The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 145

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FIVE NATHANIEL’S POV

The crowd outside Dhark Holdings had started thinning by the time I arrived.

They weren’t gone, they were just… dispersing.

Security barriers lined the front entrance. Police vehicles sat along the curb with their lights still flashing through the afternoon haze.

Pieces of cardboard signs littered the pavement-some were soaked through with coffee, while others were crushed beneath shoes and tires.

“MONSTER.”

“JUSTICE FOR EVA.”

“#CANCELDHARKHOLDINGS.”

A cracked egg slid slowly down the side of a black company vehicle near the entrance.

I looked up at the building as I stepped out of my car.

Even from outside, the damage was obvious.

Glass doors smeared, security scrambling, tense employees entering through side access points instead of the main lobby.

The empire looked shaken.

And whether Lucian had done what he was accused of or not-

he was in serious trouble.

Lucian’s assistant met me halfway through the lobby.

I knew her from when what worked with Lucian before. She was usually composed.

But today, there was still dried egg residue near the sleeve of her blazer.

“That bad?” I asked as we walked.

“You saw outside,” she replied flatly.

I did.

And somehow I knew that was only the beginning.

Lucian was already seated when I entered his office, but he looked anything but relaxed.

The screens were still running.

News channels, market updates, social media feeds moving too fast for anyone to follow properly.

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CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TORTY-FIVE NATHANIELS POV

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Eva’s face appeared every few seconds.

And so did his.

Lucian looked up once as I walked in.

No greeting, no unnecessary words.

“You came.” He said. I could see the relief wash through him.

“I said I would.”

The room fell quiet the moment I closed the door behind me.

Then I looked at him directly.

“I’ll handle the case.”

A pause.

“But this time,” I continued, “you tell me everything.”

Lucian didn’t react immediately. He just held my gaze.

“I am.” He said softly but his answer was too quick. To even.

And we both knew it.

I walked further into the office slowly.

“I was blindsided in court once because of you,” I said. “That shouldn’t happen again.”

Something flickered across his expression. It looked like admission.

But it was brief, and gone almost immediately.

“It won’t,” he said.

But we both knew that wasn’t the real reason I stepped away from the divorce case.

It wasn’t just professional embarrassment.

It was Claire.

Watching her get destroyed publicly while Lucian stood there saying nothing. That just felt wrong.

And that was the part neither of us mentioned.

Lucian leaned back slightly in his seat.

“She wants me back.”

That caught my attention immediately.

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Claire?

“She said if I publicly admit I hit her and apologize,” he continued, “she’ll calm the public down. She’ll tell them to forgive me.”

I stared at him for a second.

“Eva actually said that?”

“Carefully,” he replied. “Enough to protect herself if I recorded it.”

Of course.

“Did you?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

Finally, some progress

But Lucian didn’t recognize it. His tightened jaw was an indication of that. “She’s escalating because I

refused.”

“She was always going to escalate,” I said.

A moment passed before Lucian spoke again. “There’s more.”

His tone changed slightly.

“I think she had something to do with Claire’s crash.”

I went still for half a second.

Lucian continued before I could even speak.

“The timing, hospital incident. Too many things don’t align.”

I understood immediately where his mind was going.

But unfortunately, we couldn’t do anything with that suspicion now.

“You can’t lead with that now,” I said. “Because nobody will believe it’s genuine concern. It’ll look like retaliation.” I explained calmly.

His silence confirmed he already knew that.

I shook my head.

Honestly, Lucian Dhark was in a very bad position.

“She also stole one hundred and seventy million dollars from me.”

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SONDWELMAND FORTY FIVE NATUANIET POV

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That one nearly made me pause.

“Excuse me?”

“She manipulated internal transfers over time,” he explained flatly, like the money meant nothing.” Hidden accounts, layered movements. We only started uncovering it recently.”

Jesus Christ!

“And you still didn’t go public with any of this?”

Lucian looked away briefly toward the screens.

Toward Eva’s face again.

Then finally-

“She wasn’t pregnant.” My whole body went still.

“She never was,” he continued quietly. “The ultrasounds were fake. The reports too.”

For the first time since walking into that office-

I genuinely didn’t know what to say immediately.

As a lawyer, I had heard of the messiest stories. I was no stranger to the things people could do to

maintain control.

But for a woman as loved and known as Eva to go this far…

“She lied about the baby?”

“Yes.”

“And that’s why you threw her out.”

“Yes.”

I stared at him for a long moment.

Then finally said the obvious thing.

“That’s your leverage.”

Lucian’s eyes lifted slightly.

“That changes perception immediately,” I continued. “People forgive affairs. They forgive scandals. But lying about a pregnancy-”

I shook my head once. “That changes everything. The public will certainly pause for a rethink- at least.”

His jaw tightened again.

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HUNDRED AND FORTY FIVE NATHANIELS POV

“She built this narrative around vulnerability,” I added. “Around motherhood.”

I paused, letting the words settle. “If you dismantle that-”

“She’ll deny it,” Lucian cut in.

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“Then let her prove it.” I said.

Silence settled heavily between us after that.

I frowned slightly.

“Why didn’t you release this immediately?”

That was the real question.

Because any sane legal team would have already weaponized it.

Lucian didn’t answer right away. And somehow, that told me enough already.

“It makes me look weak.” He finally said.

I blinked once.

“What?” I asked.

Because I almost didn’t believe what I had just heard.

His expression hardened slightly now.

“How does it look,” he asked, annoyed, “if the CEO of Dhark Holdings gets manipulated in his own house

for months?”

I could see just how angry he was- at himself.

“How does the board see me after that?”

Ah.

There it was.

Not strategy, not just caution either.

Pride.

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“They trusted me to protect a global corporation,” he continued. “And I couldn’t even detect a scam happening under my roof!”

He slammed a fist against the table, almost startling me.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

“I ruined my marriage for nothing.” Lucian finally said, his voice so low i had to strain to hear him.

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The silence after that sat heavier than anything else he had said.

Then-

“I would look like a a fool. A loser.” He said. “And I hate losing.”

I looked at him for a second.

Then I said it plainly.