The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 89

CHAPTER EIGHTY-NINE CLAIRE’S POV

The apartment was quiet.

Not empty-just still in a way that reeled of solitude. Not loneliness, just… peace.

I sat at the table, files spread in front of me, my laptop open, notes arranged in a way that only made sense because I had been staring at them for hours.

The case had already started shifting.

I leaned back slightly, eyes scanning over the same set of documents again-not because I hadn’t understood them the first time, but because something in them refused to sit cleanly.

The inconsistencies were too precise.

At first glance, they looked like mistakes: errors in reporting and misfiled entries.

But I could tell they weren’t random- that was the problem.

I picked up one of the printed sheets, and began flipping it over slowly, as I traced the pattern again.

Each discrepancy pointed in the same direction.

Not outward- inward.

Toward a single internal division; something was going on within the company.

My eyes narrowed slightly.

Someone wasn’t just hiding something… someone was redirecting attention.

I set the paper down on the table, reached for another file, and started cross-referencing the timestamps, along with the signatures and the approvals.

Nothing was obvious. Nothing that would stand out unless you were looking for it.

But once you saw it, you couldn’t unsee it.

My phone buzzed against the table.

It was Margot.

I answered immediately. “Yes?”

“If you’re right,” she started immediately, her tone sharp, focused, “this isn’t internal error.”

I didn’t respond. I didn’t need to.

Margot continued. “It’s controlled exposure,” she said, then paused briefly, and I could tell her mind was moving very fast-calculating our next steps.

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“We’re not walking into that function blind.”

I straightened slightly at the declaration, already understanding where she was going.

“I want you watching them,” she instructed. “Not just what they say, but how they react. Who they avoid, and most importantly, who they protect.”

“Understood.”

“Especially Dhark Holdings.”

Of course.

Another pause followed.

Then her voice lowered into deliberate murmuring. “You’re not there as background.”

That made me go still for a second.

“You’re there because you see things others don’t.”

The line was simple, but it conveyed something heavy-expectation. Trust.

“I won’t miss it,” I assured.

“I know,” Margot replied, before ending the call.

The silence that followed felt different. More defined. Because now, I had something to fulfill and expectations to live up to.

I looked back at the documents in front of me, but my focus had shifted slightly.

This wasn’t just analysis anymore. It was positioning.

It was a mission.

The function wasn’t just a dinner. That much was clear from the moment Margot mentioned it.

This was a room full of people who didn’t attend anything without purpose.

Investors, senior counsel.

Executives who controlled more than they revealed.

And at the center of it was Dhark Holdings.

I exhaled slowly, closing the file in front of me.

“Then I’ll treat it like any other room.” I thought to myself.

So I’ll have to pretend to do the same.

Watch. Listen. Understand.

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Nothing less, nothing more.

My phone buzzed again.

Nathaniel was calling.

I glanced at the screen for a few seconds, wondering whether this was the right time for a chat.

I decided to answer.

“Busy?” he asked.

“A little.” I replied.

“Big night?”

I leaned back slightly in my chair, my eyes drifting briefly to the closed files in front of me.

“Potentially complicated.”

A quiet pause.

Then-

“Those are usually your best ones.”

A faint smile touched my lips before I could stop it.

“Sometimes.”

Another pause.

Then-

“Want me there?”

The question was simple.

Offered without pressure.

I considered it for a moment.

Then-

“No.”

Not hesitation.

Not avoidance.

Choice.

“I’ll manage.”

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“I know you will,” he said easily.

There was no tension in his voice.

No expectation behind the offer.

Just presence.

“I’ll talk to you later,” I added.

“I’ll be around.”

The call ended.

And the quiet returned.

The dress hung neatly against the wardrobe door.

I studied it for a moment.

Not for how it looked.

But for what it said.

Clean lines.

Structured.

Nothing excessive.

Nothing soft.

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It wasn’t about being noticed.

It was about being understood-correctly.

I reached for it without overthinking, already moving with more certainty than I had a few weeks ago.

There was no second-guessing.

No hesitation.

Just decision.

The mirror reflected exactly what I expected.

Composed.

Deliberate.

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Uncomplicated.

I adjusted the sleeve once, then stilled.

This wasn’t about being seen.

It was about control.

Over perception.

Over presence.

Over the room I was about to walk into.

A thought surfaced briefly.

Uninvited.

“He would be there.”

I held my own gaze for a second longer.

Then-

“So would I.”

That was enough.

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The venue was exactly what I expected.

Polished.

Measured.

Every detail curated to reflect power without announcing it.

The kind of place where conversations carried more weight than appearances-and yet, appearances

still mattered.

I stepped inside.

And for a moment-

The shift was subtle.

But noticeable.

Conversations didn’t stop.

But they adjusted.

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Attention moved.

Not sharply.

Not obviously.

Just enough.

Recognition.

Awareness. 1

I walked further in, my pace steady, my expression unchanged.

This wasn’t unfamiliar territory anymore.

Not really.

Not after everything.

I scanned the room slowly.

Faces.

Positions.

Dynamics unfolding in real time.

Investors grouped near the center.

Legal teams spaced deliberately.

Executives positioned like they owned the space-even when they didn’t.

And then-

I saw him.

Lucian.

Already there.

Already watching.

The distance between us wasn’t significant.

But it didn’t need to be.

Because the moment our eyes met-

Everything else in the room blurred just slightly.

Not enough to lose focus. 1

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Just enough to sharpen it.

And from the moment our eyes met-

I knew this wasn’t going to stay professional for long.

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