The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 240

CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY_CLAIRE’S POV

Lucian listened without interrupting as I walked him through the day.

“The judge was exactly how I expected him to be,” I said, settling deeper into the chair. “Impatient. Thorough. Completely unimpressed by celebrity status.”

“I’m already a fan.”

I smiled.

“So was I.”

“And Eva?” He asked.

I exhaled slowly.

“She was…” I trailed, searching for the right word. “…different.”

His brows knitted together. “Different how?”

I leaned back, thinking about the woman I’d watched all day.

“She still tried to look composed. Designer suit. Perfect makeup. Expensive jewelry. Everything carefully chosen.’

I paused. “But it didn’t work.”

Lucian stayed quiet.

“The confidence wasn’t real anymore.”

He looked at me thoughtfully.

“She knows she’s losing.”

“I think she does.”

Silence settled between us for a moment, then I continued.

“Her lawyers opened first.”

“And?”

“They tried to make this about mistakes.”

Lucian almost smiled.

“Everyone makes mistakes’?”

“More or less.”

“They argued that emotions became complicated. That relationships are messy. That Hart acted independently. That the affair clouded everyone’s judgment.”

His jaw tightened.

“And?”

“They tried to paint me as someone motivated by revenge.’

He gave a soft snort. “How original.”

“I’ve heard worse, so I didn’t really care.”

“You shouldn’t have to.”

His voice was so quiet I almost missed it.

I looked at him.

There it was again.

That guilt.

It never seemed far away anymore.

I quickly moved on before he disappeared into it.

“Then I gave my opening.”

His attention returned immediately.

“You told me you had something planned.”

“I did.”

“Well?”

I couldn’t help smiling.

“I told the jury this case wasn’t about a celebrity who fell from grace.”

He watched me expectantly.

“It was about the ordinary people she pushed off the cliff to stay famous.”

His eyes widened slightly.

“…Claire.”

“What?”

“That’s…”

He shook his head slowly.

“I wish I’d seen that.”

I laughed softly.

“It wasn’t nearly as dramatic as you’re imagining.”

“I doubt that.”

I continued anyway.

“I walked them through everything.”

“The fake infertility report.”

I looked down at my hands.

“She didn’t cry.”

“Not once.”

“She simply… told the truth.”

I could still hear Elise’s voice.

Still see the courtroom.

“She said the hardest part wasn’t losing her career.”

Lucian’s expression became solemn.

“It was knowing someone she trusted with her life was responsible.”

He closed his eyes.

For a long moment, neither of us spoke.

When he finally opened them again…

There was pain in them.

Real pain.

“I did this.”

“No.”

“I brought Eva back.”

“No.”

“If I’d left her where she belonged-”

“No.”

My voice came out sharper than I intended.

His head lifted.

I leaned forward.

“You didn’t forge medical reports.’

“You didn’t frame innocent people.”

“You didn’t manipulate Hart.”

“You didn’t force Ramon to lie.”

“You didn’t destroy Elise.”

He tried to interrupt.

I wouldn’t let him.

Bgnus

“Eva did.”

“Hart did.”

“Ramon did.”

“They made those choices.”

“Not you.”

His eyes searched mine.

“I still gave her the opportunity.”

I reached across the bed and took his hand.

His fingers closed around mine immediately.

“So?”

“So… maybe if I hadn’t-”

“Lucian.”

He stopped talking.

I squeezed his hand.

“Guilt is useful.”

He frowned.

“It teaches us.”

“It changes us.”

“It makes us better.”

I held his gaze.

“But only if it serves a purpose.”

“If all it does is punish you over and over…”

I shook my head.

“…then it stops being guilt.”

“It becomes a prison.”

He stared at me.

Quietly.

Thoughtfully.

After what felt like forever…

He let out a slow breath.

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