The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 239

CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY NINE CLAIRE’S POV

The courthouse had taken more out of me than I wanted to admit.

By the time I stepped through the hospital’s doors, my entire body was aching.

My tired feet protested every step in the heels I’d been standing in since dawn.

My throat felt raw from hours of opening statements, objections, and answering reporters who seemed determined to wring every possible headline out of the day’s proceedings.

I had spent the entire day fighting.

Fighting Eva and her attorneys.

Fighting for Lucian.

Fighting for every victim whose life had been shattered because one woman believed she could destroy people without consequence, to rise to the top.

And now… now all I wanted was to see him.

It occurred to me somewhere between the elevator and the intensive care wing that I’d stopped thinking of this place as a hospital.

Now it was simply where Lucian was.

And somehow, that made it feel less sterile. Less frightening too.

Almost… like home.

The realization caught me off guard.

I smiled to myself despite everything.

As I walked through the corridor, the nurse who had been taking care of Lucian recognized me immediately.

“Good evening, Ms. Moreau.”

“Evening.”

Her smile widened. “The court session was televised. We saw it here too.” She said. “And he’s been asking what time court would finish.”

I couldn’t stop my own smile from growing. “Has he?”

She nodded.

I laughed softly. “That sounds like him.”

“He also tried convincing Dr. Patel that reviewing company reports counted as physical therapy.”

I closed my eyes. “Oh, no…”

“Oh, yes.”

She lowered her voice conspiratorially.

“I believe his assistant confiscated his laptop.”

“Good.”

“The doctor confiscated his phone.”

I laughed. “Even better.”

“And he still somehow managed to get hold of financial reports.”

I sighed dramatically.

“He’s impossible.”

The nurse chuckled. “We’ve all noticed.”

She gestured toward the corridor.

“Go on.” She said. “He’s been pretending to read the same page for twenty minutes.”

The door to his room was slightly open.

I paused outside it for just a second- not because I was nervous, but because I’d suddenly realized how much I had missed him today.

I’d seen him this morning before court, but only briefly.

We parted with only a kiss on the forehead, and a promise that I’d come straight back.

Now, after everything the day had demanded of me, I simply wanted to breathe in the same room as him.

I pushed the door open quietly and stepped inside.

Lucian was sitting up in bed, propped against several pillows.

He looked better than he had yesterday.

Though he was still pale, still thinner than usual, and surrounded by machines that beeped steadily beside him.

He was better.

His dark hair was slightly messier than normal, as he studied a thick folder balanced carefully on his lap.

The moment he heard the door open, he looked up.

The seriousness on his face disappeared immediately he saw me.

The focus in his eyes, replaced by relief.

“There you are.” He grinned.

His voice was still rough from the breathing tube, but every day it sounded a little stronger.

I leaned against the doorframe for a moment.

“There I am.”

“So,” he said softly, “tell me everything.”

I sank into the chair beside his bed.

“You sure?”

“I’ve been waiting all day.”

I let out a slow breath before speaking. “It was… intense.”

Lucian nodded, signaling me to continue.

“The courthouse was completely packed.”

“Reporters?” He asked.

“Hundreds.”

“And protesters?”

“More than yesterday.”

Lucian’s expression tightened. “They weren’t bothering you, I hope.”

“No, I shook my head, smiling faintly. “They were mostly bothering Eva.”

That earned a quiet chuckle from him.

I began telling him about the morning-

The crowds. Margot showing up in court despite still being in a wheelchair.

Nathaniel too, showing up before court simply to support the team.

“Laurel kept pretending she wasn’t nervous.”

Lucian raised an eyebrow.

“Laurel? Nervous?”

“I know.” I laughed.

Lucian smiled again.

I realized something then, as he reached to stroke my cheek with his fingers.

For the first time in what felt like forever, I wasn’t recounting disasters.

I was simply telling him about my day.

And somehow, that felt very intimate.

Like we’d finally found our way back to being us.