The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 67

CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN_ LUCIAN’S POV

The city lights blurred past the tinted windows as I drove.

I made sure there was no urgency in my movements. Not because this didn’t matter, but because rushing would imply it did.

And I refused to give it that weight.

Claire’s voice lingered in my mind-clear, steady, unshaken.

She hadn’t even looked at me when she took the stand- not even once.

That was what stayed. Admittedly, that was what bothered me the most.

Not the words. Not the judge. Not even Victoria’s strategy beginning to shift beneath the surface. 1

It was that.

The absence of Claire’s attention. The absence of her gaze.

For years, I had been the center of her focus. Even when she was quiet, even when she was hurt, even when she was offended, she had always looked at me.

Today, she hadn’t. Not even once!

My grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly, then eased. 1

It didn’t matter. This was a case. A negotiation. A matter of outcome.

And yet, the image returned anyway.

The image of Claire standing outside the courthouse, Nathaniel beside her. Not close enough to invite speculation, but close enough to matter.

There had been something in the way they spoke. Not familiarity.

No, it was something much worse.

Something that looked dangerously close to ease.

He understood her. Or at least he thought he did.

I pulled into the parking area outside Nathaniel’s office building and turned off the engine.

For a moment, I didn’t move from the driver’s seat.

This didn’t concern me, I told myself. That was the logical thought.

She was about to be my ex-wife after all. The case was already underway, and there should be clear legal boundaries.

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And yet, another voice reminded me that she was still my wife.

And that was the thought that settled cleanly.

Decisively.

I stepped out of the car at once.

The building was quiet at this hour, and most of the offices above were dim.

Nathaniel stood near the entrance of the building, almost as if he had expected me.

Of course he had.

He didn’t exactly look surprised when I approached.

“I didn’t expect you to insert yourself this quickly,” I said.

Nathaniel replied with the same tone. “I didn’t expect you to lose control this quickly.”

A faint pause followed, measured and controlled.

I studied him for a second. His jacket was in his hand, silver watch on his wrist. There was no agitation in his posture, no defensiveness.

That, more than anything, was irritating.

“You’re interfering,” I stated firmly.

“With what?” Nathaniel asked calmly.

“With a case you’re no longer part of.” I pointed out.

“I’m not your lawyer anymore,” he replied. “You don’t get to control where I stand.”

The words were simple. Accurate. True.

I couldn’t exactly counter them. Not directly at least.

I took a step closer, not aggressively but deliberately.

“You’re getting too involved.” I said.

Nathaniel didn’t even have the nerve to deny it.

“She needed someone who would tell her the truth,” he retorted.

The implication was obvious- that ‘someone’ was him.

“You’re assuming she didn’t have that,” I said.

“I’m observing that she didn’t.” Nathaniel replied sharply.

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Silence settled between us, precise rather than tense. 1

I don’t think I’ve ever had as much disdain for a person as I did for Nathaniel Vale right now.

I held his gaze, trying to contain my anger. “You should be careful how you involve yourself with my wife.”

There it was. Clear and unambiguous.

Possession wasn’t the point here.

Recognition was.

Claire and I might be getting divorced, but she wasn’t his.

Nathaniel didn’t step back. He didn’t react, except for a slight shift in his facial expression, which I hadn’t

failed to notice.

“You didn’t lose her in court, Lucian,” he said. “You lost her long before this.”

The words landed exactly as I’m sure he had intended.

Not loudly, not dramatically, but effectively. Because I knew it wasn’t a lie. It wasn’t an exaggeration. It

was a fact.

I didn’t respond immediately. No, there was nothing to gain from that.

Instead, I let the weight of it settle.

Then I spoke again, my tone even, “Stay away from my wife.” It was a warning. He had to be dumb to not recognize it as such.

But surprisingly, Nathaniel held my gaze without hesitation.

“Then stop giving her reasons to need me.”

The answer was immediate. Clean.

He wasn’t provoking- or perhaps he was.

But he was stating fact. That was what made it so triggering. That’s what made my blood boil.

For a moment, neither of us moved.

Then he turned, not abruptly, not dismissively-just finished-and walked back toward the building entrance without even looking over his shoulder.

I remained where I was.

The city moved around me, distant and unimportant.

Claire standing in that courtroom.

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LUCIANS POL

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Claire refusing to look at me even when I approached her after court.

Dismissing me like I was staff.

Claire speaking with him as if that distance between us had already solidified into something permanent.

My jaw tightened slightly.

This had shifted.

Not just legally, but something less controlled.

I had underestimated Nathaniel.

That would not happen again.

Claire Ree

Author

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