The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 216

HAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN LUCIANS POV

CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN_LUCIAN’S POV

Claire.

Claire.

Claire.

The name echoed through my head long after Hart Sullivan stopped speaking.

The abandoned construction site had gone silent.

Not peaceful.

Never peaceful.

The kind of silence that came right before violence.

Hart stood a few feet away, hands loose at his sides, watching me with the relaxed confidence of a predator.

Like he already knew how this ended.

Maybe he did.

Maybe I did too.

“The police will be here in twenty-three minutes,” I said.

Hart smiled.

“Then I suppose we should make the most of the time.”

The smile stayed on his face.

Mine disappeared.

For several seconds neither of us moved.

The wind whistled through unfinished concrete and exposed steel beams.

The pain in my shoulder pulsed steadily.

A reminder that I should still be in a hospital bed.

A reminder that I wasn’t.

I exhaled slowly.

“There are a couple things I want to know.”

Hart’s smile widened.

“Funny.”

He tilted his head.

“So do I.”

I ignored that.

+15 Banus

1/13

CHATTEN TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN 16C ANS POV

“Why are you so eager to throw your life away for Eva?”

The question landed instantly.

Not because it offended him.

Because it didn’t.

His expression softened.

Actually softened.

Which was somehow worse.

“You still don’t understand.”

“No.”

I shook my head.

“I don’t.”

Hart looked away briefly.

Toward the darkening horizon.

Toward nothing.

“She saved me.”

I said nothing.

“She gave me purpose.”

The words sounded rehearsed.

Like something he’d repeated to himself for years.

“When everybody else left, she didn’t.”

His eyes returned to mine.

“She was the only person who ever saw me.”

Something ugly twisted in my chest.

Because I recognized the look on his face.

Not love.

Obsession.

Devotion.

Worship.

“She gave me something worth following.”

His voice lowered.

+15 Banus

2/13

HAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN LUCIANTOV

+15 Bgnus

• 15

“She became the beacon.”

The word sent a chill through me.

“The only light worth following.”

Jesus Christ.

Hart didn’t love Eva.

He worshipped her.

Like a religion.

Like a god.

Which made him infinitely more dangerous.

After a moment he smirked.

“Where’d you learn to fight?”

I almost laughed.

Of all the questions.

That one.

“My father.”

Hart frowned.

“Your father?”

“He hired trainers.”

I shifted my weight slightly.

Ignoring the pain.

“Former military.”

His expression changed.

“Military?”

“Former Navy SEALs.”

That got his attention.

Years ago my father had believed discipline solved everything.

Pain built character.

Strength built men.

So I had spent years learning.

Years being pushed.

3/13

HAUTER TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN LUCIANS FOV

+15 Banus

Years being broken down and rebuilt.

Hart studied me carefully.

Like he was seeing me differently.

Like he had expected a spoiled billionaire.

Not someone who knew how to fight back.

“Interesting.”

I shrugged.

“It wasn’t always fun.”

His gaze narrowed.

“Life usually isn’t.”

“No.”

A bitter smile touched my mouth.

“It isn’t.”

Silence.

Then I said the thing I’d been thinking since this nightmare started.

“Having a difficult life isn’t an excuse.”

Hart’s eyes hardened.

“Excuse me?”

“Pain isn’t permission.”

The smile vanished completely.

“Careful.”

“Trauma isn’t a license.”

I held his stare.

“To hurt people.”

The temperature between us seemed to drop.

Dangerously.

Because now he understood what I was doing.

And he hated it.

“I learned that too late.”

That surprised him.

4/13

THIN FIAN POW

+15 8gnus

I saw it.

The confusion.

The curiosity.

His head tilted slightly.

“What does that mean?”

My chest tightened.

Because I already knew where this was going.

“It means I spent years blaming circumstances.”

My voice was quieter now.

“Pressure.”

“Expectations.”

“Fear.”

The pain in my shoulder felt distant suddenly.

Compared to the other pain.

