The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 164

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FOUR LUCIAN’S POV

The whiskey burned my chest going down.

I wouldn’t say it was enough to numb anything.

But it was enough to leave heat at the back of my throat.

Rain lashed against the windows of the mansion that evening. The city below was glowing, even from the dark glass.

The Dhark mansion felt silent. Cold.

Empty.

I sat alone in the dark with my tie loosened and my sleeves rolled to my elbows, staring at the dark liquid swirling inside the crystal tumbler.

I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I had been drunk- truly.

Not like this.

Not stripped raw enough for memories to resurface and emotions to torment me.

And yet, somehow- despite everything that was happening around me my mind kept dragging me

back to her.

Back to the beginning.

Back to the first night I met Claire Moreau.

It had been raining then too.

That was the first thing I remembered.

The rain had been heavy enough to flood the sidewalks, while people hurried past beneath umbrellas without looking at one another.

I had just left an investor meeting that had dragged well past midnight.

Another acquisition- more like a negotiation.

Another room full of men pretending to respect me while calculating what they could gain from me.

By then, I was already completely exhausted.

I had been barely getting any sleep.

Barely eating, despite Camilla’s protests.

To put it simply, I barely existed outside work.

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And that night, for the first time in years-

my body had finally started losing the fight against it.

I remembered gripping the edge of a building briefly when dizziness hit.

My vision blurred for a moment.

That was annoying-weak, besides.

And I hated weakness.

I straightened my posture immediately and kept walking.

Then-

“You look terrible.”

I turned sharply to the direction the voice came from.

And there she was.

Standing under the awning of a small café with soaked files clutched against her chest.

Claire.

Younger. Less serious.

Exhausted herself.

Hair was longer then, and slightly damp from the rain.

Annoyance was written plainly across her face.

Not fear or even fascination as was the norm when most people would meet me.

Annoyance.

At me!

“You shouldn’t be walking around looking like you’re about to collapse,” she said bluntly.

I stared at her blankly, a little bit taken aback that this young woman- whoever she was-was speaking to me like that.

She sighed softly before stepping closer.

“Do you need help?”

“I’m fine.” I said automatically.

“You’re clearly not.” Claire retorted, a bit snobbish.

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LEGNEHUNDRED AND SIXTY TOUR LUCIANS POV

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“I said I’m fine.” I answered, tone sharp.

In my experience, most people backed off when my tone sharpened.

But Claire didn’t.

Instead, she looked me over once before muttering again;

“You know, you’d probably suffer less if you stopped acting like accepting help is a sign of failure.”

That caught me off guard. In fact, I almost laughed.

Almost.

She disappeared briefly into the café before returning with a bottle of water.

When I didn’t make any attempt to immediately take it, she shoved it against my chest anyway.

“You’re very infuriating, you know,” she informed me calmly.

I stared at her properly then.

At the complete lack of calculation in her eyes.

No recognition, no careful politeness.

Just honesty-pure and unfiltered.

I couldn’t remember the last time someone had spoken to me like that.

“You don’t know who I am,” I said finally.

Claire rolled her eyes.

“That usually means someone’s about to say something incredibly arrogant.”

Her tone was snarky, but despite myself-

I smiled.

Just slightly.

And the look of surprise that crossed her face afterward brought a strange feeling to my chest.

She noticed the loosened state of my tie a second later and frowned.

“This is bothering me.”

Before I could react, she reached up and fixed it absentmindedly.

Her fingers were quick, but her touch was soft.

Completely natural, like she wasn’t standing inches away from one of the most powerful men in the

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CON WAS WID AND SIXTY FOUR LUCIANS POV

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country.

Like I was just-

a person.

Then she stepped back and nodded once in approval.

“Better.”

I should’ve walked away then.

Instead, I stayed standing there with her beneath the rain-soaked awning, while she complained about law school professors and terrible internship hours.

And somewhere between her irritated rambling and soft laughter…

I think I loved her from the very first night.

Not dramatically or in a romcom kind of way.

Not all at once.

But I did.

It was like something inside me had finally found somewhere to rest.

The memory hit so hard I felt a physical ache in my chest.

I swallowed another mouthful of whiskey slowly, trying to stop more memories from reading their heads.

I fell in love with her right there in the rain.

And somehow, I had still managed to lose her.

The thought hollowed me out completely.

Before I could think better of it, I stood abruptly, grabbed my coat and left my study.

By the time I reached Claire’s apartment building, the rain had only gotten worse.

Cold droplets of rain soaked into my collar as I stared up at her window for several long seconds.

Then finally, I knocked.

I heard movement inside almost immediately.

And when the door opened-

Claire was standing there in pajamas.

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MUNDRED AND SIXTY FOUR LUCIAN’S POV

Frozen.

Her brown eyes widened slightly the second she saw me.

Then they narrowed.

“You’re drunk.” She stated.

“Not very.”

“You’re standing outside my apartment at midnight.”

Fair point.

Claire’s gaze softened slightly despite herself as she took me in from head to toe.

I knew what I looked like- exhausted, half-destroyed. Unraveling.

She smelled the whiskey immediately. And then her whole expression changed.

Not fear-worry.

God.

Even now… even after everything I had done, she still worried about me.

“Lucian…”

Her voice was quieter now.

And suddenly every single feeling I had buried carefully inside me rose violently to the surface.

“I remembered how we met.”

Claire stilled immediately.

“The rain,” I continued quietly. “The water bottle. You insulting me within thirty seconds.”

A tiny breath escaped her despite herself.

I stepped closer slowly.

“I loved you before I even understood what that meant.”

Claire’s eyes widened slightly.

I could see her trying not to react.

Trying not to feel this.

But I kept going anyway because I couldn’t stop anymore.

“You were the only place I ever felt human.”

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INDRED AND SIXTY FOUR LUCIANS POV

Her lips parted slightly.

Pain flashed across her face.

And finally-

the truth I should’ve said years ago left my mouth.