CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE CLAIRE’S POV
I woke up later than I intended.
For a moment, I didn’t move. I just lay there, staring at the ceiling, letting the quiet of the apartment settle around me.
My body felt better than it had yesterday-stronger, but not fully steady. There was still a slight delay between my intention to move and actual movement, like I had to remind myself how to function normally.
My mind, on the other hand, hadn’t slowed down at all.
It went straight back to court.
Every argument, every response, every look across the room.
I pushed myself up carefully, reaching for my phone on the bedside table.
There were already messages waiting.
One from a colleague at Sinclair & Co.
I opened it at once.
Updates, exactly as I had expected.
Virex Holdings was pushing back harder than we had anticipated. Their legal team had already begun restructuring their approach, tightening their arguments.
Media coverage was expanding-headlines multiplying, narratives shifting.
Some focused on the case. Unfortunately, others didn’t.
“The woman at the center of it all: Claire Moreau.”
“Ex-wife of Lucian Dhark now opposing his corporate ally, Virex Holdings.”
“From Mrs. Dhark to courtroom opponent.”
I didn’t look at the rest. Instead, I locked my phone.
I wasn’t here for that.
Another message came in almost immediately.
More pressure. More movement.
Virex wasn’t backing down.
Good.
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That meant we were getting somewhere.
A knock sounded softly at the door before it opened.
Nathaniel stepped in.
He paused briefly when he saw me awake, then walked further into the room, his expression settling into something calm and observant.
“You don’t sit still well.”
I didn’t bother denying it.
“I had things to do.” I replied with a shrug.
“You always do.”
There was no judgment in his tone. Just a quiet understanding that made it harder to argue.
I set my phone aside.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Come with me.”
I frowned slightly. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
That was all he offered.
I watched him for a second, weighing it.
Then I nodded.
The drive started quietly. Not tense, and definitely not awkward. Just… easy.
We slipped into conversation without thinking about it-small things, light exchanges, nothing that required effort.
It felt natural in a way I wasn’t used to noticing.
At a stoplight, Nathaniel leaned in briefly- just enough to brush his lips against mine.
I pulled back almost immediately, holding back a smile.
“Eyes on the road.”
There was no real bite behind it.
He smiled faintly, turning his attention forward again.
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“Noted.”
The light changed, and we moved again.
A few minutes later, his phone buzzed.
He glanced at it, and something shifted in his expression immediately.
It was subtle, but I saw it.
“What is it?” I asked.
He didn’t answer right away.
Then-
“Virex Holdings just got accepted.”
I frowned slightly. “Accepted where?”
“At KVEK.”
The words landed.
KVEK was Nathaniel’s law firm, consisting of four partners; Kilmartin, Vale, Eorbard and Klyaton.
Nathaniel exhaled quietly, one hand tightening slightly on the steering wheel.
“I didn’t approve it,” he stated, just to be clear. “But I don’t have full control over intake. The other partners … they wouldn’t turn down a client like that.”
Of course they wouldn’t.
Sinclair&co was making a fortune from the legal f*e Langford was paying. If the rumors were true, Virex holdings paid their lawyers even better. Rejecting a client like that would be unethical and downright stupid.
I looked ahead, letting it all settle.
It made sense.
I mean, it complicated things-but it made sense.
“You’re not upset?” Nathaniel asked after a moment.
“No.” I said, turning slightly toward him. “It just means I’ll have to be better, I understand that now.”
He glanced at me then, something unreadable in his expression.
“I don’t want to be on the other side of you.” He said.
I didn’t respond immediately.
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“I want us on the same side for once,” he continued, then paused. “Maybe for good.”
I felt the words hanging between us.
But before I could say anything in response, the car slowed.
We had arrived.
I stepped out slowly, taking in my surroundings.
The building stood exactly as I remembered it-
Quiet, familiar and unchanged.
“The library!” I almost screamed, as I stared at the old building in awe.
Nathaniel closed the door behind him. “You didn’t think I’d take you somewhere random, did you?”
I didn’t answer, because I was already walking, eager to get inside.
Inside, the air felt different.
Everything in the library felt still- almost untouched.
Rows of shelves stretched out in front of me, the same way they always had. The same narrow aisles. The same long tables.
For a moment, everything else faded.
“This is where it started,” I said quietly, almost to myself.
“For both of us.”
I glanced at him then. “You always sat three rows ahead.”
His brow lifted slightly. “You noticed.”
“I noticed everything.” I retorted.
Nathaniel’s lips curved into a faint smile. We moved deeper into the space- slowly, and unhurried.
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