The Wife He Never Meant to Love (Lila and Damon) novel Chapter 204

Chapter 204

Chapter 204

The study room was quiet.

Too quiet.

Mark stood frozen in the middle of it, his mind struggling to process what he had just heard.

“What did you say?” he asked slowly, his eyes locked onto Simon.

Simon didn’t move.

Didn’t react.

He simply stared back, calm as ever.

“You mean…” Mark ran a hand through his hair, his voice tightening, “this damn man got hit by a bullet-and only God knows when he’s going to wake up?”

“Yeah,” Simon replied casually.

The simplicity of his answer made something snap inside Mark.

“And you-you just let that happen?” Mark’s voice rose as he turned sharply to Bryan. “And didn’t even bother telling me? Or his wife?”

Bryan held his gaze, unflinching.

“It was Mr. Blackthorne’s instruction,” he said. “Before he collapsed.”

Mark scoffed, pacing once before stopping again.

*Unbelievable.*

Bryan, meanwhile, glanced briefly at Simon.

*Why is this brother-in-law so dramatic?* he thought, though he wisely kept it to himself.

Simon remained seated, composed, as if they were discussing something trivial rather than a man’s life hanging in uncertainty.

“Mark,” Simon said evenly, “no need to be dramatic.”

Mark shot him a look.

“Damon made it clear,” Simon continued. “No one should know-except Lila. If she chooses to know, then no secrets are to be kept from her. Any information… any truth… it’s hers.”

He paused briefly.

“And whatever she decides to do with that information-that’s entirely up to her.”

The room fell silent.

Mark let out a long breath, shaking his head.

“Unbelievable…” he muttered again, quieter this time.

Of course.

It would be like Damon to do something like this.

Even now-unconscious, possibly dying-he still managed to center everything around Lila.

Mark’s jaw tightened.

Then he looked at Bryan.

“Tell your boss something for me,” he said firmly.

Bryan straightened slightly.

“He’s not allowed to die.”

The words hung heavy in the air.

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Chapter 204

“My nephew still needs him.”

For the first time, the weight of the situation settled differently in the room-not as information, not as strategy-

But as something painfully human.

Back in the garden, the air felt softer-gentler, almost untouched by the tension building elsewhere in the estate.

Lila and Margaret continued talking, the conversation flowing easily as they compared little pieces of Damon and Damian-father and son, separated by time yet so alike in the smallest, most unexpected ways.

“The way you describe him…” Margaret said, still holding Damian’s photo, her smile warm, “it really is just like Damon.”

Lila gave a faint nod.

“He used to run around endlessly too,” Margaret continued. “Climbing where he shouldn’t, disappearing when no one was looking… and always finding peace in the quietest corners.”

Lila’s lips curved slightly.

“He does that,” she murmured. “Sometimes I panic when I can’t find him… and then I see him somewhere calm, like the world never worried him at all.”

Margaret chuckled softly. “Yes… that’s him.”

The laughter faded into something quieter.

More thoughtful.

Margaret looked at Lila-really looked at her this time.

“Lila…” she began gently, “I know Damon hurt you… with some of his actions in the past.”

Lila’s fingers tightened slightly on her lap, but she didn’t speak.

“I apologize, Margaret continued softly. “For not teaching him better.”

Lila’s eyes flickered, but she remained silent.

Margaret sighed, her gaze drifting briefly toward the garden before returning to her.

“But if you just look at him… and truly listen to him…” she said, her voice carrying quiet sincerity, “Damon really loves you more than you could ever imagine.”

The words settled between them.

Heavy.

Unavoidable.

Lila didn’t respond.

She couldn’t.

Because deep down… she knew.

She had seen it-in the way he stayed, in the way he kept coming back, in all the things she once overlooked. And maybe that was what made it harder.

Because love like that-

Wasn’t easy to face.

Not when she had spent so long turning away from it.

Lila’s fingers tightened against the fabric of her dress.

“I love him too,” she admitted quietly.

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The words felt fragile, as if they had been waiting a long time to be spoken aloud.

“But I’m afraid…” she continued, her voice barely above a whisper. “I’m afraid I’m the only one in this relationship.”

Margaret didn’t interrupt.

She simply listened.

“Our marriage started with a contract,” Lila said, her eyes lowering. “So I’m… I’m too afraid to claim something that was never mine in the beginning.”

A soft breeze passed through the garden, stirring the bougainvillea above them.

“Loving someone like Damon…” Lila went on, her voice unsteady now, “someone surrounded by women who are better than me-more capable, more refined… women from noble families…”

She swallowed.

“It’s scary.”

Her gaze drifted somewhere far away.

“Because what does that mean? That he only had eyes for me? When there are so many women… who could stand beside him better than I ever could?”

Margaret tilted her head slightly, studying her.

“Yes,” she said calmly. “There are many women who would fight to stand at Damon’s side.”

Lila’s heart sank slightly.

