The Wife He Never Meant to Love (Lila and Damon) novel Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Chapter 68

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After Ina finally stopped lecturing her with those piercing, overprotective eyes, Lila slipped into a soft summer dress.

The fabric brushed gently against her sensitive skin, reminding her of last night in ways she refused to dwell

When she stepped into the small dining area of her apartment, Ina was already seated at the tiny wooden table, scrolling through her phone with an expression that screamed judgment.

Lila crossed her arms. “So… what are you doing here?”

Ina slowly lifted her gaze.

“Oh?” she replied dryly. “You don’t question Damon and sleep with him, but you’re wondering why I’m here?”

Lila blinked. “Ina!”

“I’m just saying,” Ina continued in a perfectly sarcastic tone. “Your priorities are fascinating.”

Lila tried not to smile. Failed.

“No, I mean,” Lila said, walking closer and dropping into the chair across from her, “what made Ina the workaholic suddenly show up on a weekday morning? I thought you couldn’t come.”

Ina’s expression softened.

Before answering, Lila leaned forward and hugged her.

Ina hesitated only a second before hugging her back tightly.

“I was worried about you,” Ina admitted quietly. “Especially when I heard you were rushed to the hospital.”

Lila pulled back slightly. “It wasn’t that serious.”

“You fainted.”

“I was exhausted, that’s all,” Lila said quickly. “Too much stress.”

Ina studied her face as if trying to detect a lie.

“You better not be hiding something from me.”

“I’m not,” Lila insisted, offering a small reassuring smile.

Silence lingered for a moment.

Then Lila clapped her hands lightly against the table. “Since you’re already here…’

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Chapter 68

They laughed over wine.

They avoided certain names.

:

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After dinner, they climbed to an open-air bar above the street. From their seats near the railing, they could see people passing below-couples strolling hand in hand, groups of friends taking photos, city lights reflecting off polished pavement.

Ina leaned casually over the balcony.

Then she stilled.

“Lila,” she said quietly.

“What?”

Ina didn’t answer. She simply lifted her phone and angled it downward.

A second later, Lila’s phone buzzed.

She looked at the screen.

A photo.

Clear.

Unmistakable.

Maddy-pregnant Maddy-was sitting comfortably on the lap of an older man at a café table below. His hand rested intimately on her waist. She was laughing, her head tilted toward him as if the rest of the world didn’t exist.

Ina: Your dog got cheated on.

Lila let out a soft chuckle.

It wasn’t amused.

It wasn’t surprised.

It was something colder.

“So that’s why Damon’s hungry,” she murmured, eyes still fixed on the image. “He can’t touch Maddy because she’s pregnant.”

Ina glanced at her.

“And you?” Ina asked quietly.

Lila swallowed.

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Chapter 68

The realization crept in slowly, then struck hard.

“And I let myself become the substitute again.”

The words tasted bitter.

The breeze suddenly felt colder against her skin.

A substitute.

A replacement.

A convenient solution.

“A stupid bed warmer,” she whispered to herself.

It hit her bullseye.

Not because Ina said it.

Not because Maddy was below laughing on another man’s lap.

But because deep down-

Lila knew she had walked straight back into the fire.

And this time, she couldn’t even pretend she hadn’t seen the flames.

Ina’s voice softened. “Hey.”

But Lila didn’t look away from the screen.

Her heart wasn’t breaking.

It was hardening.

And that scared her more.

The ocean breeze still lingered in Lila’s hair when her phone rang.

“Mark?” she answered, stepping slightly away from Ina.

Her younger brother didn’t waste time.

“Hyung-” he corrected himself quickly. “Sis, I need to tell you something.”

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Lila leaned against the balcony railing, listening as Mark explained how, over the past few days, Damon had personally intervened in Integer Technology’s expansion. He had secured high-tier suppliers, negotiated contracts no one else could touch, and even opened doors in Bellair City that Mark had been chasing for

years.

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Chapter 68

“He offered us a full expansion in Bellair,” Mark admitted. “Prime district.”

Lila frowned slightly. “And you hate it.”

“I do,” Mark muttered. “I don’t like owing him anything.”

“But?”

There was a pause.

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“But the company’s growing faster than we projected. We’re reaching heights I couldn’t hit alone.”

Lila closed her eyes briefly.

Damon never did anything halfway.

“Just… be careful,” Mark said quietly. “I don’t trust his motives.”

After the call ended, Lila stared at the darkening sky.

She didn’t know what unsettled her more-

That Damon was helping her family.

Or that he hadn’t told her.

When Lila and Ina returned to the apartment, the scent of food greeted them before the door fully opened.

They stopped.

Damon was already inside.

Sleeves rolled up. Hair slightly messy. Standing in her kitchen as if he belonged there.

Ina’s posture stiffened instantly.

“I’ll kill him,” she muttered under her breath.

Lila grabbed her wrist quickly. “No.”

Damon glanced up, as if sensing the hostility in the air, but said nothing. Instead, he simply gestured toward

the table.

Dinner was ready.

They ate in near silence.

Ina stabbed her food with unnecessary force.

Damon, however, acted as if this were the most natural thing in the world. He kept placing more food onto Lila’s plate.

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Chapter 68

“You’re thinner,” he said quietly. “Thinner than when you were in Forest Villa.”

Lila’s grip on her fork tightened.

Forest Villa.

The place where she once believed she was safe.

“I’m fine,” she replied calmly.

His phone began ringing.

Once.

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Twice.

Three times.

Finally, he picked it up.

“Maddy,” he answered.

Ina rolled her eyes.

Lila focused on her plate, pretending not to listen.

“I’m in South City,” Maddy’s voice carried faintly through the speaker. “At the beach resort.”

Damon’s expression remained neutral. “I’ll send Bryan.”

Ina’s brows shot up.

After he hung up, silence settled again.

Lila lifted her gaze slowly.

“I think you should go,” she said evenly. “Keep Maddy company. She’s pregnant. It’s not good for her to be alone.”

“It’s fine,” Damon replied firmly. “Bryan will be there.”

“Aren’t you worried?” Lila pressed.

His eyes met hers.

“Worried about what?”

“I don’t know,” she said lightly. “Maybe she’ll slip and fall.”

The words hung in the air.

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Chapter 68

Damon stared at her for a long moment.

He didn’t smile.

Didn’t react.

He simply watched her. as if trying to read something beneath her calm expression.

Then he changed the subject.

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“You’re coming back with me tomorrow,” he said. “To Bellair City. My mother has a charity event. She wants you there.”

Lila went still.

Margaret had already called her that morning.

Warm. Polite. Hopeful.

Margaret had always been kind to her-never once treating her as an outsider.

And Lila could never bring herself to hurt her.

“I know.” Lila said quietly.

Damon studied her face carefully.

But she offered nothing more.

No argument.

No resistance.

Because this wasn’t about Damon.

It was about Margaret.

And Lila had never learned how to say no to someone who treated her with genuine affection.

Ina watched the exchange carefully, sensing the layers beneath the calm surface.

Dinner ended with too many unsaid things.

And tomorrow-

They would return to Bellair City.

Where family, reputation, and carefully hidden truths waited.

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