The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 49

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE CLAIRE’S POV

The courtroom remained still for several seconds after Camilla spoke.

“Waiting for her husband to come home.”

The words seemed to echo in settle over the room like dust after something had been destroyed.

Then the murmuring began.

It was like a ripple of whispers moving through the gallery as people leaned toward one another, murmuring things behind raised hands. I could hear the sound of keyboards clicking as reporters typed furiously.

The judge struck the gravel against the bench. “Order!”

The sound snapped the room back into place, and restored order to the court, but the tension remained

thick in the air.

I kept my gaze on the table in front of me, my hands clasped together so tightly, my fingers had began to

ache.

I had thought hearing the truth spoken in court might feel like vindication. I was wrong. It didn’t.

Instead, it felt like standing naked in front of strangers.

Every humiliation, every silent night, every moment I had pretended things were fine…

Now, it all belonged to the public record.

Across the courtroom, I watched Lucian. He had not moved.

He sat exactly as he had throughout Camilla’s testimony-straight-backed, unreadable, an unamused expression on his face.

If the words had affected him, he showed no sign of it. That was usual.

Beside him, Nathaniel had already started reviewing his documents again.

He scribbled his pen across the page as if he were simply writing down routine details of the hearing.

I knew better. He was recovering. Trying to regain his balance after the new information Camilla’s testimony provided. It had shaken the foundation of his entire argument.

Margot rose beside me.

“Your Honor,” she started calmly.

The murmuring quieted again. She had everyone’s undivided attention now.

Margot stepped forward, her voice steady, measured and confident, echoing through the courtroom.

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“The purpose of this testimony is not scandal.” She said, her voice carrying clearly through the room. “It is context.”

She paused shortly, letting the words have the desire effect, before continuing. “The court has now heard from a witness who observed the conditions of the Dhark household during the period in which the marriage between Mr. and Mrs. Dhark began to deteriorate.”

Her gaze shifted briefly toward the bench as she spoke. “We have established that during the marriage, Mr. Dhark began a relationship with another woman.”

A faint stir of whispers moved through the room again.

Margot did not react, she simply continued speaking, her voice unwavering. 1

“That relationship resulted in a pregnancy,” she continued, “which was publicly announced while Mr. Dhark was still legally married to my client.”

I forced myself to breathe slowly.

The words sounded different when they were spoken in a courtroom.

More official. More permanent. And more humiliating.

“My client gave up her own career to support her husband’s professional rise.”

She spoke without looking at me, but I felt the weight of the words all the same.

Suddenly, I was hearing about my life and my marriage from a clearer perspective, and suddenly I was seeing how much I had sacrificed for a man.

How much of myself I had lost, trying to be a good wife to Lucian. I felt pathetic. Stupid.

Margot continued. “She relocated her life to accommodate his work and support him. She maintained the household. She stood beside him publicly during the years in which his reputation and influence expanded. She provided stability.”

Margot’s voice remained calm, but there was steel beneath it as she spelled it all out for the jury and all present to hear.

“And yet the court has now heard testimony describing how she was treated once that support was no longer convenient.”

A quiet murmur passed through the gallery again.

Margot did not pause this time. “A woman who sacrifices her own professional future to support her husband-only to be publicly betrayed and displaced in her own home-deserves a settlement that reflects that sacrifice.”

Her eyes moved toward Lucian.

“The prenuptial agreement Mr. Dhark drafted limits my client severely.” She stated. “In plain words, it is

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beverely constraining, inconsiderate and unconscionable

She turned back toward the judge

“Our position is simple, Your Honor

The agreement fails to account for the reality of the mamage that followed

The courtroom remained silent when she finished

Then Nathaniel stood. His movements were smooth, almost unhurried.

“Your Honor,” he started calmly.

“With respect to counsel’s argument, the court is not being asked to evaluate the emotional success of this marriage.” He stated as he stepped forward, composed and relaxed.

His words were delivered without cruelty, but without sympathy either.

Simply as fact.

“This court is being asked to enforce a legally binding agreement.” He stated.

He glanced at the documents in his hand briefly, before continuing.

“The prenuptial agreement in question was signed voluntarily.” He said, looking around the court

“My client and Mrs. Dhark were both represented by legal counsel at the time.”

He lifted his gaze toward the bench.

“Personal grievances, however understandable they may be, do not invalidate a contract.” He said. That is a legal principle we must adhere to, as servants of the law.”

His voice never rose. Never faltered.

Lucian watched him silently. Simply observing with interest.

I realized then that Nathaniel had not looked at me once since he stood.

There was something different about the way he held himself now.

Something sharper and more focused.

Almost as if the pieces of the situation were still shifting in his mind.

The judge leaned back slightly.

“I have heard both arguments.” He declared.

He glanced briefly toward Camilla before continuing.

“The witness testimony will remain on record.” I heaved a sigh of relief, before he said, “But the court’s

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primary consideration remains the validity and enforcement of the prenuptial agreement.”

My chest tightened again.

The judge’s gaze moved across both of our legal teams.

“This court will reconvene tomorrow.”

His gavel struck the bench once more.

“Adjourned.”

People began gathering their belongings at once, creating noise as they exited the room.

Reporters rushed toward the doors, already speaking rapidly into their phones.

Margot placed a steady hand on my arm, almost like she knew I was lost in the chaos of it all.

“Let’s go.”

I nodded once, then stood.

My legs felt strangely heavy as we moved through the corridor outside the courtroom where cameras were already flashing.

The press had gathered again.

Not shouting questions at me this time, but speaking rapidly among themselves.

“Camilla’s testimony confirms the timeline.”

“Margot Sinclair weaponizes the affair with actress Eva Sterling, against Lucian Dhark…”

“Public reaction is shifting after today’s hearing-”

Microphones extended toward us as we passed.

Margot kept walking without slowing, ignoring them.

The car was waiting. When the door closed behind us, the noise finally disappeared.

For a moment neither of us spoke.

I leaned back against the seat and let out a slow, shaky breath.

My hands were still trembling. Margot noticed it at once.

“That was a strong day for us,” she said quietly.

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