“But the real question is,” Margaret continued, her tone sharpening just a little, “does Damon feel the same way?”

Lila looked up.

“Does he *want* to stand beside them?” Margaret asked.

Silence followed.

And in that silence-

Lila already knew the answer.

Margaret leaned back slightly, a faint smile forming on her lips.

“But come on, Lila,” she added, a hint of amusement slipping into her voice. “Don’t sell yourself short.”

Lila blinked, confused.

“I know Damon has been chasing you since the moment you met at the university,” Margaret said.

Lila frowned slightly.

“What?”

Margaret’s smile widened.

“I know how he became a *sugar daddy* for you.”

Lila froze.

“…Sugar daddy?” she repeated, genuinely puzzled.

Margaret chuckled softly.

“Do you really think all those sudden scholarships appeared out of nowhere?” she asked, her eyes glinting.” When in reality… you never even applied?”

Lila’s breath caught.

“And that coffee shop you worked at…” Margaret continued, clearly amused now. “Almost no customers, yet they offered you a large salary… bonuses…”

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She leaned in slightly.

“And those ‘customers’ who kept giving you generous tips?”

A knowing half-smile rested on her lips.

Lila stared at her.

Speechless.

Because now that she thought about it-

None of it had ever made sense.

Not back then.

And certainly not now.

Lila fell silent.

Her mind began to piece things together-slowly, painfully.

*Yeah… why didn’t I think about it back then?* she thought.

None of it had ever truly made sense.

Not the way things suddenly changed.

Not the way everything seemed to fall perfectly into place… without her ever asking for it.

She remembered-

The coffee shop owner, sighing one evening, saying the place might shut down soon.

Business was bad.

There was no way to keep it running.

And then the very next day-

Her paycheck increased.

Out of nowhere.

Then came the sudden rush of customers-so many that she could barely keep up, day after day.

And the scholarship…

She never applied.

Yet it appeared in her email like it had always been meant for her.

Lila’s fingers curled slightly in her lap.

*It doesn’t make sense…*

Margaret watched her carefully, the amusement in her eyes deepening.

“And does it make sense,” she added casually, “that when you got yourself a boyfriend… Damon suddenly started appearing everywhere?”

Lila’s head lifted slightly.

Her breath caught.

“Everywhere you went with that man,” Margaret continued, “Damon just happened to be there-even though that boy wasn’t even part of the elite circle.”

A pause:

“And if I remember correctly…” Margaret’s lips curved, “Damon even introduced himself as his *friend*.”

Lila’s eyes widened faintly.

Memories surfaced-clearer now.

Too clear.

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Damon’s sudden appearances.

His calm demeanor.

The way he stood there, watching… always watching.

*Yeah… it really doesn’t make sense,* Lila thought again, but this time, the truth behind it felt undeniable.

Margaret let out a soft laugh.

“Do you know,” she said, clearly entertained, “when Damon heard you had a boyfriend… he completely lost his mind.”

Lila blinked.

“What?”

“Oh, yes,” Margaret continued, laughing lightly as if recalling something delightful. “His mood was terrible that entire year. The staff barely saw him smile.”

She shook her head, still amused.

“He was always irritated. Always on edge. As if the world itself offended him.”

Margaret glanced at Lila, her eyes warm-but knowing.

“It was the first time I saw my son so… undone,” she added.

A small pause.

“All because of one woman.”

The garden grew quiet again.

But this time-

The silence felt different.

Because everything Lila once thought was coincidence…

Was beginning to look a lot like intention.

Margaret leaned back in her chair, the smile on her lips softening into something more tender-more personal.

“So when he brought you home,” she began, her voice warm with memory, “and told me that you already had a marriage license…”

She let out a quiet laugh.

“As a mother, I was truly happy for him.”

Lila looked at her, still trying to catch up with everything she had just learned.

“He finally got what he wanted,” Margaret continued. “The woman he worked so hard for… the woman he could finally call his wife.”

Lila’s chest tightened.

*Worked so hard…*

Margaret chuckled again, this time with a hint of mischief.

“We even made bets, you know,” she added. “On what kind of trick he used to make you say yes.”

Lila blinked, completely caught off guard.

Margaret shook her head, amused. “But that brat Simon-he played dirty. Pretended he didn’t know anything at all.”

Lila didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Everything she had believed… everything she thought was coincidence, or even forced-

It was all turning into something else entirely.

Something almost unbelievable.

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Something that felt like… a carefully woven story she had never noticed she was part of.

Margaret sighed softly, the amusement fading into a hint of embarrassment.

“But that boy…” she muttered, shaking her head. “He really doesn’t know how to do things properly.”

She looked at Lila, her expression apologetic now.

“I’m ashamed of it, truly. I’m sorry for that, Lila.”

Lila lowered her gaze.

Her heart felt full-too full.

Because somehow, what once felt like a contract…

Was beginning to look a lot like devotion.

And she didn’t know what to do with that truth.

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