The Wife He Never Meant to Love (Lila and Damon) novel Chapter 176

Chapter 176

Chapter 176

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The afternoon sun shimmered over the shore, the waves gently brushing against the sand in a steady rhythm.

Damian sat near the water, completely absorbed in the tiny world before him. A small crab peeked out from the sand, its little claws twitching cautiously before disappearing again.

He smiled, leaning closer, fascinated.

Not far from him, Lila rested on a lounge chair, her eyes drifting shut after a long morning. Every now and then, she would glance at Damian-but the calm of the sea and the warmth of the sun slowly pulled her into a light sleep.

Across from her, Ina flipped through a book, relaxed but attentive.

“I’ll watch Damian,” Ina said earlier. “Go take a quick nap.”

Lila had smiled, grateful-and now, she slept.

Peaceful.

Unaware.

From a distance-

Someone was watching.

A woman stood partially hidden, her eyes fixed on Damian. In her hand was a dinosaur plushie, bright and oversized-impossible for a child to ignore.

She lifted it slightly.

And waved.

Damian noticed.

His face lit up instantly.

He waved back, his small hand moving eagerly in the air.

He turned to look at Ina-but she was focused on her book. When she finally glanced up, she mistook his wave and casually waved back before returning to her reading.

Damian smiled, then looked toward his mother.

Still asleep.

He turned back to the woman.

She gestured again, this time signaling him to come closer, raising the plush dinosaur like a prize.

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Chapter 176

Curiosity won.

Damian stood up and slowly walked toward her.

“Hey, little boy,” the woman said gently as he approached. “Do you want this dinosaur?”

Damian’s eyes sparkled. He nodded politely, his gaze fixed on the toy.

“I have more,” she added, pointing toward a car parked farther away. “If you come with me.”

Damian hesitated.

“I’ll let my mom know,” he said, turning slightly. “She’ll be sad if I leave without telling her.”

The woman’s smile tightened.

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“No need,” she said quickly. “I’m your mom’s friend. She asked me to take you and buy you a dinosaur.”

Damian frowned, uncertainty creeping into his expression.

“No… let me ask her first,” he insisted, stepping back.

He turned-

But before he could take another step-

The woman’s hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.

“I said no need,” she snapped, her voice losing its softness.

Damian cried out as pain shot through his arm.

“M-mom!” he screamed, his voice breaking as he struggled.

The woman pulled him toward the car.

Ina’s head snapped up.

The book fell from her hands.

The sound-

Damian’s cry-

It cut through everything.

She bolted to her feet and ran toward the shore, her heart pounding wildly.

“Damian!”

When she reached the spot-

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Chapter 176

He was gone.

For a split second, her mind refused to process it.

Then-

She saw them.

The woman.

Dragging Damian.

And recognition hit her like a slap.

It was her.

The same woman who had been looking for Marlou.

“Hey!” Ina shouted, running toward them.

At the same time, another figure rushed past her-

Mark.

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Faster.

Furious.

He closed the distance quickly, his eyes locked on the woman.

The woman stopped.

Slowly turning to face them, still gripping Damian tightly.

Damian’s face was streaked with tears, his small body trembling.

“Let him go,” Mark said, his voice low-but filled with warning.

The woman smirked slightly.

“If you don’t want this kid to get hurt…” she said coldly, “bring Marlou back.”

She reached into her bag and threw something toward them.

A map.

It landed on the sand between them.

“Meet me there,” she added.

Before either of them could react-

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Chapter 176

She shoved Damian into the car and slipped inside.

The engine roared to life.

“NO!” Ina screamed.

:.

Mark lunged forward-but the car sped off, tires kicking up sand as it disappeared down the road.

Silence fell.

Heavy.

Terrifying.

The map lay between them, the only thing left behind.

Ina’s hands trembled as she picked it up.

“Mark…” she whispered, her voice breaking. “They took him…”

Mark’s jaw clenched, his entire body rigid with fury.

His promise echoed in his mind.

I’ll protect them.

