The Wife He Never Meant to Love (Lila and Damon) novel Chapter 167

Chapter 167

Chapter 167

Maybe this was inevitable.

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Maybe Damon and Maddy had simply found their way back to where they once belonged-picking up the pieces of a past that had only been paused, never truly ended.

And Lila?

She had only ever been an interruption.

A name on a contract.

A wife on paper.

Nothing more.

Damon had given her everything she could possibly need-security, protection, a life others would envy.

Everything… except his heart.

Lila let out a quiet, bitter smile.

Memories surfaced uninvited.

The long nights.

The whispered conversations that stopped when she entered a room.

The subtle glances, the not-so-subtle provocations from women who circled Damon like moths to a flame.

Women who knew.

Knew that Lila held the title-but not the man.

She remembered how it felt-standing there, composed and silent, while her heart fractured piece by piece. Still, she never said a word.

Because she had no right..

No claim beyond ink and paper.

Until that night.

Lila’s fingers curled slightly as the memory sharpened.

The line she wasn’t supposed to cross.

The choice she made-fully aware, fully willing.

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Chapter 167

Again.

And again.

“I must be crazy…” she murmured under her breath.

But even as the words left her lips, she knew the truth was far more dangerous than madness.

It wasn’t insanity that drove her.

It was longing.

A desperate, quiet hope that maybe-just once-Damon would choose her.

Lila clenched her chest, her fingers pressing tightly against a heart that refused to let go.

It still yearned for him.

No matter how much she tried to silence it… it still whispered his name.

Her thoughts drifted, unbidden, into a past filled with what-ifs.

What if-

that first time Damon walked toward her, eyes steady, voice certain-

what if she hadn’t hesitated?

What if she had simply said yes?

Would things have been different?

Would this marriage have been real… not just something bound by signatures and obligation?

Would Damon have chosen her-again and again-not out of duty, but out of love?

Lila closed her eyes, the weight of those questions pressing heavily against her.

Then, a soft laugh escaped her lips.

Quiet. Fragile. Almost hollow.

Because she already knew the answer.

The past couldn’t be undone.

Choices couldn’t be rewritten.

And time… never gave second chances the way the heart foolishly hoped it would.

She lowered her hand slowly.

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Chapter 167

And yet-

:

Deep inside, buried beneath reason and pride, something stubborn remained.

Hope.

That somehow… impossibly… Damon would turn around.

That one day, he would look at her-not with hesitation, not with restraint-

But with certainty.

And choose her.

Willingly.

Lila shook her head faintly, her smile tinged with quiet self-mockery.

“What a joke…” she whispered.

Because hoping for that now-

After everything-

Felt like the cruelest illusion of all.

The room grew quieter as the night deepened.

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One by one, the voices faded. Footsteps disappeared. Even the restless movement of the wounded slowed into uneasy stillness.

But Lila remained where she was.

Awake.

Unmoving.

Alone with thoughts that refused to rest.

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Across the room, Mark watched her from a distance. He said nothing this time. Some silences weren’t meant to be interrupted-only understood.

Still, he knew one thing for certain.

Lila wasn’t as unaffected as she claimed.

In Wago City, the night was alive in a different way.

Lights flickered across towering buildings. Cars moved in endless streams. Life continued-unbothered by

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Chapter 167

the quiet war that had just unfolded miles away.

Damon stepped out of the car, his expression unreadable as the city air brushed against his skin.

“Prepare a secure location,” he said without looking back. “We don’t stay exposed.”

“Yes, sir.”

The men moved quickly, but Damon remained where he was for a moment longer.

Something felt… off.

Not danger.

Not strategy.

Something else.

His hand unconsciously curled at his side.

Annoyance flickered across his face.

Or was it something deeper?

Back at the compound, Lila finally stood.

The movement was slow, almost reluctant, as if she had to remind herself how.

She glanced once-just once-toward the direction Damon had left.

Nothing.

No footsteps returning.

No voice calling her name.

Just emptiness.

Her expression didn’t change.

But something inside her did.

A quiet shift.

A fragile thread snapping without sound.

Lila turned away.

“Miss Lila?” Joey called carefully as he noticed her moving.

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15:32 Mon, May 4

Chapter 167

“I’ll rest,” she said simply.

He nodded, stepping aside.

As she walked past him, there was no hesitation in her steps anymore.

No lingering.

No looking back.

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In Wago City, Damon finally moved.

But just before he stepped inside the building, he stopped.

Again.

A strange, unexplainable pull tightened in his chest.

His brows furrowed.

For a second-just a second-he turned his head slightly, as if expecting to see something behind him.

But there was nothing there.

Only the distant hum of the city.

Damon exhaled sharply and walked inside.

Whatever it was-

He ignored it.

And somewhere far away, in the quiet space between memory and reality-

Something ended.

Not loudly.

Not dramatically.

But in the simplest, most dangerous way possible-

Without either of them realizing…

It might not come back.

Damon stood in the control room, the dim glow of multiple screens reflecting in his eyes. Surveillance feeds

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Chapter 167

flickered one after another-maps, movements, fragments of a war that had yet to settle.

“Find him.” Damon said coldly. “Before he starts rebuilding.”

His men moved without question.

Then-

His phone rang.

Damon glanced at the screen.

**Simon.**

He answered immediately. “What is it?”

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“Damon,” Simon’s voice came through, urgent but controlled. “Eric was arrested. And… your mother is insisting on appearing at the trial. As my support.”

Damon’s brows knitted instantly.

A pause.

Then-

“Let her,” Damon said, his tone unreadable. “And keep an eye on her.”

“Got it,” Simon replied.

The line went dead.

Damon lowered the phone slowly, his expression hardening as silence filled the room once more.

His mother.

Stepping into the courtroom now… of all times.

It wasn’t like her to move without purpose.

Which meant-

This wasn’t just about Eric.

Damon turned his gaze toward one of the larger screens. A news broadcast played, the headline bold and impossible to ignore:

**ERIC ARRESTED-CONTROVERSY SURROUNDS HIGH-PROFILE DETENTION**

His eyes narrowed.

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Chapter 167

Something about it didn’t sit right.

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As far as Damon knew, there wasn’t enough solid ground to take Eric down-not this cleanly, not this fast.

Unless-

Someone pulled strings.

Powerful ones.

His jaw tightened.

“Mother…” he muttered under his breath.

What are you trying to do?

Across the city, in a quiet, heavily guarded residence, a woman stood before a mirror.

Elegant. Composed. Untouchable.

Damon’s mother adjusted the sleeve of her coat, her reflection calm but her eyes sharp with intent.

“Prepare the car,” she said to the assistant behind her.

“Yes, ma’am.”

She didn’t smile.

Not even slightly.

Because this wasn’t about appearances.

This was about control.

Back in the control room, Damon remained still, his mind already moving several steps ahead.

Freddie.

Eric.

His mother.

Three separate problems.

Or-

One carefully woven situation.

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Chapter 167

Damon exhaled slowly.

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“Dig deeper into Eric’s arrest,” he ordered without turning. “I want everything-who signed it, who pushed it, and who benefits.”

“Yes, sir.”

The screens continued to flicker.

The pieces were moving.

But Damon knew one thing for certain-

This wasn’t coincidence.

It was strategy.

. And somewhere within it…

Someone was playing a much bigger game.

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15:32 Mon, May 4