The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 218

CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND FIGHTEEN CLARES POV

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CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN_CLAIRE’S POV

I didn’t leave.

Even after the nurses disappeared back into the ICU.

Even after everyone else started leaving one by one.

I couldn’t move.

Lucian was alive, but barely holding on.

And somehow, that felt worse.

Because now there was hope.

And hope could still be taken away.

The hallway had become strangely quiet.

Professor Grant had eventually gone home for a few hours. With Margot still in the hospital, it was up to him to take make sure their kids would be in school the next day.

Lucian’s assistant, Tessa, was making calls.

Nathaniel was speaking with detectives.

Everyone was doing something.

Everyone except me.

I sat staring through the ICU window like some lost puppy, watching the machines breathe for Lucian.

Watching numbers I didn’t understand flash across monitors.

Like if I looked away, something terrible would happen.

“Claire.”

A familiar voice interrupted my thoughts.

I looked up to see Camilla standing in the hallway.

Her eyes were red.

She looked exhausted.

For a second, neither of us moved.

Then she crossed the room and wrapped her arms around me.

I broke apart immediately.

Once again, tears flooded my eyes before I could stop them.

Camilla held me tighter. “Oh, sweetheart.”

That did it.

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MATTER TWO HUNDRED AND COTTEN CLAIRE POV

I started crying.

Not politely, not quietly.

Actually bawling

The kind of cry that hurt.

The kind that left your chest aching.

Camilla simply held me while it happened.

After a while she pulled back.

I noticed that her own eyes were glistening with tears.

My heart ached for her too. Camilla had watched Lucian grow, just like a mother would.

“Lucian is a fighter.” She said, more to herself than to me.

I laughed bitterly. “He was stabbed.”

“I know.”

“He was shot yesterday.”

“I know.”

“He shouldn’t even have been there.” The tears flowed even faster from my eyes.

Camilla’s face softened. “No.” She glanced toward the ICU. “He shouldn’t have.”

For a moment, we just sat there holding each other, completely silent.

“He never stopped loving you.”

I closed my eyes.

Because I knew.

And somehow, that made everything worse.

A doctor appeared shortly afterward, with several nurses behind him.

The moment I saw him approaching, my stomach dropped.

Camilla immediately stood, and so did I.

The doctor looked exhausted. “We completed the surgery.”

Completed.

Not “the surgery was successful.”

“Completed.”

I hated that word instantly.

“How is he?” Camilla asked what I should have been thinking.

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CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN CLAIRES POV

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The doctor hesitated.

Hesitation was never a good sign.

“He lost a tremendous amount of blood.” The doctor explained. “The next twenty-four to forty-eight hours will be critical.”

“Critical” was another word I hated.

“He remains on life support.”

The hallway became silent.

I heard Camilla inhale sharply beside me.

The doctor continued. “There is still a possibility that he may recover.”

“Possibility,” not certainty.

God, I hated every word he was using.

“But there is also a possibility that he may not.”

My knees nearly gave out.

Then came paperwork.

Endless paperwork.

Forms.

Authorizations.

Medical releases.

Insurance documents.

Things I barely understood because my brain felt submerged beneath water.

The hospital administrator handed me another folder.

Then frowned.

She looked at the computer screen.

Then back at me.

“Ms. Moreau?”

I blinked.

“Yes?”

The woman looked confused.

“You’re listed as his next of kin.”

I stared at her.

For several seconds I couldn’t process the words.

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CHAPTER DAY HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN CLASES POV

Next of kin.

That wasn’t possible.

We’d been divorced for almost a year.

Surely he must have changed it.

Surely his legal team should have convinced him that using his ex- wife as a next of kin was not very smart.

The administrator checked again.

Then nodded.

“According to our records, Mr. Dhark never changed the designation.”

Silence.

Complete silence.

My throat tightened.

Camilla looked away.

Very deliberately.

Giving me privacy.

But I saw the tears in her eyes.

Because she understood exactly what that meant.

Lucian had never changed it.

Not once.

A nurse approached me later.

“Ms. Moreau?”

I looked up.

“You may have a few minutes with him if you’d like.”

The words shattered something inside me.

I nodded immediately.

The ICU room was dimly lit.

Quiet.

Cold.

Machines filled every corner.

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WATER TWET HUNDRED AND FIGHTHEN CLARES PV

The steady beep of monitors echoed softly through the room.

Lucian looked pale.

Too pale.

Bandages wrapped his shoulder.

More bandages covered his abdomen.

Tubes and wires connected him to machines.

For one terrible moment he didn’t look real.

He looked like a stranger.

Then I saw his face.

And my heart broke all over again.

I sat beside him.

Carefully.

Afraid touching him might somehow hurt him.

For a while I simply stared.

Trying to memorize him.

Trying to convince myself he was still here.

Eventually I took his hand.

It felt warm.

Thank God.

Warm.

“You idiot.”

My voice cracked immediately.

Of course it did.

I laughed weakly through tears.

“You absolute idiot.”

Nothing. Just machines.

“You were shot less than a day ago.”

i swallowed hard.

“You could barely stand.”

Still nothing.

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CHAPTER TWO HONINE AND BEHOUN CLAME POV

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My grip tightened around his hand.

“You didn’t have to do this.”

The tears returned.

Hot.

Relentless.

“You didn’t have to keep saving me.”

A sob escaped before I could stop it.

I lowered my head.

“I can’t do this.”

The words came out broken.

Honest.

Raw.

“I can’t live knowing you died because of me.”

My shoulders shook.

“I can’t.”

The silence stretched endlessly.

Then I whispered:

“So please wake up.”

My voice barely existed.

“Please.”

Tears slipped down my face.

“I finally figured it out.”

Another shaky laugh escaped me.

Too late.

Of course it was too late.

Everything between us always seemed to happen too late.

“I love you.”

The words hung in the air.

Soft.

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MAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND BOHREN CLAIRES POV

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Fragile.

Terrifying.

The truth.

Finally.

The whole truth.

“You drive me insane.”

I laughed through tears.

“You make terrible decisions.”

Another laugh.

Another sob.

“But I love you.”

My chest hurt.

Everything hurt.

Then I leaned forward.

And kissed him.

Softly.

Carefully.

A kiss meant only for him.

And maybe for me.

A goodbye.

Or a promise.

I didn’t know which.

Then I stood.

Because if I stayed another second, I would completely fall apart. I squeezed his hand one final time.

And left.

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ATHENORED AND ESCHTEN CLARES POV

The moment the ICU doors closed behind me, I broke.

Again.

Completely.

Nathaniel found me in the hallway.

Curled into myself.

Trying and failing to hold myself together.

He sat beside me immediately.

No questions.

No speeches.

No attempts to fix anything.

Just presence.

Just support.