The Wife He Never Meant to Love (Lila and Damon) novel Chapter 116

Chapter 116

Chapter 116

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“Tell your son to find another bride,” Lila said, her voice low and unyielding. “I’m busy running an empire. I don’t need a man to stand beside me.”

For a moment, the night seemed to still.

Vivian regarded her in silence, her lips curving into a slow, knowing smile.

“So….” she murmured, tilting her head slightly, “it’s a no.”

She didn’t wait for a reply.

“Bring it here.”

The command was soft-but absolute.

From the corner, the butler moved at once. A maid followed shortly after, her steps careful, almost hesitant, as she carried a silver tray draped beneath a glass dome.

The air shifted.

Something heavier settled between them.

The tray was placed on the table.

The maid’s hands trembled slightly as she lifted the glass.

And there-

Resting in still, grotesque silence-

Was Damon’s head.

Time seemed to stretch.

Distort.

Lila’s gaze fell upon it.

Traced it.

Recognized every line, every shadow, every familiar detail that once commanded fear and respect across the city.

Now reduced to this.

Displayed like an offering.

Or a warning.

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Chapter 116

Nothing in her expression changed.

Not a flicker.

Not a crack.

“Pathetic.”

The word fell cold and lifeless, devoid of grief, stripped of meaning.

She turned.

Just like that.

As if it were nothing.

As if he were nothing.

Her steps echoed softly as she walked away-but then she stopped.

A single pause.

A single breath.

Without fully turning back, her voice drifted over her shoulder-calm, distant, merciless.

“Do whatever you want with that.”

Silence answered her.

Then-

“I already enjoyed his body a long time ago.”

Cruel.

Deliberate.

A blade meant to cut deeper than any weapon in the room.

And then she walked.

The doors stood ahead.

Freedom-just a few steps away.

Until-

A man stepped forward.

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Chapter 116

Blocking her path.

Lila stopped.

Slowly, she lifted her gaze to meet his.

Then another shadow shifted.

And another.

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Men emerging from the darkness, closing in without a sound.

A cage.

Carefully prepared.

Lila’s eyes moved between them, measuring-calculating.

Not fear.

Never fear.

Behind her, Vivian’s soft laughter echoed through the room.

“Must we make this so difficult, Lila?”

Lila didn’t turn.

Her posture remained loose, almost careless—but something in the air around her had changed.

Sharpened.

Like a blade drawn but not yet swung.

“It will be a bloodbath here, Vivian,” she said quietly.

A pause.

Her voice dropped, colder.

“If you don’t let me leave.”

The words settled heavily, undeniable in their certainty.

The men hesitated.

Just for a second.

Because they felt it too.

That invisible line.

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Chapter 116

That promise of violence.

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Vivian stepped closer, her heels clicking softly against the floor, her expression untouched by the threat.

“As expected…” she whispered. “You really are his wife.”

Lila’s fingers twitched faintly at her side.

Not from fear.

But from restraint.

Vivian smiled wider.

“And that,” she added, her voice almost affectionate, “is exactly why my son wants you.”

A beat.

Then Lila turned her head slightly, just enough for her voice to reach her.

“Then your son,” she said, calm and lethal, “has poor taste.”

Silence.

Thick.

Waiting.

“Or a death wish.”

And just like that—

The room held its breath.

“Don’t be so hard, Lila,” Vivian continued, her tone almost soothing, as if they were discussing something trivial.

She began to circle her slowly.

“Let’s be realistic,” she added. “You’re alone. There are spies inside the Blackthorne empire… I think you’re smart enough to understand that.”

A pause.

“Do the math.”

Silence stretched between them.

Then-

“You’re right,” Lila said.

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Chapter 116

And in the very next heartbeat-

Everything changed.

Lila moved.

Fast.

Precise.

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Her hand shot out, grabbing Vivian and dragging her sharply against her, turning her into a shield before anyone could react.

A gun pressed cold against Vivian’s head.

“Let me leave,” Lila said, her voice no longer calm-but lethal, “or I take her head.”

“Madam-” one of the men started, panic slipping into his whisper.

