The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 45

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE CLAIRE’S POV

Camilla didn’t say anything else.

She just stood in front of me, with her hands clasped tightly in front of her apron, her gaze fixed

somewhere on the tiled floor.

I could see the conflict reflecting on her face. And for a long moment, neither of us spoke.

Finally, she looked up to meet my gaze, and let out a quiet breath.

“I have worked for the Dhark family for almost three decades, Claire.”

Her voice was gentle, but there was a heaviness in it that made my chest tighten.

I nodded slowly.

I knew she had been here for a long time. Camilla had been part of this house long before I ever stepped through its doors. She had known Lucian since he was a little boy.

But then she continued.

“Your husband’s family… they have helped mine for many years.” Her voice was sad and reflective.” When my brother was sick…” She paused then, as though the memory itself was difficult to say out loud. “Mr. Dhark paid for his treatments.”

I blinked in surprise.

I hadn’t known that.

Camilla swallowed before speaking again. “To testify against him…” she said quietly, “it would feel like betrayal.”

I shook my head immediately. She was right.

I couldn’t put her in such a position. “You don’t have to do this.” I assured her.

She looked like she was startled by the certainty in my voice.

“Camilla, I mean it,” I said gently. “I won’t drag you into this if it puts you in a difficult position.”

Her expression softened slightly. For a moment, I thought she might refuse completely.

But instead, she shook her head slowly, but with conviction. “The truth is not betrayal.”

The quiet firmness in her voice surprised me. And I think it surprised her too. But the conflict still hadn’t disappeared from her eyes.

“I need time,” she added after a moment.

I nodded.

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“Take all the time you need.”

Even as I said it, I could feel the tension lingering between us.

Nothing about this situation was simple.

Lucian returned home late that evening. I heard the front doors open from upstairs. That’s how aware of him I was- even in the midst of a messy divorce, his presence caused all my senses to be alert

For a moment I considered staying in my room. Avoiding him would have been easier.

But something about that thought bothered me.

This was still my home too.

So I stepped into the hallway. We crossed paths a few minutes later.

Lucian was walking toward his study when I stepped out from the sitting room, and for a moment, our

eyes met.

The silence between us felt heavier than any argument we had ever had.

Neither of us spoke.

We simply walked past each other like strangers.

I had almost reached the staircase when his voice broke the silence.

“I heard you spoke to my lawyer.”

I stopped, then swallowed, still with my back to him.

Of course he knew. Nathaniel worked for him, after all.

But had Nathaniel told him himself? Or had he discovered it through some other means….

I turned slightly to face him. “Yes.”

Lucian stood a few steps behind me, his expression calm, unreadable.

“You should be careful about the people you involve in this.”

My stomach tightened immediately.

Camilla.

Lucian already suspected something. He was always one step ahead.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Lucian held my gaze for a moment before answering.

“Some people depend on this house.” Was all he said.

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AUTOPORTY FIVE CLAIRES POV

+25 Bonus

The words were quiet. Calm, but precise.

And the meaning behind them was clear as day.

Camilla’s livelihood.

Without saying anything more, Lucian turned and continued down the hallway toward his study.

I stood there long after he disappeared from view.

Only then did the full weight of the situation settle in my mind.

Lucian controlled everything here.

The house, the staff, the routines of daily life.

Everyone who worked under this roof depended on him.

Even preparing witnesses felt impossible when every person around me ultimately answered to the man I was fighting in court.

The imbalance of power had never felt clearer.

The next morning, I met Margot at her office.

She was already sitting behind her desk when I arrived, with several files neatly arranged in front of her.

“There’s something you should understand about Nathaniel,” she started speaking before I even sat.

I frowned slightly.

“What about him?” I asked.

Margot leaned back in her chair. “His cross-examination style.”

I thought about the incident in the courtroom and nodded slowly.

“I saw some of it.” I admitted.

“Yes,” she said. “But what you saw was only the beginning.”

She tapped her pen lightly against the desk, before speaking again. “Nathaniel Vale is extremely precise. He won’t attack emotionally. Instead, he dismantles people slowly.”

I could picture it clearly.

The calm way he had spoken.

The careful questions.

How natural and easy it had all seemed, until suddenly it wasn’t.

Margot continued speaking. “He makes witnesses comfortable. Then he introduces small

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SON TORTS FIVE CLAIRES POV

+25 Bonus

inconsistencies. By the time they realize what’s happening, their credibility is already damaged.” She explained. 1

I exhaled slowly, thinking back to the days when we had shared the same class, and how I had basically watched him build these skills.

“That sounds exactly like him.” I reminisced.

Margot studied me curiously for several moments, making me shift uncomfortably in my seat.

She continued. “If he doesn’t know about Eva, his reaction in court will tell us.” 1

I looked up at her. “What do you mean?”

“If we introduce the affair,” Margot said calmly, “and he truly has no idea, it will catch him off guard.”

The thought lingered in my mind even after I left her office later that afternoon.

Nathaniel was someone who thrived on control and procedure.

If the truth about Eva surprised him in court… it would show.

That night, I sat alone in the mansion’s library, reviewing the documents Margot had sent.

The room was quiet except for the faint rustling of paper as I turned page after page. 1

Legal briefs, notes outlining potential strategies for the next hearing.

I had been staring at the same paragraph for several minutes when the door opened.

I looked up just in time to see Lucian stepping inside.

For a moment neither of us spoke. I don’t think we even let out a breath.

His gaze moved slowly across the documents spread out on the table.

“Preparing for the next hearing?” he asked calmly.

“Yes.” I replied.

He walked further into the room, loosening the cuff of his sleeve slightly.

He poured himself a drink from the side table, and the small clink of the glass echoed in the quiet room.

“So how did the meeting with Nathaniel go?” He said, trying to sound casual.

But he was still my husband and I knew my husband too well. That question wasn’t casual.

“It went well.” I simply replied, refusing to fall for whatever bait it was.

Lucian leaned lightly against the cabinet, studying me in a way that felt less like confrontation and more like quiet calculation.

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GT LIVE CLAW SPOV

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