The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 159

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-NINE CLAIRE’S POV

Eva walked into my apartment like she belonged there.

Like she hadn’t destroyed my marriage months ago.

Like she hadn’t spent months dismantling my life piece by piece with a smug smile on her face.

The moment she crossed the threshold, the air changed.

My home no longer felt entirely safe- or even entirely mine.

“Aren’t you going to offer me something to drink?” she asked lightly, removing her gloves with elegant, precise movement.

“No.”

Eva smiled faintly at that.

She was still breathtakingly beautiful. Still polished. Still terrifying in the way poisonous things often

were.

She moved slowly through the living room, her blue eyes flicking across everything with jarring attention that was surely meant to unsettle me.

Not casually-strategically.

Her gaze lingered on the second wine glass on the table.

Something cold flashed briefly through her expression before disappearing just as quickly.

“What do you want, Eva?” I finally asked. There was no reason to have her standing in my living room a second longer than I needed to.

She turned to look at me again.

“I think women should support each other more,” she said smoothly. “Especially when men become…

difficult.”

I almost laughed at that. “Why are you really here?”

Eva tilted her head slightly.

“You spoke to the press.”

“I answered one question.”

“And defended Lucian Dhark.” She said it like it was a crime.

“I told the truth!”

“That was very loyal of you.” Eva sneered.

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“It wasn’t loyalty,” I bit back. “It was fact.”

Her smile thinned slightly.

The truth was I didn’t exactly trust Lucian completely anymore.

But I trusted lies even less.

Eva wandered slowly toward the windows overlooking the city.

“You’ve become very visible lately,” she said casually. “Courtroom headlines, interviews. You’ve even managed to procure public praise.”

I said nothing.

“You’re doing very well for yourself, Claire.”

Again, thag was not a compliment.

It was a warning.

She turned back toward me slowly. “Honestly, Claire… I’m impressed.”

Praise from Eva Sterling irritated me more than outright cruelty would have.

Because I knew how easy it was for her to weaponize softness, better than anyone I had ever met.

“You humiliated me publicly,” I said quietly. “Destroyed my marriage, manipulated everyone around you.”

Eva’s expression barely shifted.

“And yet here you are,” she replied evenly. “Still standing.”

Something about the way she said it chilled me.

Like my survival in itself annoyed her.

My jaw tightened.

“Shouldn’t you be more concerned about the fact that Margot Sinclair almost just died?”

There it was.

The first crack.

Her pause lasted a second too long. “Terrible accident,” she said softly.

“That wasn’t an accident.” I spoke before thinking.

Now, Eva’s eyes sharpened around the edges. And the room suddenly felt colder.

She took a seat, then proceeded to cross one leg over the other calmly as though we were discussing

weather.

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“People break very easily, Claire.” She spoke like she was teaching a course. “Especially when they start believing they’re untouchable.”

Every instinct inside me screamed.

Danger. Real danger.

I stared at her carefully now.

Not as Lucian’s mistress.

Not as an actress.

But as something else entirely- Something worse.

Eva leaned slightly forward.

“Were you and Margot working on something together?”

I didn’t answer.

“She seemed very interested in me lately.”

Still smiling.

Still graceful.

“Did she tell you anything before the accident?”

And suddenly I understood.

This wasn’t about Lucian.

It wasn’t even about me.

Eva had come here for information.

“You should leave,” I said coldly.

Eva looked almost amused by that.

Then-

the apartment door opened behind us.

Nathaniel stepped inside, loosening his tie slightly before stopping the second he saw her

Silence.

Heavy silence.

Eva looked at him slowly- then at me.

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Understanding settled instantly across her face.

Of course it did, Eva Sterling was not a woman to miss anything.

The wine glasses had been the first hint.

And now, the way he immediately moved closer to me without thinking.

Protective.

Her lips curved into a slow smile.

“So it’s true.”

Nathaniel’s expression hardened immediately. “What are you doing here?” He looked absolutely irritated by the mere sight of him.

Eva ignored him at first- still watching me.

“You move on quickly, Claire.”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion.”

“No,” she said softly. “But I think you need perspective.”

Nathaniel stepped closer.

“Leave.”

Then Eva finally looked at him directly- and she smiled. Cruel this time.

“You know…” she said lightly, “I almost feel sorry for you.”

Nathaniel’s jaw tightened.

Eva continued anyway. “History has a way of repeating itself.” Her expression was sympathetic. “And unfortunately for you…”

She paused. “Claire can’t give you the family you’ll eventually want either.”

The words sliced through me like glass.

Not dramatic, but deep enough to reopen something that had never healed properly.

And Eva knew exactly where to cut.

I felt Nathaniel tense beside me instantly.

But before I could speak-

he did.

“I’m not Lucian Dhark.” He said immediately, his tone firm and sharp.

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The room went still. “And unlike him,” Nathaniel continued coldly, “I don’t measure Claire’s worth by what

she can give me.”

For the first time that night, Eva’s smile finally faltered.

Barely, but enough.