The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 24

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR_ Claire’s POV

Soft laughter rippled around the table.

Actresses, guests… outsiders.

Everyone was watching.

Porcelain clinked gently against saucers as I moved between the guests. The doors and windows were wide open, sunlight spilling across silk dresses and glittering jewelry, worn by women who belonged to a world that had never required them to earn their place.

Every pair of eyes followed me. Judging- deciding whether I still fit the role that had already been written for me:

The obedient wife.

The invisible woman.

I ignored the stares, pouring tea carefully, trying to stop my hands from trembling.

Eva sat at the head of the table, radiant in a pale gold dress. Her smile was effortless – she looked like the true picture of a gracious hostess, a benevolent queen.

And me?

Staff.

Not her equal.

“Careful, Claire,” Eva said sweetly as I reached across a guest. “That set is antique.”

A few women exchanged amused glances, but I just kept moving.

Despite the embarrassment, I told myself one thing;

Smile, serve and leave quietly.

The car ride flashed through my mind.

Lucian’s voice… the agreement.

I turned toward where he stood near the veranda doors, speaking to an investor. His expression was unreadable, and composed as always.

He didn’t look at me.

He didn’t correct Eva.

And in that silence, the tightness I felt in my chest slowly loosened.

I smiled.

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Because this was the last performance.

The humiliation came slowly as the hours went by.

Eva asked for small things at first.

“Claire, more lemon slices.”

“Claire, get the napkins.”

“Claire, could you clear this?”

Each request louder than the last, carefully timed so the guests noticed. 1

Soft laughter followed me like perfume.

The worst part was the whispers.

“Isn’t she his wife?”

“I thought he already divorced her…”

“How unfortunate.”

I felt the words land, every single whisper, one after another. But they no longer pierced through me the way they once would have.

Then it happened.

A sharp shriek cut through the gathering.

“My bracelet!”

The actress in emerald silk lifted her bare wrist for all to see.

“My diamond bracelet is gone!” Her eyes widened dramatically as she spoke.

Conversation stopped instantly and everyone’s attention turned towards the woman who had raised the

alarm.

Eva frowned. “Are you certain?”

“It was here,” the woman insisted. “I took it off while washing my hands.”

Tension spread across the room.

The servants were called.

Handbags were searched politely.

And then-slowly, inevitably, every gaze turned toward me.

The silence that enveloped the room was an awkward one.

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Because at that point, I was the only one standing.

The only one moving between rooms.

The only outsider who had been close enough to the celebrities.

Eva hesitated just long enough to make it believable.

“Well…” she said gently, almost regretfully. “Claire has been helping serve.”

My heartbeat slowed instead of racing. Somehow, I wasn’t exactly surprised.

Eva was showing her hand again; treating me like mere help in front of people that mattered, degrading

What else was new?

The actress looked around the room for approval before politely suggesting something dreadfully

humiliating.

“I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding, but perhaps we should check?”

Check.

Not ask, check.

One of the women murmured, “It’s always awkward when boundaries are blurred.”

A servant approached me carefully, apologetic but firm. A servant who had worked for Lucian and me for

years.

“Madam… may we?”

The humiliation was surgical.

Precise and public, just like Eva intended.

I felt Lucian’s presence before I saw him. He went completely still near the doorway, just watching.

The old Claire would have looked at him then, silently begging him for rescue.

The new Claire would not.

Instead, I set the teapot down gently.

“Of course,” I said calmly, extending my hands.

My bag was searched.

My pockets turned.

No bracelet.

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