The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 36

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX CLAIRE’S POV

That night, I didn’t sleep. At least not properly.

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Every time I closed my eyes, I saw myself in court, being called infertile… barren. Every name in the book.

The night passed in fragments. Somehow, the same words kept echoing in my head over and over again.

“Request for medical records.

Court-authorized.”

The words cut deep. They stole sleep from my eyes.

Morning arrived anyway.

Pale light filtered through the curtains. I got out of the bed, rubbing my sleep deprived eyes.

I stared at the table- it looked like a battlefield of paper.

Margot’s notes were spread everywhere – highlighted sections, handwritten notes, legal tabs marking deadlines.

I glanced at the calendar sitting open on the table.

Four days until the preliminary hearing.

This was no longer about heartbreak or betrayal. Not even about the marriage itself.

It was now about surviving exposure.

I took a slow breath and began organizing the files again.

By the time I left for Sinclair & Co., my exhaustion had settled into something colder. Something sharper.

Resolve.

Phones rang endlessly somewhere down the halls of Sinclair&co. Legal assistants moved faster than usual, carrying folders marked “confidential” as if the word itself might leak.

No one said it aloud, but they all knew.

Margot was already working when I entered her office. A stack of documents sat between us like a wall.

She didn’t waste time with pleasantries. “You look composed,” she said, scanning me quickly with sharp

eyes.

“I learned early that panic wastes time.” I replied.

“Indeed.” She nodded in agreement, then slid a file toward me. “We need to talk about what Lucian’s team is actually doing.” 1

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ON SAX CLAIRE SPOV

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I opened the folder.

It contained legal summaries, argument outlines and strategy projections.

“They’re not trying to prove you wrong,” Margot started. “They’re building a narrative.”

I looked up.

She continued.

“The way I see it, they will argue that you knew you couldn’t give heirs. That you entered the marriage. fully aware, but kept Lucian in the dark. That you remained in the marriage because it benefited you financially.” She tapped the page once. “And therefore, the prenup stands unquestioned.”

My heart started beating loudly again, like it had, all those weeks ago when I saw those pictures of Lucian and Eva on the tabloids.

The room suddenly felt smaller.

“This isn’t contract law anymore,” I said quietly.

“No,” Margot replies. “It’s character judgment.”

Then she delivered the sentence that changed everything.

“They’re not trying to defeat you in court. They’re trying to make the judge dislike you.”

Something inside me shifted.

Because I understand exactly how effective that strategy was.

Facts persuade, but emotion decides. And the jury are humans with emotions.

Lucian’s team were already preparing to make me look calculating, opportunistic – a woman who stayed where she no longer belonged, just for money and status.

I closed the file slowly.

“So this becomes personal.” I said.

“It already is.” Margot affirmed.

The first real crack in the case appeared an hour later.

Margot called me back into her office after reviewing new documents.

Her expression was sharper this time, more focused.

“They’re pushing too fast.” She said, turning her screen toward me.

Early subpoenas. Expanded discovery demands.

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Lucian’s legal team were making requests that went far beyond relevance. They were asking for old medical consultations, personal communications, unnecessary historical records.

It was an overreach.

Calculated, but impatient. 1

They were trying to dig up dirt on me.

“They’re flooding the process,” I said as I stared at the screen with wide eyes.

“Yes,” Margot answered. “And that tells me something.”

“What?”

“Lucian isn’t calm anymore.”

The realization made me shudder.

Lucian Dhark does nothing impulsively. Every decision he makes, is measured and deliberate.

This isn’t.

He’s finally reacting.

Later, while I stood, waiting for a document to print, I noticed a news alert flash across a colleague’s

screen.

A familiar face filled the article.

Eva.

Looking serene and untouchable as usual.

The headline praised her newly launched motherhood initiative – a foundation dedicated to family legacy and maternal health.

Lucian’s name appeared beneath hers, as always.

Her patron. Her biggest supporter. Her partner.

The article never mentioned me.

It didn’t need to.

One line in particular, stood out to me, calling Eva “A stabilizing presence amid recent Dhark family controversy.”

I stared at the words longer than I should.

Eva never attacked me publicly- she was too smart for that – no, she simply replaced me.

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CLAIRES POV

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And the world was accepting the revision without question.

That’s when I finally looked away from the screen.

When I returned to the mansion that evening, it didn’t feel like home. No, it felt like an unfamiliar space.

Nothing had changed dramatically, which somehow made it worse.

Staff greeted me politely – too politely. Formal smiles replaced the easy familiarity that once existed.

As I walked through the sitting room, I noticed a box near the staircase. That was strange.

If it was left there by mistake, certainly the staff would have noticed.

I walked over to the box and peeped inside.

I saw several of my books, carefully arranged and labeled for storage.

I stood there for a moment, understanding something without needing confirmation.

The house was already preparing for my absence.

I met Margot again that night through a zoom call.

We reviewed timelines in silence for several minutes, like true professionals, before I spoke.

“If they want my medical history…” I say slowly, “what are they afraid I might ask for?”

Margot stilled then.

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