The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 27

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN CLAIRE’S POV

Eva didn’t belong in this space of ringing phones and hurried footsteps_ that was clear as day.

I kept my voice even when I acknowledged her. “Eva.”

Several employees glanced up briefly before returning to their work.

No one lingered. No one even whispered.

The lack of an audience seemed to unsettle her more than anything else.

“I thought we should speak privately,” she started. “After last night.”

“I’m working.” I retorted.

The words came naturally, because they were true.

Eva looked around the office with judging eyes. “Yes… I can see that.”

There was something dismissive beneath her false politeness. Like she didn’t think this- my work- was important enough.

“I was concerned,” she continued. “Leaving the house so abruptly sends the wrong message. People are already talking.”

Here we go again.

Eva was trying to pull me back with the pressure that reputation mattered more than truth.

But it wouldn’t work anymore. Because I was done letting myself be manipulated.

“I imagine they are,” I replied calmly.

Eva studied me, waiting for a hint of discomfort from me.

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When none came, her smile tightened. “You must understand that returning here immediately makes it seem as though you’re… running away.”

Before I could answer, another voice cut in.

“She isn’t.”

I turned.

Margot approached from the corridor, her heels striking against the floor with immense confidence. Her expression was polite, but her eyes were hostile in a way I had never seen directed so openly at anyone.

“Ms. Sinclair,” Eva greeted smoothly, recovering instantly from her initial daze. “I didn’t realize you were here.”

“I work here,” Margot replied sharply. “Unlike visitors.”

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I felt a shift in the air, but Eva ignored Margot’s remark and turned back to me.

“I only came because the family’s reputation is involved. Last night created unnecessary speculation. I believe it would be wiser for you to return home and handle matters discreetly.”

I felt something inside me go very still. The audacity of Eva to try to control me after the way she had humiliated me last night.

“I am handling matters,” I stated firmly.

It was true.

I was handling matters by continuing my day.

Eva’s face contorted into a frown, her patience growing thin. “Claire, appearances matter. You know this. A wife abandoning her home the morning after a scandal-”

“She didn’t abandon anything,” Margot interrupted sharply.

Eva’s gaze moved to Margot, with barely concealed irritation. “This is a family matter.” She spoke tartily.

Margot flashed an amused smile, like she was speaking with an ignorant child. “Then perhaps your family should stop bringing its problems into my office.”

Several employees who were working nearby, pretended very hard not to listen. But it wasn’t like the argument was very discreet.

Eva lowered her voice. “I’m trying to help her.” She said to Margot. “She doesn’t understand how damaging this looks.”

Margot took a step closer to Eva.

“No, you’re trying to control the narrative.” She corrected, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Silence stretched between them. Cold, deadly silent.

Eva’s composure hardened. “You’re overstepping.”

“And you’re repeating history.”

The air was sharp with resentment, and an ugly past buried beneath civility.

Eva narrowed her eyes at Margot. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Margot let out a humorless laugh. “Of course you don’t.” She sassed.

I looked between them, then suddenly realized that this tension had existed long before me.

Eva and Margot had unfinished business I knew nothing about.

Eva turned back toward me, dismissing Margot entirely, like she always did when she wanted to show people they weren’t her equal.

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“Claire, you’re emotional right now. Returning to work like this only makes you look desperate.” She spoke confidently, almost gently, like she was trying to help me.

Something sharp moved through Margot then. It wasn’t just irritation, it was anger.

Real anger.

“You don’t get to stand here, and question another woman’s competence after everything you’ve done!” Margot’s voice rose with her temper, her words cutting cleanly through the lobby, making several heads

turn.

Employees tried not to listen- and failed- it was unlike Margot Sinclair to raise her voice in the building lobby.

Eva went very still. “Careful,” she warned Margot quietly, her eyes glimmering with a dangerous threat.

“No,” Margot replied. “You should have been careful all those years ago.”

Mu attention sharpened. It didn’t take a genius to tell that something deeper was unfolding.

Eva rolled her eyes. “If you’re referring to old misunderstandings-”

“Your ‘misunderstandings’ destroyed my sister’s career!” Margot snapped.

The office noise seemed to fade, almost like the whole building stood still.

Margot’s eyes burned with accumulated rage.

And Eva? She didn’t deny it.

Instead, she sighed softly, as though she was simply inconvenienced. “Your sister lacked discretion and society has expectations. She is to blame for her own downfall.”

“She had talent,” Margot said, enraged. “You started rumors because she refused to move to your whims. Because you saw her as a rival- because you knew she was a better actress than you, a better person. Invitations disappeared when you started rumors. Clients withdrew. And you called it propriety.”

Eva’s expression remained composed, but her silence confirmed everything.

A chill moved crawled up my spine as I realized something with terrifying clarity;

This wasn’t personal hatred.

It was pattern.

Eva eliminated women she could not control. Women she saw as competition.

Margot’s gaze flicked briefly toward me. “You think Claire embarrassed your family? No. She simply didn’t bend the way you expected.”

Eva’s eyes hardened. “I’m only trying to protect stability.”

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