“Don’t listen to her,” Vivian cut in, her voice steady despite the weapon against her temple. “She doesn’t know how to pull a trigger.”

A beat.

Then-

Lila laughed softly.

Low.

Dangerous.

“Oh, come on,” she said, tightening her grip as she dragged Vivian toward the hallway. “I may not *look* like someone capable of pulling a trigger…”

Her steps were unhurried.

Controlled.

Each movement deliberate as she forced Vivian along with her, past the silent men who now hesitated to

make a move.

“…but looks,” Lila continued, her voice dropping to a whisper near Vivian’s ear, “can be very deceiving.”

They reached the grand hallway.

Then the staircase.

And finally-

She stopped.

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Chapter 116

In front of a large, elegant painting.

Lila’s eyes lifted.

Vivian.

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And beside her-

A man.

Familiar.

Too familiar.

Lila’s gaze darkened.

“My late husband once said,” she murmured, a faint smile touching her lips, “I’m a tempting rabbit…”

Her finger tightened on the trigger.

“…just enough to make the fox come out of hiding.”

She smiled.

And pulled the trigger.

The shot shattered the silence.

In the next instant-

Chaos erupted.

Gunfire exploded from outside the mansion as men swarmed the grounds, breaking through defenses, flooding the estate like a tide of violence.

A bloodbath.

Screams.

Shouting.

Bodies dropping.

The carefully controlled stillness of moments ago dissolved into pure, unrestrained carnage.

And in the middle of it-

Lila let go.

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Chapter 116

She moved forward.

Not running.

Not rushing.

Walking.

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Graceful.

Untouched.

As if she had expected every second of this.

As if she had *planned* it.

She crossed the hall, ignoring the chaos behind her, and made her way to a door at the far end.

Without hesitation-

She pushed it open.

Inside, the noise faded.

The room was quiet.

Still.

And there-

Seated at the center of a long table-

Was a man.

Waiting.

Watching her.

As if he had been there all along.

As if this-

Everything-

Had led to this exact moment.

Lila stepped inside.

Her eyes locked onto his.

And for the first time-

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Chapter 116

There was something different in her gaze.

Not shock.

Not fear.

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But recognition.

“Finally,” she said softly.

“I was wondering how long you’d make me wait.”

Before the man could speak, a sniper’s bullet struck him squarely. He collapsed instantly, eyes wide in shock, words forever unspoken.

Vivian screamed, her body trembling as she instinctively clutched her son, holding him close as panic overtook her.

“Oh, well,” Lila said softly, her voice calm, almost mocking amidst the chaos. She glanced at the fallen man, then back at Vivian. “You see… whoever you serve, he is a heartless one.”

Indeed, they hadn’t even allowed him to speak. Not a single word.

Lila slowly walked to the sofa and sat down, her posture relaxed, composed, yet commanding. Her fingers drummed lightly against the armrest as she murmured, almost playfully, “What was his name, by the way? You see, I seem to have a little amnesia.”

She paused, tilting her head as if thinking. “Was it John? No… Jas… Oh, Jasper. Right.” She said it casually, like testing the air itself.

Vivian’s eyes were fixed on her, wide with shock and disbelief.

Suddenly, heavy footsteps echoed. Jere burst into the room, chest heaving, sweat gleaming on his forehead. He straightened quickly and leaned close to whisper.

“Madam… the Blackthorne estate-caught fire. No one will come out alive,” he said, voice low but urgent.

Lila froze. The words sank in like ice, her eyes flicking toward the windows where faint plumes of smoke already began curling into the night sky.

Vivian’s gaze locked on Lila, wild and desperate. And then, in a sudden, horrifying movement, the woman raised a gun to her temple.

The shot cracked sharply.

Silence followed.

Only the faint hiss of smoke and the distant roar of flames remained.

Lila leaned back on the sofa, her expression unreadable, calm as ever. Outside, chaos consumed the estate— but she remained unmoved. In Wago City, she understood that power wasn’t about surviving the fire-it was

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Chapter 116

about standing when everyone else fell.

And Lila… was still standing.