated, and the sad thing is that this is a very common experience. What you should do depends on which country you live in and what provision they make for sick or disabled people. Being paralyzed doesn’t mean the end of life. I wish I could have at least fifty years more with my love, even if paralyzed, blind, and sick. I don’t care; love is love, and it’s for all eternity.