The Wife He Never Meant to Love (Lila and Damon) novel Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

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Simon returned to the office quietly, stepping up beside Damon’s desk. “She’ll be here soon,” he said, careful to keep his tone neutral.

Damon didn’t look up. His eyes scanned the documents before him, fingers flipping through pages with practiced precision, utterly unbothered by Simon’s presence.

What a pain, Simon thought, letting out a quiet sigh.

He leaned closer slightly. “I’ll be leaving soon. My wife is waiting for me.”

Damon finally glanced up, expression unreadable. “Do as you need,” he said shortly, then returned to the documents.

Simon shrugged, muttered something under his breath about patience being overrated, and left the office.

Damon turned to Bryan, who had been standing quietly nearby. “You can go home and rest,” he said. “No need to linger here.”

Bryan nodded, leaving without another word, while Damon’s attention snapped back to the mountain of papers on his desk.

Later, Lila arrived at the office. She hesitated at the door for a moment, took a deep breath, and knocked softly.

“Come in,” Damon’s voice called, calm, controlled.

When she stepped inside, he was seated behind his desk, fingers flipping through documents, posture relaxed but alert. His dark eyes lifted briefly as she entered, then returned to his work, as though testing her patience.

Lila straightened, steadying her voice. “Damon… I need your help.”

He didn’t respond immediately. She pressed on, taking a careful step closer. “The media… they’re ignoring me. They’re dragging Ethan’s name through the mud, and I promised him I would clear his name. I can’t do this alone. I need you to help me.”

Damon’s gaze finally met hers, sharp and unreadable. He leaned back slightly, swirling his pen in one hand. “Is that what you’re here for? To ask for help?”

“Yes,” she said firmly. “Because if I don’t, he’ll keep being attacked, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.”

For a long moment, silence stretched between them, the air thick with tension and unspoken questions. Damon’s dark eyes studied her, measuring, calculating, before finally leaning forward slightly, resting his chin on his hand.

“Explain,” he said simply. “Tell me everything.”

Lila felt a small, quiet relief. At least now, for the first time since the scandal began, she had his attention.

Chapter 26

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Damon leaned back in his chair, fingers tapping lightly against the polished surface of his desk. His dark eyes lifted from the documents to fix on Lila, who was standing stiffly before him. The faintest shadow of a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

“Why would I help you?” he asked, voice calm but laced with that edge that made the air feel heavy. His attention was now fully on her, deliberate and intense.

Lila swallowed, steadying herself. “Because Ethan didn’t do what the media says,” she replied firmly, meeting his gaze.

Damon’s brow arched slightly. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk, hands clasped together. “I didn’t ask why I should help him,” he said slowly, deliberately. “I asked why I should help you.”

Lila blinked, caught off guard by the sharp precision of his words. Her voice faltered for just a second before she regained her composure.

“Because…” she began, searching for the right words. “Because if I don’t, no one will. And I promised him I would protect him. I can’t do it alone.”

Damon studied her for a long, measured moment, dark eyes narrowing. He leaned back slightly, swirling his pen between his fingers. “I asked you,” he said again, low and deliberate, “why should I help you?”

The repetition, the focus, the weight in his tone-it wasn’t just a question. It was a test. And Lila realized, with a sinking sense of both frustration and awe, that getting him to act would never be easy.

Lila’s patience snapped. She felt heat rising in her chest, a mix of frustration and indignation at Damon’s relentless, cold attitude. She kept replaying his words in her mind, trying to guess what he wanted to hear- what answer would finally satisfy him, what words could possibly make him act.

Damon pushed back from his desk, rising with that quiet, commanding presence that always made her feel both small and exposed. He walked toward the door, the air around him tense, dangerous.

“If you can’t answer me… leave,” he said without looking back, hand on the doorknob.

Before he could open it, Lila moved. Fast, determined. She planted herself directly in front of him, between Damon and the door, forcing him to face her.

She looked up into his dark eyes, the anger in her chest now tempered with desperation. Her voice shook slightly, but she forced herself to speak clearly.

“Please… help me clear Ethan’s name,” she said, the words trembling at first, then gaining strength.

Damon’s sharp gaze softened just slightly, though his expression remained unreadable. Lila could smell the faint trace of whiskey on his breath, the evidence of his earlier mood.

“I… I’ll do anything you ask,” she added, her voice firmer this time, her hands clenching at her sides. “Just… help me.”

For a heartbeat, the world seemed to shrink around them-just her, just him, the weight of the room, and the unspoken tension between them.

11:40 Mon, May 4

Chapter 26

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89

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Damon’s eyes flicked downward, then back up, studying her with that piercing intensity that made it impossible to look away. The silence stretched, heavy and charged, as if the answer to her plea would decide far more than just Ethan’s fate.

Damon’s eyes darkened, anger surging through him like wildfire. He leaned closer, his voice low, controlled, but sharp enough to cut through the tension in the room.

“Who is he in your life?” he demanded, staring intensely into Lila’s eyes. “Is he… your lover?”

Lila’s heart skipped, but she didn’t waver. “No,” she said immediately, her voice firm.

Damon’s gaze didn’t soften. Instead, it burned with something darker, sharper-territorial, dangerous.

“I promise… I will do anything you ask,” Lila added quickly, hoping, praying that her words would be enough to make him help Ethan. “Anything.”

“Anything?” Damon’s voice was low, deliberate, testing.

“Yes… anything,” she said, her hands tightening at her sides.

Damon’s lips curved into a faint, almost predatory smirk. “Kiss me,” he said, his tone quiet but commanding.

Lila froze, shock and disbelief flashing through her mind.

This man is shameless, she thought, eyes widening.

Damon’s voice dropped to a sarcastic, teasing tone, the edge of amusement cutting through the tension. “You can’t?”

The words hung in the air, a dangerous challenge. Lila’s pulse raced. She had come here to ask for help, to clear Ethan’s name-not to play into Damon’s twisted games.

But she also knew something in his eyes had shifted-something that made it impossible to ignore him. Something that meant her words alone weren’t enough.

Her mind raced: how could she get him to help without giving in completely?

Damon waited, dark and unyielding, a storm barely contained, and the room felt smaller with every heartbeat.

11:40 Mon, May 4