And he had failed.

His fists tightened.

Eyes darkening.

“This isn’t over,” he said, his voice dangerously calm.

Because whoever took Damian-

Had just made the worst mistake of their life.

At Jenny’s house, the warm hum of casual conversation and laughter suddenly felt fragile, almost brittle, as an unexpected presence entered the room.

Damon Blackthorne sat on the couch, as composed and unreadable as ever. His eyes, sharp and calculating, swept over Jenny and Marlou with that uncanny ability to notice everything-and nothing at once.

Across from him, Jenny smiled politely, trying to mask her surprise at his sudden visit. Marlou sat beside her, polite, but a growing tension already knotting in his chest.

“I heard you’re getting married,” Damon said smoothly, his voice calm yet carrying a weight that made the room feel smaller. “As your former employer, it wouldn’t feel right not to personally deliver my gift… and

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Chapter 176

congratulate you in person.”

:

Jenny blinked, a polite smile forming on her lips. “Thank you, Mr. Blackthorne.”

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She accepted the gift from Damon’s assistant, Mark, but Marlou’s thoughts were already elsewhere. There was a sudden, uneasy feeling in his gut, one he couldn’t shake.

Then-his phone rang.

Marlou excused himself and stepped aside, quickly answering.

“Where are you?” Mark’s voice came through the line, tight and urgent.

“I’m still at Bel-Air. Why?” Marlou asked, frowning.

There was a pause-long enough for Marlou to feel the weight of every second.

“Your ex-lover… she came,” Mark said, his voice trembling slightly. “She took Damian. She says she’ll release him only if you come back. Please, Marlou… you have to come-now.”

Marlou’s grip on the phone tightened until his knuckles turned white. His heart hammered violently, every beat echoing the panic in his chest.

“No… that’s impossible,” he whispered to himself, disbelief mingling with terror. “That woman… she can’t be serious. She wants to hurt a child?”

“Please,” Mark’s voice cracked, raw with urgency. “Just come. Don’t waste another second.”

Marlou felt the world tilt under him. The calm, ordered life he had been trying to maintain shattered in an instant. Damian. His son-no, not just a child, his son’s friend, an innocent boy who had done nothing to deserve this-was in danger. And he had caused it all, indirectly, by not seeing the warning signs.

“Okay… I’m on my way,” Marlou said, his voice trembling despite the steel he tried to weave into it. He ended the call, staring at the phone for a long moment as if hoping it would undo what he’d just learned.

When he turned around, Damon was standing there. Just standing. Watching. Calm. Observant. That unshakable presence that could read everything about a man without a single word spoken.

“You’re leaving?” Damon asked, his voice steady, but something in his gaze made Marlou feel exposed, as if every thought, every fear, every hesitation was suddenly visible.

“Yes,” Marlou managed to say, his throat tight. “There’s an emergency… on the island.”

Damon’s eyes narrowed, sharp and calculating. “What kind of emergency demands you return immediately?”

Marlou swallowed hard, the words catching in his throat. The truth was a dangerous thing. If he told Damon that this involved his boss’s son, that this was someone’s desperate leverage over an innocent child, it could spiral into something uncontrollable. And yet, leaving it unsaid gnawed at his conscience like fire.

He hesitated, every second stretching painfully. His heart thumped violently, not just for Damian, but for the weight of responsibility crushing him. Could he tell Damon? Could he trust that Damon wouldn’t turn this

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Chapter 176

into a situation far more dangerous than it already was?

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His hands curled into fists at his sides. “I…” he began, then stopped, shaking his head. He couldn’t-he wouldn’t. Not yet. Not when every moment counted.

The room felt impossibly small. The soft hum of Jenny’s house, the polite attention of her eyes, Damon’s piercing gaze-they all collided inside him, suffocating, urgent, demanding.

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Some truths, he realized with a hollow ache, were too dangerous to speak aloud. Especially when a child’s life hung in the balance.

And yet, every second he delayed was another second Damian was in danger.

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15:35 Mon, May 4