The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 189

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-NINE LUCIAN’S POV

My office overlooked the city.

On most days, the view reminded me why I had spent my entire adult life working.

But today? Today m it felt meaningless.

My attention remained fixed on the financial projections spread across the table before me.

Red.

There was simply much red.

Declining market confidence, falling share prices, and worse, investor withdrawals.

Projected losses.

The scandal Eva had caused had infected everything it touched. Every headline, every quarterly report,

every meeting.

For the first time in years, Dhark Holdings wasn’t merely fighting competitors.

It was fighting for survival.

A knock sounded on my door and after a moment, the door opened.

Tessa stepped inside first, tablet in hand.

Behind her came Ethan Cole, our public relations director.

And finally Sarah McCall, the company’s chief legal counsel.

Last was Jonathan Pierce, senior operations executive.

They were the people who worked closest to me.

The people still willing to stand beside me while the company burned.

“Everyone’s here,” Tessa said.

I nodded once.

“Sit.”

The atmosphere was tense before anyone spoke.

No one needed an explanation. Everyone understood why we were here.

Sarah was the first to break the silence.

“We have a problem.” She said.

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I almost laughed. Only because it was such an absurd understatement.

“We have several.” I stated.

She proceeded to slide a folder across the table.

I didn’t bother opening it, but Sarah continued anyway.

“Nathaniel Vale officially withdrew representation.”

“That’s not news.”

“KVEK withdrew all involvement.”

“I know.”

“Dr. Ramon lost his medical license two days.”

That got my attention.

I looked up.

Sarah’s expression was grim.

“The medical board moved faster than expected.”

Good.

The man deserved prison, not just unemployment.

Sarah folded her hands. “But unfortunately, KVEK’s withdrawal leaves us without litigation counsel.”

The room fell quiet.

The senior operations executive leaned back slightly. “We need another firm immediately.”

The PR director nodded. “Especially if we mean to proceeds against Eva.”

My jaw tightened.

“Proceed”

Such a polite word.

“Destroy” would have been more honest.

“We are proceeding.” I agreed.

No one argued.

Good.

Sarah opened another file. “Then we need to secure representation before filing.”

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I nodded once. “I trust you’ll find someone.”

A long silence followed, before the PR director spoke up. “That’s easier said than done.”

I frowned as I watched him slide several reports across the table.

“Most major firms don’t want the case.”

I looked down at the reports laid out in front of me.

Apparently, three separate firms had already declined. Two others wanted conditions so restrictive they might as well have declined.

Cowards.

Each and every one of them.

The senior operations executive rubbed his jaw. “The scandal’s radioactive.”

No one disagreed.

Legal continued. “There’s one obvious choice.”

The room went still immediately.

Because we all knew exactly who she meant, even before she said it.

“Sinclair & Co.” She finally suggested.

My answer was automatic. “No.”

Silence.

Tessa glanced up from her tablet.

The PR director frowned.

Legal looked almost annoyed. “Why?”

I looked away first.

Toward the window. Toward anything except the truth.

Because the truth was embarrassing, maybe even pathetic.

And undeniably painful.

I didn’t want to drag Claire into this mess. She might be thriving right now, but the backlash this case could bring could bury her career.

And Claire didn’t need another reason to hate me.

The thought remained firmly inside my head.

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Unfortunately, Tessa was too intelligent not to understand.

“Mr Dhark–”

“No.” I didn’t let her finish. I wouldn’t hear more of it.

Legal heaved a sigh. “Please be reasonable.”

A bitter laugh escaped me.

“Reasonable.” What an interesting word.

There was nothing reasonable about asking Claire to represent me.

Nothing reasonable about dragging her into my mess again.

Nothing reasonable about forcing her to spend months standing beside me while the entire country speculated about us and most likely tore her apart all over again.

The PR director leaned forward. “This isn’t personal.”

When I sent a glare his way, he immediately regretted saying it.

Because we both knew it was.

It was entirely personal.

Legal spoke before I could respond. “They already know the evidence.”

Silence.

“They already know Eva.”

Silence.

“They already know the witnesses.” She added. “And they’re the only big firm that hasn’t rejected the

case.”

She pushed the file even closer toward me.

“Sinclair&co is the best option, no matter how you look at it.”

I hated how correct she was.

Every word, every argument, every fact.

I hated all of it.

Because none of it changed the reality.

The reality being that Claire worked there. And one way or another, she would be involved.

God, Claire deserved peace.

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And somehow I kept finding new ways to destroy it.

Tessa finally spoke again- quietly.

“Dhark Holdings needs the strongest representation available.” She said. “So do you, if you mean to finally clear your name.”

I closed my eyes briefly, then opened them again.

The answer was obvious.

The company came first- it always had.

Maybe that had been part of the problem.

Maybe it had been the problem. Entirely.

But that wasn’t what mattered right now.

“Fine.”

The word sounded awful, but I noticed how everyone in the room relax slightly after I had said it.

“Tessa, contact Sinclair & Co.” I instructed.

“Already drafting the request.”

Of course she was.

The meeting continued another hour.

Strategy, media responses, lawsuits- the future.

By the time everyone stood to leave, my head was already starting to hurt.

I remained seated, until the room gradually emptied.

Only Tessa lingered.

She checked her tablet, then paused.

“Actually…”

I looked up.

“What?”

“Sinclair & Co already responded.”

That was fast- suspiciously fast.

My stomach tightened. “Response?”

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“They accepted.”

I stared at her in disbelief. “Already?”

“Yes.”

A strange feeling settled in my chest.

Because there was only one person who could make something move that quickly.

Margot Sinclair.

Even in bad shape, even recovering in a hospital bed…

Margot Sinclair remained terrifyingly efficient.

Tessa hesitated.

“There’s one more thing.”

I waited.

Tessa’s eyes flickered briefly toward the screen, like she was trying to reconfirm what she had already

seen.

Then her eyes flickered back to me. “Margot Sinclair isn’t returning to active litigation yet.”

Reasonable.

The woman had nearly died.

Tessa continued. “But she made a recommendation.”

My pulse slowed- or perhaps it stopped.

A strange sense of inevitability settled over me.

Because before Tessa spoke, I already knew.

Before she looked down.

Before she said the name.

“Claire Moreau.”

Silence. Absolute silence. The kind that felt physical.

Claire.

Again.

My lawyer.

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My ex-wife.

The woman Hart Sullivan had threatened.

The woman I still loved.

The woman I kept losing.

Tessa lowered the tablet carefully. More than anyone who had just been in the room, she understood the implication. “Should we proceed?” She asked carefully.

I laughed once- humorlessly.

As though there had ever been another option.

“Yes.”

The room finally emptied.

I sat alone for several minutes afterward, before reaching for the litigation file Sarah had left behind.

But all I could hear in my head was Claire’s name.

CLAIRE MOREAU.

I heard it long enough to remember rain and the carnations.

The wedding vows and everything else I had destroyed.

Eventually, I closed the file.

I knew that whether I wanted it or not, Claire Moreau would officially be standing beside me again.

And neither of us had any idea what that was about to cost.

Claire Ree Author

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