The Wife He Never Meant to Love (Lila and Damon) novel Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

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Lila hesitated in the kitchen, her fingers resting uselessly on the countertop. The house was quiet, too quiet, and the thought of cooking for Damon again made her chest tighten. She told herself it was unnecessary. He could eat anywhere. He always did.

Yet somehow, her body moved before her mind could catch up.

She kept it simple-nothing extravagant, nothing that would feel like an obligation. Just warm food made with care. By the time she packed the dinner neatly into a container, the hesitation had faded, replaced by a familiar ache she refused to name.

An hour later, Lila found herself driving through the city, the skyline darkening as she approached the towering glass structure of the Blackthorne Empire. The building rose like a monument to power and control -Damon’s world.

Her grip tightened on the steering wheel.

She had once belonged here too.

As an assistant accountant, Lila had spent countless days behind those walls, balancing numbers, chasing deadlines, building a quiet reputation of competence. That life had ended the day Damon asked her to resign. Not because she lacked skill-but because gossip had begun to whisper through the corridors.

His family’s rules were strict. A Blackthorne wife did not work under her husband’s shadow. She was meant to host, attend, smile, and remain untouchable by rumor. So Lila complied. She became a full-time wife, neatly folded into the role his family demanded.

The security lights flickered as she parked and stepped out, the container warm against her palms. Standing before the entrance, she paused, memories pressing in from all sides. This building had once been her ambition. Now, it was simply Damon’s.

She took a breath and walked inside-caught between the woman she used to be and the wife she had been shaped into.

The elevator ride to the top floor felt longer than it actually was. When the doors finally slid open, Lila stepped out and was met by a familiar face.

“Lila,” Bryan greeted with a warm smile, rising from his desk. There was ease in his expression-the kind that came from years of working together, from knowing her before titles and expectations had reshaped her life.

“Hi, Bryan,” she replied, returning the smile. For a brief moment, she felt normal again.

Bryan noticed the container in her hands but didn’t comment. Instead, he walked ahead and pushed open the heavy office doors. “Mr. Blackthorne,” he announced smoothly, “Lila is here.”

Inside, Damon stood near the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city lights stretching endlessly behind him. He didn’t turn right away. He simply nodded once, sharp and controlled, then lifted a hand and pointed toward

the couch without a word.

Lila stepped inside as the doors closed behind her. The familiar scent of leather, wood, and quiet authority

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Chapter 5

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filled the space. She crossed the room and sat down where he indicated, placing the container carefully beside

her.

Damon finally turned to face her. His expression was unreadable-cool, composed, the same man who ruled boardrooms without ever raising his voice. Yet his eyes lingered on her just a second longer than necessary, as if measuring something he refused to acknowledge.

Silence stretched between them, heavy and deliberate.

Lila folded her hands in her lap, waiting.

Damon walked back to his desk and reached into the drawer, his movements slow and deliberate. He pulled out a folder and crossed the room, stopping in front of Lila.

“This is yours,” he said.

She accepted it, confusion flickering across her face as she opened the folder. Her breath caught.

A deed of sale.

A lavish villa, secluded and grand-her name printed beside his. Lila Blackthorne. Damon Blackthorne. The address sat an hour’s drive away from the Blackthorne estate.

She looked up at him, stunned. “What is this?”

“My family wants us to live there,” Damon finally said. “They believe it’s time we leave the penthouse. The villa is close enough to the estate to satisfy them, but far enough to keep us out of daily scrutiny.”

“After two years,” Lila said quietly. “After two years of living in your penthouse… why now?”

Damon’s expression tightened. “Because they asked.”

She closed the folder and set it aside. “And you agreed.”

“Yes.”

Her laugh was soft but bitter.

Damon exhaled slowly. “Simon told me.”

Her eyes lifted. “You spoke to Simon?”

“He’s my lawyer,” Damon said calmly. “And my childhood friend. When you asked if it was possible to file for divorce, I knew.”

The word settled heavily between them.

“I didn’t do it yet,” Lila said. “I only asked.”

“And I’m telling you now,” Damon replied, his voice firm, “I won’t agree to it.”

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Chapter 5

“You can’t stop me forever.”

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“I don’t need forever,” he said. “You still have one year left on the contract. One year before any divorce can even be discussed. Until then, forget it.”

Lila stood, her hands clenched. “Then let me step aside.”

Damon’s eyes darkened. “Step aside for what?”

“For Maddy,” she said, her voice steady despite the ache in her chest. “She’s back. Your childhood sweetheart. The woman your supposedly marry. You don’t need me to pretend anymore when you can have her be the real Mrs. Blackthorne.”

Silence fell.

Damon took a step closer. “This has nothing to do with Maddy.”

“Don’t lie to me,” Lila whispered. “You finally have her back-and yet you’re forcing me to stay.”

Her gaze hardened. “Why did you agree to your family’s wish now? Why move us to a villa when I only have one year left to play Mrs. Blackthorne?”

For the first time, Damon didn’t answer immediately.

And that hesitation told Lila everything she feared to know.

Lila didn’t need Damon to explain.

She had known about Maddy long before she signed the contract-long before she agreed to play Damon Blackthorne’s wife. She knew this day would come. Everyone knew the story.

Maddelyn Cross-his childhood sweetheart, the girl who had been meant to marry him long before Lila ever entered his life-had run away. She wasn’t ready for Damon, for his family, for the weight of the Blackthorne name. Damon never explained. He never chased. And Lila had accepted that truth when she signed the papers. She knew this moment would come.

Damon’s phone buzzed against the desk. Once. Twice. He glanced at it, expression tightening ever so slightly, and answered in a low voice.

“Yes,” he said quietly. “I know… We’ll talk later.”

When he set the phone down and turned back to her, he was calm again. His gaze found hers.

“I’ve already arranged a mover,” he said. “Your things will be packed tonight. We leave for the villa early in the morning.”

Lila looked at him. The words landed quietly, like stones. She didn’t argue. Didn’t question. Didn’t protest.

Because she had already made peace with the role she had chosen. She had known this day would come-the shift from the penthouse to the villa, the life she had agreed to play, the rules she had to follow. Resistance felt unnecessary.

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Chapter 5

“Early morning,” she repeated softly, almost to herself.

“Yes,” Damon said simply. “Everything will be ready.”

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She folded her hands in her lap, calm on the outside, chest tight on the inside. She didn’t need him to explain. She had already understood. Tomorrow, she would play Mrs. Blackthorne-just as the contract demanded.

AD

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