The Wife He Never Meant to Love (Lila and Damon) novel Chapter 128

Chapter 128

Chapter 128

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Maddy lay there for a long while, the weight of the day pressing down on her like a shadow she couldn’t shake. Her mind wandered, spinning with questions she had no answers for. Who was Eric, really? What did he want? Why was she caught in this web, unable to pull free?

Slowly, she pushed herself upright, her body aching in more ways than one. She made her way to the bathroom, each step heavy, her reflection in the mirror catching the dim light. Marks and bruises traced across her skin-a testament to the life she had been forced to endure.

She traced a finger lightly over the fading impressions, staring at herself as though seeing a stranger. “Where did I go wrong?” she whispered to the empty room. “Why is Lila able to take what she wants… while I…” Her voice faltered, caught in the ache of humiliation and exhaustion.

The question lingered, unanswered. The contrast between them burned in her chest-Lila, powerful, untouchable, commanding the world with ease; and Maddy, trapped, forced to navigate someone else’s rules just to survive.

Her hands clenched at her sides, nails digging into her palms. The pain reminded her she was still alive. Still breathing. Still… capable.

And for the first time in a long while, she felt something ignite beneath the fatigue-a flicker of determination. If Lila could rise, then maybe… maybe she could find a way to reclaim herself, piece by piece.

Maddy’s eyes hardened as she stared into the mirror, focusing not on the bruises, not on the fear—but on the spark that refused to die.

“I will find a way,” she murmured, voice low but steady. “I’ll find my own power. My own path.”

The room was quiet, but for Maddy, the silence carried a new kind of promise-a promise of patience, of planning, of a fire that would not be extinguished.

She turned from the mirror, her back straighter now, her steps firmer. The night was far from over, and neither was she.

After the gala ended, Lila sat by the window in her room at the Blackthorne Estate, the night stretching endlessly beyond the glass. The city lights flickered in the distance, but her mind was far from calm.

She lifted her phone and called Damon.

Nothing.

No ring. No response.

Dead.

Lila clicked her tongue softly and lowered the phone, frustration slipping through her composure. “Where could you be…” she muttered under her breath.

But it wasn’t just his absence that unsettled her.

15:05 Mon, May 4

Chapter 128

It was Eric’s words.

They lingered-sharp, deliberate, impossible to ignore.

*Circling around you for years.

Lila’s fingers tightened slightly around her phone. “What does that even mean…” she whispered.

Her thoughts drifted, pulling her back into memories she hadn’t revisited in a long time.

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She remembered the moment clearly-Damon standing in front of her, calm and direct, asking her to date him. No hesitation. No games.

And she refused him.

Instantly.

Without a second thought.

Back then, it felt natural. Men like him didn’t need to ask-they were the ones being chased. Women would have gladly thrown themselves at him.

But not her.

She turned him down without looking back.

And after that-

He never approached her again.

Not once.

But…

He never truly disappeared either.

Lila’s gaze drifted to the reflection in the window, her expression growing more distant.

The coffee shop.

She used to see him there sometimes. Quiet. Uninvolved. Never speaking to her, never interfering… but always somewhere within sight.

She told herself it meant nothing.

Then came Blackthorne Industries.

She only joined because Ina insisted-and because her brother needed financial support for university. It wasn’t ambition that brought her there.

It was necessity.

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Chapter 128

Watching.

Waiting.

Her grip on the phone tightened.

If that was true…

:

Then everything she thought she understood about Damon was wrong.

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Lila exhaled slowly, leaning back against the chair, her gaze fixed on the city lights beyond the glass.

“Damon…” she whispered.

This time, her voice carried something different.

Not irritation.

Not dismissal.

But something closer to realization.

And perhaps-

The beginning of doubt.

Lila eventually gave up trying to reach Damon.

The silence from his phone lingered too long, stretching into something heavy, something unsettling. With a quiet exhale, she set her phone aside and lay down, letting the darkness of the room swallow her thoughts.

Sleep came-

But not gently.

–

In her dream, the world was cold… and sinking.

Mud clung to her ankles, thick and suffocating, dragging her down with every step. The air was heavy, the sky gray, endless.

Then-

A hand.

Cold. Tight.

Gripping her ankle.

Lila gasped, looking down.

15:05 Mon, May 4

Chapter 128

Maddy.

(

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Her face pale, her body already half-swallowed by the mud, yet her grip was impossibly strong. Slowly… painfully… she dragged Lila down with her.

“No-” Lila struggled, trying to pull away, but the ground beneath her feet gave in.

Maddy looked up.

Her eyes burned.

Not with fear.

With vengeance.

“Do you really think Damon loves you?” Maddy’s voice echoed, distorted yet sharp. “No, Lila…”

The mud rose higher, swallowing her shoulders, her chest-yet she kept speaking.

“I was his first love… before you ever entered his life.”

Lila froze.

Her breath caught.

“You’re nothing compared to me.”

The words struck deeper than the cold, deeper than the sinking weight pulling her under.

Maddy’s grip tightened-

And then-

Darkness.

–

Lila jolted awake.

Her breath came fast, uneven, her hand flying to her chest as if to steady her racing heart. Sweat clung to her forehead, her skin cold despite the warmth of the room.

For a moment, she didn’t move.

Didn’t speak.

Only listened to the echo of that voice lingering in her mind.

Slowly, she pushed herself up, her gaze drifting toward the window, the faint light of dawn just beginning to creep in.

15:06 Mon, May 4