บททั้งหมดของ The Wife He Chose Too Late: บทที่ 21 - บทที่ 30

Claire's POVThe next morning wasn't much different from the mornings that had come before it. I hadn't slept well and I had spent far too much time lying awake thinking about things I couldn't change and no matter how hard I tried to focus on something else I kept going back to the same conversation.Have you thought about what you want after the divorce?Damien hadn't asked the question to be cruel if anything, he had sounded concerned and that was probably what bothered me most because if he had been angry, I could have argued with him. If he had been cold, I could have blamed him for it but instead, he had asked the question quietly, as though he genuinely wanted to know the answer and for some reason, that made it harder to forget.By the time I arrived at Laurent Group, I had done my best to stop thinking about the conversation from the night before. There wasn't much point dwelling on it anyway. The company wasn't going to slow down because my marriage was falling apart. Client

Claire's POV The conversation I had overheard outside the conference room stayed with me for the rest of the day. I kept telling myself that Damien hadn't said anything cruel. He hadn't mocked me or spoken badly about our marriage. He had simply talked about the contract the way we had in the beginning, with honesty and the certainty that it would end exactly as we had agreed. That wasn't what hurt. What hurt was realizing that somewhere along the way I had stopped thinking of our marriage as a contract but Damien hadn't. By the time everyone else left for the evening, the executive floor had grown unusually quiet. The cleaning staff moved from office to office, emptying wastebaskets and wiping fingerprints from the glass conference tables while the last few executives headed for the elevators with their briefcases in hand. I sat alone at my desk, trying to focus on the gala schedules spread out in front of me. The guest list blurred together until the words stopped making sense.

Claire's POVI woke to the smell of freshly brewed coffee and the unfamiliar comfort of knowing I didn't have to pretend.For one night, I hadn't been Mrs. Laurent, I hadn't been Damien's assistant and I hadn't been the woman silently carrying a child whose father had already told her there would never be an us.I had simply been Claire.Olivia was already in the kitchen when I wandered into the living area. She stood barefoot in an oversized T-shirt, humming softly while pouring coffee into two mugs.She looked over her shoulder and offered me a small smile. "You look terrible."A laugh escaped me before I could stop it. "I appreciate your honesty.""I figured you didn't need false hope before breakfast." She slid one of the mugs across the marble island. "I also made toast, but I wasn't entirely convinced you'd eat it.""I'll try."She watched me carefully while I took a sip of coffee. "How are you feeling?"I thought about the question longer than I expected. "I think..." I paused,

Claire's POVI don't remember walking to my car.One moment I was standing outside Damien's temporary office, staring through the glass as Tiffany wrapped her arms around him and pressed her lips against his. The next, I was sitting behind the steering wheel with both hands gripping it so tightly my knuckles had turned white.I blinked hard, trying to stop the tears, but they kept coming anyway.No matter how many times I closed my eyes, I couldn't erase what I'd seen.Tiffany kissing Damien and Damien holding her.The quiet intimacy between them shattered the last fragile hope I'd been carrying since the night he'd asked me to come home.My phone lit up on the passenger seat.Damien.I stared at his name until the ringing stopped. A few seconds later it started again but I couldn't bring myself to answer.It wasn't because I was angry it was because I knew the moment I heard his voice, everything holding me together would fall apart.The second call ended, only for a message to appea

Claire's POVOlivia was already waiting outside the penthouse when I arrived. The moment she saw me, she reached for the empty boxes stacked beside her without asking a single question."Ready?"I looked up at the home I had spent the last four years building with Damien. It was strange how a single word could carry so much weight. Was I ready to pack away my marriage? Ready to leave behind the only home we had ever shared? Ready to walk away from the life I had quietly fallen in love with?I managed a small nod. "As ready as I'll ever be."Olivia didn't ask how my meeting with Damien had gone. She didn't need to because one look at my face was enough to tell her everything I hadn't found the strength to say.The penthouse greeted us with the same quiet elegance it always had. Fresh flowers filled the entrance hall with their delicate fragrance the polished marble floors reflected the afternoon sunlight pouring through the windows and beyond the glass, Manhattan stretched endlessly to