The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 299

By the time I got home that evening, the mansion felt different.

Maybe it was because I felt different.

Walking through those doors without wondering whether I still belonged here, was something I had to get used to.

I was carrying a secret that had already begun changing everything.

Our baby.

I didn’t have to look too far for Camilla. I found her in the kitchen, standing by the counter, arranging dinner ingredients.

When she heard me walk in, she turned immediately.

“There you are,” she said.

Her eyes moved over me. “You’re home later than usual.”

“I know.” I smiled. “I got caught up at work.”

Camilla nodded, returning to what she was doing.

“How was your day?” She asked.

I leaned against the counter. “Long,” I groaned.

“Did you eat?”

I laughed softly. “You sound like Lucian.”

“Someone has to make sure you two survive.”

I smiled in appreciation, then looked at her.

That’s when I remembered there was something I needed to tell her—something I had been carrying around all day.

“Camilla?” I called, my voice quivering despite myself.

She turned. “Yes?”

I hesitated.

And all of a sudden, the nerves were gone, replaced by excitement.

My smile widened before I could stop it. “I’m pregnant!”

She froze—completely.

The spoon in her hand stopped moving.

For several seconds, she simply stared at me. I wondered if she had heard me correctly.

Then her lips parted. “Pregnant?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

Camilla’s eyes immediately filled with tears.

“Oh, my goodness!” She cried, dropping the spoon onto the counter and hurrying toward me.

I barely had time to laugh before she wrapped her arms around me—carefully. Almost protectively.

I hugged her back.

She started crying. And somehow, seeing her cry made me cry too.

“I knew it,” she whispered.

I pulled back slightly. “You were right after all.”

“The nausea and breast tenderness was a giveaway.” She laughed through her tears.

“God, Claire! I knew something good was coming.” She placed both hands gently on my arms. “After everything you’ve been through…”

Her voice broke. “I can’t believe it.”

I wiped my cheek. “Neither can I.” I stated. “It feels like a dream.”

Camilla looked at me for a long moment, then she shook her head. “You have no idea what this means to me.”

I tilted my head to the left. “I think I do.”

“No,” she smiled sadly. “You can’t possibly understand.”

She led me toward the kitchen island and made me sit.

Then she sat beside me. “I’ve known Lucian since he was a little boy.”

I smiled. “I know.”

“His mother and I became friends the minute I was employed. I watched him grow up. I watched him become the man standing in this house today.”

The way I had cried when he couldn’t see me—not just because of the result, but because of how neglected I had felt.

Camilla knew it all. She had always known.

“I watched you two fall apart,” she whispered. “And I watched you leave this house.”

I squeezed her hand.

“I watched your marriage end in a messy legal battle.” Another tear rolled down her cheek. “And I hated that more than anything.”

I looked at her.

“I hated seeing two people who loved each other so much become strangers.”

For a long moment, neither of us spoke.

Then Camilla smiled. “But look at you now, Claire.”

Her eyes moved toward my stomach. “There is a baby in there.”

I placed a hand over my stomach, a tiny smile making its way to my face.

“Our baby.”

Camilla nodded. “His heart was already full when he fell in love with you.”

She squeezed my hand again. “Now this child is going to make it even fuller.”

I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

I started crying.

Camilla pulled me into her arms immediately, with the same maternal instinct she had always possessed.

“This baby will be so loved,” she whispered. “So, so loved.”

I buried my face against her shoulder, and for several minutes, all we could do was cry together.

Camilla and I weren’t crying because we were sad.

We were crying because after everything that had happened, something beautiful had finally found its way back to the Dhark household.

And this time, it was growing quietly inside me.