The Wife He Never Meant to Love (Lila and Damon) novel Chapter 98

Chapter 98

Chapter 98

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Damon sat in the villa’s study, staring blankly at the walls. The past month had been a blur of recovery. therapy, and restless nights. Even though his body was healing, his mind refused to let go of Lila. Every thought, every memory, circled back to her.

Maddy sat close, her presence steady and controlling. She spoke softly, carefully shaping every word to cement the lie. “Damon… your wife… she’s gone,” she said gently, her voice calm but firm. “She… she died in the accident.”

Damon froze, disbelief and pain twisting through him. “No… that’s not possible,” he whispered, shaking his head. “I… I can’t believe it…”

Maddy reached for his hand, squeezing it as if offering comfort. “I know it’s hard, but it’s the truth,” she said. “We buried her. She’s gone. There’s nothing more you can do.”

His eyes clouded with grief, and he leaned back, struggling to accept the words. Each syllable from Maddy cut deeper, but she continued steadily, leaving no room for doubt.

“You have to focus on yourself now, Damon,” she whispered, almost tenderly. “You need to heal… for her memory. That’s what she would want.”

Damon’s hands trembled as he pressed them to his face, unable to stop the tears. Maddy remained close, speaking soothingly, reinforcing the lie, and slowly guiding him to believe that Lila’s life had ended.

Outside, the villa was quiet. But inside, a storm of grief, manipulation, and unspoken desire for control swirled a storm Maddy was determined to master, shaping Damon’s every thought so that Lila’s absence became his new reality.

Damon picked up the phone and called Simon, hoping for guidance. Unfortunately, Simon was busy with trials and couldn’t help him at the moment. Frustrated and unwilling to wait, Damon made a decision.

He would see for himself.

He returned to the cemetery and dug at Lila’s grave, determined to confirm the truth with his own eyes. The body had already decomposed, but Damon instructed his men carefully. “Get a sample. Bring it to the hospital for a DNA test,” he ordered, his voice low and firm. “Make sure no one knows about this.”

His mind raced as he returned to the villa. If Maddy had lied, if she had manipulated him all this time… she would pay for making him a fool.

Inside the villa, Margaret was in the kitchen, busy preparing a healthy meal. “Come eat,” she called when she saw him enter.

Damon sat down and took a bite, his eyes never leaving her. “Where is she?” he asked, his voice steady but full of quiet intensity.

Margaret remained silent, continuing to move around the kitchen as if she hadn’t heard.

“I’ll find her,” Damon said finally, finishing his food in silence. The determination in his voice was

unmistakable.

14:47 Mon, May 4 M.

Chapter 98

70

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“I’ll be back at work,” he added, glancing at his mother, noticing the stress etched into her face. “Thank you for covering for me these past months.”

Margaret paused, placing a dish down. “It’s my duty to lead your people while the master was… weak,” she said, carefully choosing her words.

Damon laughed bitterly at the word. “Weakness?” he repeated. His gaze darkened. “The only weakness I’ve ever had is my wife.”

The next day, Damon was back at his office when Maddy rushed in, concern clear in her voice. “Damon… you’re not fully healed yet. There’s no need to be back at work already.”

“I can’t stay still,” Damon replied firmly. “It makes me sick to do nothing.”

He immediately called Bryan. “Pull all the papers that were processed while I was away,” he instructed. He reviewed them one by one, until one detail made his brow furrow. The Integer technology had been sold-to Blackthorne Industries.

“Why would Mark do this?” Damon muttered, a frown forming.

He looked at Bryan. “Call Mark,” he ordered. But Bryan didn’t move immediately.

“Sir… Mr. Everith didn’t leave any contact number when he sold his company. No address either,” Bryan finally said, his tone cautious. “There’s no trace.”

Damon leaned back, the weight of the discovery pressing down on him. Mark had acted, and Damon had no idea why-but he knew one thing for certain: he would find out, no matter what it took.

Meanwhile, back at the hidden villa, Mark paced near the veranda, keeping a careful watch over Lila as she tended the small farm. His eyes never left her, his jaw tight.

