The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 207

CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND SEVEN CLAIRE’S POV

The door closed softly behind me.

For a moment, I just stood there.

Dr. Ramon was no longer my problem.

Not for the next few hours, at least.

His lawyer had arrived less than a minute after I stepped outside. A detective escorted him down the corridor.

His briefcase, suit and watch screamed luxury.

That was the kind of attorney who billed by the hour and smiled while doing it.

The lawyer disappeared into the room, the detective followed and the door shut

And just like that, the negotiation belonged to someone else.

I rubbed my temple, feeling a headache already forming.

No surprise there.

I felt exhausted— not just physically, but mentally too.

Every conversation seemed to carry the weight of someone’s future now.

Eva.

Hart.

Ramon.

Lucian.

Margot.

The lawsuit.

The police investigation.

The media circus.

The pressure from Sinclair & Co.

It never stopped.

“Claire.”

I looked up to see Lucian watching me.

ľ

The detective who had been standing beside him had already excused himself, leaving us alone in the hallway

“What?” I asked, snarky.

His gaze narrowed slightly.

That look that always made me feel as though he could somehow see things nobody else could

“What did Ramon say?”

Texhaled. “A lot.”

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Lucian waited, so I told him.

Not every detail, just the important parts.

Hart and Eva. Their history, the pregnancy, the obsession.

The plea bargain Dr. Ramon had demanded. The testimony he was willing to give and the evidence he already sent over to

Sinclair&co.

By the time I finished, Lucian looked genuinely disturbed.

“Hart worships her.”

I nodded. “Apparently.”

Lucian looked away briefly, as though he was processing that.

Then his gaze returned to me. “You haven’t eaten.”

I blinked.

“What?”

“You haven’t eaten.”

I sighed.

Of course.

Of all the things I’d just told him, that was what he’d focused on.

“No.”

His expression didn’t change.

“Come eat.”

I immediately shook my head.

“I’m not going to the Dhark mansion.”

Lucian actually looked offended.

Which would have been funny if I weren’t so tired.

“I didn’t say anything about the mansion.”

“You didn’t have to.”

I folded my arms.

“I know how this works.”

His eyebrow lifted.

“Oh?”

“You say ‘come eat.””

1 pointed at him.

“Then somehow I end up sitting in your dining room while Camilla judges my life choices

The corner of his mouth twitched.

“You think very little of my creativity.”

“I think exactly the right amount”

For the first time all day, I saw something close to amusement cross his face.

“I’m taking you to a restaurant.”

I stared.

“A restaurant?”

“Yes.”

“A real restaurant?”

“Those are generally the kind.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“You?”

“I occasionally eat food prepared by ordinary people.”

I deadpanned.

“I’ll alert the press.”

That earned a quiet laugh.

And somehow-

that laugh made everything feel slightly lighter.

Even if it lasted only for a second.

Twenty minutes later, I discovered Lucian had not been lying.

The restaurant was surprisingly normal.

No private penthouse.

No celebrity chef.

No velvet ropes.

No billionaire nonsense.

Just good food.

Good lighting.

And surprisingly few people recognizing him.

I sat across from him in a corner booth.

Still suspicious.

Lucian noticed.

(‘

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COLUMNS EUR

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“You look disappointed.”

“I expected something ridiculous.”

“You think I’m ridiculous.”

“I think you’re a billionaire.”

“Fair.”

The waitress arrived.

Orders were placed.

Then silence settled between us.

Not uncomfortable.

Just tired.

The kind of silence two exhausted people shared.

Eventually I lifted a hand to my hair.

Trying to push it away from my face.

Lucian’s gaze followed the movement.

Immediately.

“You’ve been breaking it.”

My hand froze.

“What?”

He pointed toward my temple.

“The stress.”

I frowned.

“What are you talking about?”

“Your hair.”

I automatically touched the spot.

A few shorter strands slipped between my fingers.

Broken.

I stared.

I hadn’t noticed.

Nobody had noticed.

Apparently Lucian had

Of course he had.

For reasons I couldn’t explain, the discovery unsettled me

Not because of the hair.

Because of him.

Because it reminded me of something I tried very hard not to remember.

Lucian always noticed.

When I skipped meals.

When I worked too much.

When I wasn’t sleeping.

When I was overwhelmed.

When I lied and claimed I was fine.

He always knew.

Even when he shouldn’t have.

I looked away first.

“That’s annoying.”

Lucian’s mouth twitched.

“The hair?”

“No.”

I glared at him.

“You.”

That actually made him smile.

A real smile.

Brief.

Gone almost immediately.

But real.

The food arrived.

Thankfully.

Saving me from whatever uncomfortable emotion was threatening to surface.

For a while we simply ate.

Then Lucian spoke again.

“What did your superiors at Sinclair&co say?”

I sighed

Of course he knew exactly where my thoughts were headed.

“Everything.”

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His expression suggested that wasn’t enough information.

I continued.

“They want this case handled perfectly.”

Reasonable.

“They reminded me this is the second time we’re facing KVEK.”

Also reasonable.

“They reminded me Victoria and I are facing each other again.

Less reasonable.

Lucian listened.

I continued.

“They reminded me this case is personal.”

His expression darkened slightly.

“And?”

I laughed humorlessly.

“And they reminded me not to let my feelings for my client influence my judgment.”

That earned complete silence.

Interesting.

Then:

“Did you tell them you find your client extremely irritating?”

I nearly choked.

Lucian looked entirely serious.

Which somehow made it funnier.

“You’re impossible.”

“That’s not a no.”

I rolled my eyes.

Then my smile faded.

The weight returned.

The exhaustion.

The pressure.

Everything.

“I feel like everything depends on me.”

The words escaped before I could stop them.

(*

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CLAIRES AVA

Silence.

Lucian studied me carefully

Then shook his head.

“It doesn’t.”

I laughed.

“That’s ridiculous.”

“No.”

His voice remained calm.

“You’re trying to carry an entire war by yourself.”

The words landed harder than they should have.

Because he was right.

Because Margot had said something similar.

Because deep down I already knew.

I stared down at my drink.

“What if I lose?”

The question surprised even me.

Lucian answered immediately.

“Then we stand up and keep fighting.”

Not I.

We.

I noticed.

Unfortunately.

Then he looked away.

Toward the window.

Toward the city.

And for the first time, he seemed tired too.

Not CEO tired.

Human tired.

“The board vote scared me.”

That confession caught me off guard.

I stared.

Lucian continued quietly.

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