The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 72

CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO_ CLAIRE’S POV

By the time I stepped out into the street, the world was already watching me.

Not the way it used to.

Not recognition softened by curiosity or polite interest.

No, this was different. This was. 1

People looked at me, and didn’t look away fast enough.

A woman standing near the curb leaned slightly toward the person beside her, whispering something I didn’t need to hear to understand.

Another man across the street lifted his phone just a little too casually, angling it in my direction before lowering it again. I knew from his movements that he had definitely taken a picture.

I kept walking.

Didn’t slow down, didn’t acknowledge it- any of it.

But I felt it all.

Every glance, every quiet judgment… every assumption.

The world had decided who I was without my permission.

And it had done it quickly.

My phone buzzed again in my hand.

Then again, and again.

I didn’t need to check immediately to know what it was.

But I did anyway.

There were more messages on my screen.

More unknown numbers, more requests.

Each of them asking for interviews, and statements.

“This is an opportunity to respond.”

“A chance to share your side.”

I almost smiled at that.

My side?

As if truth had ever been the priority.

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DESALNIN TWO CLAIRES POW

+25 Bonus

All they cared about was releasing “breaking news”. Gossip.

A notification slid across the screen of my phone again.

“Sources close to the Dhark family reveal ongoing instability in Claire Dhark’s behavior…”

I stopped walking for half a second- just long enough to read it fully.

Then I kept moving.

Close sources? That meant someone was talking.

Feeding into the narrative.

Shaping it carefully.

It could be Victoria. It could be staff. It could even be Lucian, who knows?

I locked my phone without responding.

Sinclair & Co. felt… different.

It didn’t feel openly hostile, but the shift was there.

It was subtle and measured, but noticeable.

The receptionist greeted me at the front desk like she always did, but her smile didn’t quite reach her

eyes.

Two associates near the elevator lowered their voices as I approached.

One of them glanced at me briefly, before looking away.

I didn’t react or acknowledge it.

There simply was no need to.

I walked through the space like I belonged there. Because I did.

And no attempt to smear my image could change that.

When I finally got to my desk, I just stood there for a moment, breathing. 1

Letting the silence settle.

Then I set my bag down on my desk and picked up a file.

I sat and soon started working.

Not because I wasn’t aware of what was happening outside those walls- I was more aware of that than anything else. 1

But because I refused to let it stop me.

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SALONS TWO CLAIRES POV

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A shadow fell across my desk before I heard a voice.

“You’re working.”

I looked up at once to see Nathaniel, standing a few steps away from my desk, with his hands in his pockets.

His gaze swept over the scattered files in front of me, the open laptop, the half-finished notes.

He looked quite calm, as if the world outside hadn’t shifted overnight.

“I have work,” I replied quickly.

His eyes lifted to mine as he studied me for a moment.

Not critically. Not with concern that demanded a response.

Just… observant.

“They’re moving faster than I expected.” He said.

I leaned back slightly in my chair, stretching my hands onto my desk.

“They think I’ll fold.” I stated.

A small pause followed. I saw Nathaniel almost smile.

“They don’t know you.” He said.

His tone was so certain, like he believed in me… more than I believed in myself.

I looked at him properly then.

He looked exactly the same as he always did, but today, there was something else there to him. Something quieter. Something grounded.

“They don’t need to,” I said. “They just need enough people to believe it.”

Nathaniel’s gaze didn’t waver.

“That’s the problem with narratives,” he said. “They don’t need to be true. They just need to be convincing.”

“And consistent,” I added.

He nodded then. “Exactly.”

Around us, the office moved as usual, as if we weren’t even there.

Keyboards clicked, phones rang. Muted conversations rose and fell again.

But none of it seemed to touch the space where we stood.

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And that was what I loved the most about Sinclair&co.

“You haven’t responded,” he said after a moment.

It wasn’t a question.

“No.” I replied simply.

“Good.”

I raised a brow slightly, urging him to explain further.

“That wasn’t advice,” he added. “Just an observation.”

I almost smiled.

“They want a reaction,” Nathaniel continuer. “Something emotional. Something they can use to reshape the narrative again.”

“And if I don’t give them one?”

Nathaniel exhaled slowly. “They’ll create one anyway.”

That wasn’t comforting. But it was honest.

And that was what I needed right now.

Honesty. Loyalty. Dedication.

I glanced down briefly at the file in front of me, then back up at Nathaniel.

“This isn’t about truth anymore.”

He. shook his head slightly. “It never was.” He said.

Silence settled between us again. But it wasn’t uncomfortable.

1

Nathaniel’s gaze became more focused. “You’re still here.” He observed.

I frowned faintly. “Where else would I be?”

“Anywhere but where people can see you,” he said. “Most would disappear for a while.”

“I’m not most people.” I stated firmly.

“No,” he agreed quietly. “You’re not.”

There was something in the way he said it.

Whether it was recognition… or maybe admiration… I couldn’t tell the difference.

Then he glanced around the open office, taking in the lack of privacy, the visibility, the fact that anyone could look over and see us, or even worse, record us.

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AUNTY TWO CLAIRES POV

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“You don’t even have an office yet,” he noted.

“Not yet,” I said.

I had just gotten this job-against so many odds- mere weeks ago. Of course I didn’t have an office yet.

“And you still showed up.”

I didn’t respond to that. Instead, I shrugged.

Because there was nothing to say that wouldn’t make it sound like something it wasn’t.

Or something I didn’t want to define.

Nathaniel’s gaze returned to me.

“You’re not even trying to control the narrative.” He almost seemed annoyed when he said that.

“No.”

“Why not?” He questioned.

I scoffed. “Because I can’t,” I said simply. “And pretending I can would just make it worse.”

A small pause followed, then I added;

“And because if I start hiding now, I won’t stop.”

That seemed to settle something in him.

He nodded once, slowly taking in my point. Finally understanding.

“Fair enough.” He simply said.

Then his tone shifted slightly. It became less analytical and more… personal.

“What are you going to do after this?”

I stilled slightly.

“After what?”

“The case,” he said. “Win or lose.”

The question caught me off guard.

Not because it was complicated, but because I hadn’t even allowed myself to think that far.

Not really.

I leaned back slightly in my chair, considering.

“I don’t know,” I admitted.

5/8

MAGES POV

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Nathaniel didn’t interrupt. He didn’t try to fill the silence. He just waited.

“I haven’t thought about it,” I continued after a moment. “Everything’s been…” I gestured vaguely. “This.”

“Survival,” he supplied.

“Yes.”

He nodded slightly.

“That makes sense.”

Another pause.

Then-

“But it won’t always be this,” he said.

I looked at him.

“There’s a point where this ends,” he continued. “One way or another.”

His voice was calm. Certain.

“And when it does,” he added, “you’ll still be here.”

Something in my chest tightened slightly at that.

Not painfully, just… unexpectedly.

“You’ll have options,” he went on. “Freedom, whether you realize it yet or not.”

I let out a quiet breath.

“Freedom sounds… theoretical right now.”

Nathaniel’s lips curved slightly.

“That’s because you’re still in it.”

A small silence followed.

Then he added, more lightly:

“When you’re not-”

He stopped himself.

Just slightly.

As if choosing not to finish the thought.

I tilted my head faintly.

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CONSTANTE TAIRE SPOV