The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 26

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX CLAIRE’S POV

I stood outside Sinclair & Co. for longer than necessary.

It wasn’t about hesitation, though. It was adjustment.

The last two times I had been here, I had walked in carrying expectations.

Today was different.

I exhaled slowly and finally stepped through the revolving doors.

Warm air greeted me immediately, along with the sounds of a working morning – phones ringing, heels clicking against marble floors, keyboards tapping almost rhythmically.

Everyone moved like they knew exactly where they were supposed to be. And somehow, it excited me.

For the first time in several weeks, nothing felt staged.

No one paused when I entered.

No whispers followed me.

No one glanced at me longer than necessary.

I approached the reception, with growing confidence.

The woman behind the desk looked up, smiled politely, and checked her screen.

“Good morning, Ms. Moreau.”

The words hit harder than anything else that morning.

Ms. Moreau.

Not Mrs. Dhark.

Not Madam.

Just… me. Claire Moreau.

“Good morning,” I replied, surprised at how steady my voice sounded and the easy smile forming on my face.

She handed me a badge across the counter. “Welcome back.”

I looked at the writing on the badge.

“Claire Moreau

Legal Associate – Probationary.”

It was simple. It was clean. And above all, it was mine.

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+25 Bonus

“Ms. Sinclair is expecting you upstairs,” she added.

I nodded and headed toward the elevators.

The excitement building up inside me, made the lift feel shorter than it actually was.

When I stepped out of the elevator, I paused for a minute, taking in my surroundings.

The firm was already alive. Assistants moved quickly between offices, carrying files. Glass meeting rooms were filled with ongoing discussions. The screens around me displayed legal drafts instead of headlines.

It all felt so… real.

A junior associate almost collided with me while juggling folders from one office to the next.

“Sorry!” he said quickly, then smiled. “First day?”

“Yes.” I answered, unintentionally stiff.

“You’ll get used to the pace,” he said, already walking away. “Welcome onboard.”

The casual sincerity made something in my chest loosen up.

There was no curiosity, no pity, and most importantly, no probing questions.

Just a casual conversation between coworkers. Between equals.

I found my desk near a row of offices overlooking the city. Thankfully, a laptop was already set up and the files on it were neatly arranged.

I sat, instinctively reaching for my left hand.

My fingers closed around nothing. No ring.

Then I remembered- I had left it behind.

Although the realization didn’t hurt the way I expected, it still stung.

“Good,” a familiar voice said from behind me.

I turned to see Margot Sinclair standing behind me, composed as ever, staring at me with warm but sharp eyes.

“You’re early. That tells me you’re serious.”

“I am,” I replied.

She nodded with approval.

“You’ll observe this morning and later in the afternoon, you’ll assist. Here, we don’t ease people in. We simply trust them to swim.”

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AIPES POL

“I prefer that.”

She smiled faintly. “I suspected you would.”

Margot introduced me to a senior associate, who she had assigned to guide me through internal

systems.

Within minutes I was flagging inconsistencies, and reorganizing a scheduling conflict that had apparently frustrated three departments since the previous week.

Work came back to me easily.

Naturally.

Like when you breathe after holding air too long.

And somewhere between drafting notes and reviewing documents, I realized something:

Here, I wasn’t pretending.

I was capable.

Around midday, I heard conversation from a nearby desk.

“…did you see the article this morning?”

“About the tea party at the Dhark estate?”

I kept typing, pretending not to hear.

“…apparently there was some scene…”

“…his wife was involved.”

…”shh!”

They immediately kept shut when they realized I was within hearing distance.

I didn’t look up. I didn’t explain.

Let them think what they wanted.

I continued working.

Surprisingly, not reacting felt stronger than any argument I could have made.

Later that afternoon, my phone buzzed with an internal call.

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