The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 297

The city moved past the tinted windows of my car that morning, but I barely noticed it.

My thoughts were still at home—with Claire and the tiny life growing inside her.

Our child.

I still couldn’t quite believe it.

Every time I thought about it, something unfamiliar settled in my chest.

Joy.

Pure, overwhelming joy.

Claire was going to be a mother. And I was going to be a father.

I found myself smiling.

A ridiculous smile, one I don’t think I had worn in years.

I imagined a nursery. I further imagined Claire standing in the middle of it, complaining that I had bought too many things—I already knew I would.

I imagined tiny clothes hanging in a closet.

I wanted to build the crib myself. I imagined small hands, tiny feet…

Maybe a daughter.

The thought made my smile deepen.

Then I remembered the ultrasound image Claire had shown me. The tiny shape in the picture.

My child—our child.

An ugly memory resurfaced—Eva. The fake pregnancy.

The fake ultrasounds she had shown me, the fake test results.

God, that whole scheme was a nightmare.

But now, that nightmare felt like a lifetime ago—at least for me.

After everything Claire and I had endured—after everything I had done—it was almost unbelievable that we had somehow found our way back to each other.

And now there was something greater waiting for us.

Something we had never planned for. Something neither of us had dared to hope for.

I rested my head against the seat.

For the first time in a long time, the future didn’t need to be planned.

It was simply too exciting.

But the happiness didn’t last.

Because beneath it all, was the photograph.

The envelope Claire had received, congratulating her.

And somehow, whoever had sent the envelope knew just how far along she was.

Someone had been watching her. Someone had followed her to the hospital.

And this person knew about our baby before most people even knew Claire was pregnant.

My jaw tightened.

There was only one person who came immediately to mind.

Eva.

I had no proof—not yet.

But I knew Eva.

I knew that beneath the elegant, innocent demeanor, she was a snake. Dangerous.

She didn’t need to threaten someone directly—she preferred whispers. Manipulation. Fear.

She liked knowing that people were afraid of what she might do.

And if she was behind that envelope, she had made one mistake—

She had involved my family.

I reached for my phone.

For a moment, I stared at Eva’s number.

For several months I had refused to give her another ounce of my attention, even though she had called me tirelessly.

But this wasn’t about me anymore.

It was about Claire and our child.

I needed to deal with Eva myself.

⸻

By the time I arrived at Dhark Holdings, I had already made my decision:

Work first, Eva Sterling later.

I stepped out of the elevator and headed toward my office.

Tessa was standing outside my office with another assistant, holding a stack of files.

They both straightened the moment they saw me.

Tessa smiled. “Good morning, Mr. Dhark.”

“Morning.”

The other assistant greeted too.

I walked past them.

Then—

“What envelope?” She deflected. “I didn’t send anything.”

Her voice sounded almost offended.

I leaned back in my chair. “I on’t care whether you admit it or not.”

“Lucian, I swear—”

I didn’t let her finish. “If anything happens to Claire because of you…”

I paused.

My voice dropped threateningly. “Or if anything happens to my child because of you, you will regret ever knowing me.”

She went quiet.

I could almost picture her face.

The shock, the anger… the realization that there was now something I valued more than anything she could ever offer me.

“Your child?” she whispered.

“Yes.”

A long silence followed.

Then she asked the question I hadn’t expected. “Did you ever love me?”

I stared at the wall in front of me.

For a moment, memories surfaced.

A younger Eva. A different time. A different version of myself all those years ago.

But they disappeared just as quickly.

Whatever I had once felt for her was irrelevant now.

I ended the call without answering her question.

A few seconds after I placed the phone on the desk, there was a knock.

Tessa entered.

“Mr. Dhark?” I looked up.

“The board meeting has commenced,” she said. “Everyone is waiting.”

I glanced at the clock.

“How long?”

“About twenty minutes.”

I stood. “Then let’s not keep them waiting any longer.”