The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 57

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN CLAIRE’S POV

“And based on your professional observations…” Victoria folded her hands together in front of her. “Did you believe Mrs. Dhark had reason to think that might be the case?”

Again, Margot stood instantly.

“Objection! Calls for speculation.”

Victoria continued without even looking at her. “Your Honor, the witness is a licensed therapist describing his clinical observations.”

The judge allowed the answer.

Then Dr. Carter nodded. “I believed it was possible she had already received medical indications suggesting fertility issues.”

All I could do was stare in absolute horror as Dr. Carter told his ugly lies.

I had never known that I was infertile until the hospital visit with Lucian. Sure I was under a lot of pressure to continue the Dhark legacy, right from the second year of marriage, and I had discussed the pressure I was feeling with Dr. Carter.

But I had never received a diagnosis and I had never even suspected it, not to talk of hiding it from

Lucian or discussing it with my therapist.

These were blatant lies!

I heard Margot scoff beside me. She was just as surprised and repulsed as I was by the lie and the fact that a licensed therapist who I had entrusted with confidential information, could sit here and frame a

whole new narrative.

And somehow, the judge allowed it.

Victoria let Dr. Carter’s statement settle before asking the next question- almost gently.

“Did Mrs. Dhark indicate whether she had shared those concerns with Mr. Dhark?”

Dr. Carter shook his head.

“She suggested she had not.”

The room went still.

Victoria turned toward the judge again, and continued speaking. “Your Honor, this context is important.”

She began walking slowly across the courtroom floor, her voice calm and deliberate.

“The narrative presented to this court paints Mr. Dhark as a man who abruptly betrayed a stable and loving marriage.” She paused, letting everyone absorb the words. “But marriages are rarely that simple.”

1/5

+25 Bonus

Her gaze moved briefly toward me, then away.

“Mr. Dhark carries the weight of an enormous legacy.” She said, gesturing subtly toward Lucian. “A family name, a company built over generations and most importantly, a future that, rightly or wrongly. expects continuity.” 1

She paused again. “And according to the testimony we’ve just heard, Mrs. Dhark was aware she might not be able to provide that future.”

Margot stood again.

“Objection! Counsel is editorializing.”

Victoria inclined her head politely.

“I’m drawing a logical connection, Your Honor.”

The judge allowed her to continue once again, and I could almost see the fumes coming straight out of Margot’s ears as she sat again.

Victoria Merlyn continued speaking. “If a husband believes his marriage has already reached a dead end … if he believes the future his family expects may never materialize….”

Her gaze moved briefly toward Lucian before returning to the judge. “Then the court should not be surprised that the marriage eventually collapsed.”

The implication hung heavily in the air.

Lucian’s affair was no longer framed as cruelty, it was being reframed as inevitability.

He hadn’t cheated because he was a bad husband, but because it was what needed to be done-

because he needed an heir.

One I knew I couldn’t provide, yet refused to tell him.

Victoria Merlyn was forming one hell of a narrative.

“The defense is not attempting to relitigate the past.” She said calmly, then turned slightly toward me again. “We are simply asking the court to recognize that the marriage Mrs. Dhark describes today… was already broken long before the events she now relies upon.”

Then she returned to her table and took a seat beside Lucian as if nothing extraordinary had happened.

But the damage had already been done.

For a moment the courtroom remained silent.

Then Margot stood and I could see the fire in her eyes.

“Your Honor, may I proceed with cross-examination?”

The judge glanced briefly at the clock on the wall.

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ASTRON SEVEN CLAIRES POV

+25 Bonus

“Keep it brief, Mrs. Sinclair.” He said.

Margot’s expression didn’t change, but I felt the tension beside me.

“Of course.” She said, then approached the witness stand promptly.

“Dr. Carter,” she began, her voice calm, “how many sessions did Mrs. Dhark attend with you?”

“Three.”

“Three,” Margot repeated for the whole courtroom to hear.

She paused deliberately.

“And during those three sessions, you claim to have developed the professional opinion that my client knowingly hid infertility from her husband?”

Dr. Carter shifted slightly in his seat.

“I said I suspected she may have been aware of potential issues.”

Margot nodded as if she expected that answer.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “And yet you never conducted medical testing.”

“No.”

“You never spoke to any of Mrs. Dhark’s physicians.”

Dr. Carter shifted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable now. “No.”

“You never reviewed medical records.”

“No.”

Margot clasped her hands behind her back. “So to summarize, Dr. Carter… after three therapy sessions you are presenting a suspicion to this court about a medical condition you are not qualified to diagnose.”

Victoria stood smoothly.

“Objection. Argumentative.”

“Sustained,” the judge said quickly.

Margot paused, narrowed her eyes at the judge himself, then nodded once.

“No further questions.” She said, then returned to our table.

The judge looked toward Victoria.

“Anything further?”

Victoria rose again.

3/5

MAIN CLAIRE SAV

+25 Bonus

“No further witnesses today, Your Honor. The defense rests on its motion.”

The judge adjusted his glasses.

“I will review the motion to enforce the prenuptial agreement along with today’s testimony.”

He paused briefly, looked at the documents in front of him, then continued. “I will issue a ruling at the next hearing.” The gavel struck. 1

“Court is adjourned!”

The room immediately filled with movement.

Chairs scraped as people started rising, reporters began whispering urgently among themselves.

Across the aisle, Lucian stood beside Victoria.

For a moment his gaze lifted and our eyes met.

His expression was unreadable.

It wasn’t triumph, but it definitely wasn’t regret either.

Victoria leaned toward him, saying something quietly, with a serious expression on her face.

Then they both turned around and walked out of the courtroom. 1

Margot gathered her papers slowly.

I could still feel the weight of Dr. Carter’s words hanging in the air.

She might have known, but she didn’t tell him.

The narrative Victoria had built was clear.

I was no longer simply the betrayed wife.

Now I was the woman who had hidden something.

“Claire.” Margot’s voice pulled me back from the pool of my own thoughts.

“That was fast,” I said quietly.

Margot didn’t answer right away.

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