The Wife He Never Meant to Love (Lila and Damon) novel Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Lila cried until her chest hurt.

Not because she hadn’t expected it.

But because she finally understood it.

:

86

10 vouchers

Damon had never hidden his intentions. An heir. A successor. A continuation of the Blackthorne name. Their marriage was ink on paper, structured and signed like a business acquisition.

Still, knowing something and hearing it spoken aloud were two different things.

“You will give me an heir. I will give you a divorce.”

The words echoed mercilessly in her mind.

Yet she had no other path.

Bearing a child for Damon Blackthorne was the only exit she had left.

The only way to secure the funding her family desperately needed.

The only leverage powerful enough to negotiate freedom.

So she wiped her tears before dawn and left the mansion without a sound.

Her day began with back-to-back classes.

Finance strategy.

Market analytics.

Entrepreneurial law.

Lila took notes with mechanical precision, asked questions when required, and presented research findings with calm confidence. No one would suspect she had cried herself to sleep just hours earlier.

By evening, she moved to the research lab, reviewing case studies on venture capital acquisition. Irony was cruel.

At exactly 9:07 PM, her phone buzzed.

Mark.

Her younger brother rarely called this late unless something was wrong.

“Hey,” she answered, keeping her voice steady.

“It’s harder than I thought,” Mark admitted immediately. “The startup is ready. The prototype works. But

11:57 Mon, May 4

Chapter 40

finding investors? That’s the nightmare.”

:

Lila leaned back in her chair, eyes drifting toward the dark window.

86

10 vouchers

“My contacts are limited,” he continued. “And I’m just a fresh graduate. No one takes me seriously.”

She could hear the frustration beneath his attempt to sound composed.

“If you want,” Lila said gently, “I can help you pitch to an investor.”

There was silence on the other end.

“No,” Mark replied quickly. “You’ve already done too much. You paid for the studio space. Covered the equipment. I won’t let you keep carrying this.”

“It’s not carrying,” she said softly. “It’s investing.”

“In me,” he corrected. “And I won’t let you sacrifice more.”

Lila swallowed.

If only he knew what she had already sacrificed.

After venting for nearly fifteen minutes about rejected emails and unanswered proposals, Mark’s tone shifted.

“So… what about you?” he asked carefully. “Is the divorce going to be finalized soon?”

Her fingers tightened around the edge of the desk.

Divorce.

Such a simple word.

“No,” she answered calmly. “Divorcing Damon will be tough.”

That part was true.

Legally, strategically, emotionally.

“I’ll stay in the city for a couple of months,” she added. “There are… details that need settling.”

Mark sighed but didn’t push further. He trusted her decisions, even when he didn’t fully understand them.

“Don’t disappear on us,” he said quietly. “You always take on too much alone.”

“I won’t,” she promised.

After the call ended, Lila remained seated in the dim lab.

Her reflection stared back at her from the dark window-composed, intelligent, determined.

86

10 vouchers

11:57 Mon, May 4

Chapter 40

And trapped.

A couple of months.

That was all she needed.

She would fulfill the contract.

Secure the heir.

Secure the divorce.

Secure her brother’s future.

Feelings were irrelevant.

Attachment was dangerous.

:

And Damon Blackthorne was a risk she could not afford to miscalculate.

Yet somewhere deep inside her, beneath logic and strategy, a question whispered relentlessly—

If this was only business to him…

Why did it hurt this much?

As Lila drove back into the city that night, the streets blurred beneath the glow of passing lights.

Her thoughts, however, were painfully clear.

Maddy’s voice echoed in her memory-sweet, smug, triumphant.

“It’s actually very easy to get Damon’s attention.”

“He has always listened to me.”

“Some connections never fade.”

And the subtle provocations.

The lingering touches.

The deliberate laughter.

The way Maddy would look at Lila-not as a wife, but as a placeholder.

Maybe she had been playing this wrong all along.

If she returned the favor…

If she made it clear she was perfectly willing to step aside…

11:57 Mon, May 4

Chapter 10

If she pushed Maddy just enough-

:

Perhaps Maddy would be the one desperate enough to bear Damon’s child.

Perhaps Damon would stop looking at Lila as the solution.

And perhaps-

She would finally be free.

The idea was reckless.

But it was strategic.

And Lila had always been good at strategy.

The next morning, she woke before sunrise.

Instead of leaving early for campus, she walked into the kitchen.

The staff looked startled to see Mrs. Blackthorne cooking.

“I’ll handle it,” she said gently.

86

10 vouchers

She prepared a full breakfast-perfectly seared eggs, toasted brioche, freshly brewed coffee. She even packed

a neatly arranged lunch in a sleek container, something practical yet personal.

When Damon walked into the dining room, adjusting the cuff of his shirt, he stopped mid-step.

He blinked once.

Then again.

“You’re awake early,” he observed.

Lila smiled softly. “I thought I’d start the day properly.”

Damon looked at the table.

Then at her.

Something shifted in his expression-something almost hopeful.

During breakfast, she spoke lightly about university, about research, about nothing important. No tension. No Maddy. No contracts.

Just normalcy.

When they reached the driveway, Damon moved toward the driver’s side of the car-but Lila stopped him.

“I’ll drop you at the office,” she offered.

11:57 Mon, May 4

Chapter 40

He studied her carefully before nodding.

The drive was quiet but comfortable.

And dangerously domestic.

:

86

10 vouchers

When they arrived, Damon unbuckled his seatbelt slowly, as though reluctant to break whatever fragile peace had formed.

Lila leaned closer before he could open the door.

He froze.

She adjusted his tie with gentle precision, smoothing the fabric against his chest.

“You should make a good impression today, Mr. Blackthorne,” she teased softly.

His eyes darkened.

Before he could respond, she leaned in and planted a light kiss on his cheek.

Brief.

Delicate.

Intentional.

Damon’s breath caught.

For a moment-just a moment-he allowed himself to believe it.

That she was choosing this.

Choosing him.

Not as part of a contract.

Not as a negotiation.

But as his wife.

His real wife.

“Drive safely,” she said sweetly.

As he stepped out of the car, Damon watched her pull away, a rare warmth spreading through his chest.

Maybe she had changed her mind.

Maybe she was willing to stay.

11:57 Mon, May 4

Chapter 40

Maybe she wanted more than an exit clause.

What he didn’t see-

Was the calculating look in Lila’s eyes as she merged into traffic.

Because this wasn’t surrender.

It was strategy.

And if Maddy wanted a game-

Lila was finally ready to play.

11:57 Mon, May 4