The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 74

CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR CLAIRE’S POV

For a moment, the room felt suspended. Like the world around me had gone completely still.

Then the headlines began to change.

Not all at once. Not cleanly, but enough.

The first thing I noticed was that the ticker at the bottom of the screen updated.

“New Footage Raises Questions About Office Altercation Between Claire Dhark and Eva Sterling.”

Another followed headline followed.

“Full Video Suggests Initial Reports May Have Been Misleading.”

The commentators who had previously said all sorts of things about me were now less certain. Less

decisive.

Now, instead of outright condemnation, they were debating.

I reached for my phone slowly.

The notifications were still coming in as fast as before-but they read differently now.

“Wait… she didn’t start it?”

“So why was the first clip edited?”

“Still aggressive though.”

“Both of them are toxic.”

I scrolled for a moment longer, watching the shift happen in real time before I locked the screen and set my phone down again.

The newly released footage was the truth. But the truth didn’t erase anything.

No, it only complicated it.

A few minutes later, my phone rang again. It was Margot.

I answered immediately.

“What happened?” she asked immediately.

I glanced back at the screen, where the footage was still playing.

“He released the full footage.” I answered.

Margot paused.

“Lucian?” she asked, even though she already knew the answer.

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“Yes.” I answered.

Another pause followed, longer this time.

When she spoke again, her tone had changed into something sharper, and more focused.

“Why would he do that?”

It wasn’t exactly a question directed to me. It was more like she was reasoning aloud.

It wasn’t just confusion. It was calculation.

“I don’t know,” I replied.

Margot didn’t respond immediately, but I could almost hear her thinking through the line.

“It weakens her.” Margot reasoned.

I leaned slightly against the desk, listening to her.

“Eva’s credibility takes a hit,” she continued. “Obviously it won’t be enough to collapse her position, but it is just enough to introduce doubt. And reasonable doubt is just what we need in the case I’m building against her.”

Her voice steadied further, gaining momentum.

“It also shows manipulation. Not provable intent yet, but suggestive. We can work with that.”

I closed my eyes briefly, just for a second.

“She just gave us another angle,” Margot added. “Another point to build on when we go after her. And we

will.”

There was no hesitation in Margot’s voice. No softness.

Eva wasn’t just a complication anymore. She never had been for Margot.

Eva was Margot’s target. And for all she had done to Margot’s sisters and all the other people in the file Margot had shown me, she deserved to be taken down.

Margot exhaled quietly on the other end. “Whatever Lucian’s reason for releasing this footage is, this helps us. Maybe not extensively in this case, but in the case I’m building against Eva.” Margot explained. “And it helps clear the smear the edited clip had caused to your image.”

I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me. “Okay.”

“We’ll talk in the morning,” Margot concluded. “Get some rest if you can.”

I stayed where I was for a moment longer after the call had ended, letting the silence settle back in around me.

One thought kept replaying in my mind.

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UVIN YANIR CLAIRES POV

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He had released

Lucian.

But why?

He hadn’t said anything when the first clip spread. He hadn’t stepped in when the narrative formed. He hadn’t stopped it when it mattered most.

But now… now he had ended it.

I looked back at the screen, at the moment where Eva’s hand moved again, where everything shifted.

Lucian didn’t stand beside me.

But he didn’t let me fall either.

And that confused me.

I picked up my bag and left the office not long after.

The city outside hadn’t changed.

People still glanced at me with recognition, but it wasn’t the same sharp judgment from before. 1

Now it was something else: curiosity.

I ignored it all, walking past with my shoulders straight.

By the time I got back to the mansion, the quietness felt heavier than usual.

Or maybe it was just me being self-aware.

I stepped inside, closing the door behind me, and immediately felt it.

Him.

Lucian was in the living room.

He didn’t move when I entered. He didn’t look surprised.

It was almost like he had been expecting me.

I set my bag down slowly, before speaking to him. “You released it.” I said.

It wasn’t a question as he knew it. 1

He met my gaze evenly. “Yes.” He replied, simple and direct.

No explanation. That would be unlike him.

I held his gaze. “Why now?”

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There was a brief pause.

Not long enough to be hesitation, but long enough for me to know it was deliberate.

“It needed to be corrected,” he answered.

I studied him for a moment, then said, “You let it run first.”

Lucian didn’t deny it.

He deflect.

“I ended it,” he replied.

My jaw tightened slightly. “It should never have started in the first place.”

Lucian didn’t respond immediately.

Instead, he looked at me-really looked- like I was a new person. “You handled it,” he said.

I let out a quiet breath. “I didn’t have a choice.”

Lucian’s gaze remained firmly on mine. “You always do.” He said.

I frowned slightly, something in that landing deeper than it should have.

I wanted to tell him that perhaps if he didn’t put me in such difficult positions, I wouldn’t have to handle it

all the time.

But I bit back my words.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

And in that silence, I felt it.

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