The real pain.

“It cost me the person I loved most.”

Hart’s expression shifted.

Not understanding.

But listening.

Which was enough.

I thought of Claire.

The day she walked away.

The divorce papers.

The silence afterward.

The empty house.

The empty life.

And I kept talking.

Because maybe I needed to say it.

Maybe I needed someone to hear it.

“Eva is selfish.”

5/13

Hart’s jaw tightened.

“Careful.”

“She always was.”

His hands clenched.

“She isn’t.”

I laughed.

Actually laughed.

And that seemed to anger him more than anything.

“She turned my mother’s memorial into a publicity event.

Hart frowned.

“She was supporting you.”

“No.”

The word came out hard.

“She brought cameras.”

“Reporters.”

“Celebrities.”

“She made my mother’s memory about herself.”

The first time we’d broken up.

The first time I should have walked away.

The first time I should have understood exactly who Eva Sterling was.

Instead-

“I was stupid enough to forgive her.”

Hart took a step forward.

I didn’t move.

“And stupid enough to betray my wife.”

The site went silent again.

The mention of Claire changed something.

Hart’s eyes darkened.

Good.

Because I wasn’t finished.

+15 Bonus

6/13

CHAPTER TWO PUNDRED AND SIXTEEN LUCIANS POV

“Eva hates Claire.”

His jaw flexed.

“No.”

“She does.”

“She doesn’t even think about her.”

I almost smiled.

“That’s the funny part.”

Hart stared.

“Eva thinks about Claire constantly.”

The first crack appeared.

Tiny.

But visible.

“She hates her because Claire is everything she’ll never be.”

The words landed exactly as intended.

Hart’s expression changed.

Dangerously.

“Watch yourself.”

“True.”

His shoulders stiffened.

“Brilliant.”

His hands clenched.

“Decent.”

Now he looked ready to kill me.

Good.

One final push.

“And she’s the woman I’ll choose every single time.”

Something snapped.

Literally.

I saw it happen.

The exact second.

+15 Banus

7/13

HAITH TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN LUCIANS FOR

+15 Bgrius

The exact moment.

Hart exploded forward.

No warning.

No buildup.

Just violence.

I barely got my arms up before he hit me.

The impact slammed through my body.

Pain erupted through my injured side.

I stumbled backward.

Hart came again immediately.

Faster.

Stronger.

Angrier.

This wasn’t a fight.

This was survival.

I blocked.

Dodged.

Moved.

Every motion hurt.

Every breath hurt.

Every heartbeat hurt.

The wound in my side screamed with every movement.

Come on.

Come on.

Where are the police?

Hart swung again.

I ducked.

Barely.

His fist missed my jaw by inches.

Then I saw it.

8/13

CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND THEN, LUCIAN’S HOV

The realization.

The moment he noticed what I was protecting.

My left side.

The wound.

The stitches.

The bullet injury.

A slow grin spread across his face.

Oh no.

Hart knew.

And suddenly everything got worse.

The kick came fast.

Too fast.

Straight into my wounded side.

Agony exploded through me.

White-hot.

Blinding.

I heard myself grunt.

He’d torn something.

I knew it instantly.

Blood soaked through my shirt.

Warm.

Rapid.

I dropped to one knee.

Hart laughed.

Actually laughed.

Then he kicked me again.

I hit the ground.

Hard.

His boot came down on the wound.

Pain shot through my entire body.

+15 8gm

9/13

CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN LUCIAN’S POV

+15 Bonus

I couldn’t breathe.

Couldn’t think.

Couldn’t move.

Hart pressed harder.

“You aren’t strong.’

His voice sounded distant.

Distorted.

“You’re just rich.”

Another shove.

Another burst of agony.

Blood soaked the concrete beneath me.

“I’m hurting you because you hurt Eva.”

His eyes were wild now.

Almost shining.

“I was always the better choice.’

Jesus Christ.

The jealousy.

The obsession.

The delusion.

Everything was right there.