Ina approached quietly, carrying a tray of fresh tea. “You’ve been tense all day,” she said softly.

Mark shook his head. “I can’t relax, Ina. Damon is awake, and he will hunt down Lila. He doesn’t know Lila is safe or that I’m protecting her. If he finds her… if he discovers she’s here, it could be disastrous.”

“Disastrous?” Ina asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mark’s gaze darkened. “He hurt her during their marriage, Ina. I can’t allow him to have access to her-not her, not the child. Lila doesn’t deserve any more pain from him, and I won’t let him hurt her again. She trusts me to keep her safe, and that’s exactly what I intend to do.”

Ina set the tray down and met his eyes. “Then we stay ahead of him. Secure the villa. Control what information is out there. Make sure Lila never knows he’s looking-or that Maddy is manipulating him. He won’t see her coming, and neither will anyone else who wants to use her.”

Mark nodded grimly, determination hardening in his features. “Exactly. Whatever it takes, she stays safe. Damon doesn’t get the chance to hurt her again. Not now, not ever.”

Inside the villa, Lila laughed softly at a small joke Ina made, blissfully unaware of the storm brewing beyond the walls. Mark’s chest tightened as he watched her. The peace she had found, the farm, the quiet-it was

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Chapter 98

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fragile. But he would protect it with everything he had, even if it meant keeping Damon in the dark about her survival.

And somewhere in the city, Damon was already digging deeper, following every lead, his grief and obsession sharpening like a blade-completely unaware of how carefully Mark was shielding Lila from him.

After months of keeping Lila hidden and safe, the day finally came. She gave birth to a healthy baby boy, her eyes shining with love and relief as she held him close.

“Damian… his name is Damian,” Lila whispered softly, pressing a gentle kiss to the baby’s forehead.

Mark stood beside her, a rare smile breaking through his usually serious expression. “Damian Everith… a nice name,” he said, his voice warm but firm, full of protective pride.

Ina, who had been by Lila’s side throughout the pregnancy, smiled softly as she watched the small family together. The three of them-Lila, Mark, and Ina-celebrated quietly, savoring the safety, the peace, and the new life they had fought so hard to protect.

But far away, Damon’s obsession had only grown. The DNA results confirming Lila’s identity had been quietly delivered to him, though he kept it a secret from Maddy, pretending to still believe she had died.

He played along with her manipulation, hiding the storm brewing inside him. But deep down, every thought, every action, was consumed by the hunt for Lila. He traced leads, followed shadows, and studied every record -all while keeping Maddy convinced that he was still broken and obedient.

Mark, though unaware of Damon’s exact movements, sensed the inevitable tension creeping closer. The peace of the villa, the safety of Lila and baby Andrew, hung on a knife’s edge. One wrong move from Damon –and the fragile world they had built could shatter in an instant.

And so, life continued at the villa: Mark, Lila, and Ina savoring the quiet joy of Andrew’s birth, while in the city, Damon moved like a predator, planning, watching, and waiting, completely unaware of the protective walls Mark had placed around Lila and her child.

Damon had secretly sent a letter to Maddy, its contents cryptic and carefully crafted to make her lose her composure-just as he had once felt when she first dropped the lie that Lila was dead.

When Maddy received the letter, her knees weakened, and cold sweat ran down her back. She laughed nervously, a sharp, hollow sound. After all this time… Lila did not completely leave his side. She’s still out there, circling… watching…

Maddy believed the letter had come from Lila herself, unaware that Damon was quietly standing outside his office door, observing her every reaction.

Damon stepped inside, his presence silent but commanding. He saw Maddy, her face flushed, her hands trembling slightly as she tried to hide the paper in her pocket. A small, knowing smile tugged at his lips.

“Are you okay?” Damon asked, his voice soft and deliberately concerned, watching her carefully.

“I… I’m fine. I’m okay,” Maddy stammered, forcing a smile as she tried to appear calm, slipping the letter completely into her pocket.

“Do you need anything?” she added, her voice slightly too bright, betraying her tension.

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Chapter 98

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Damon’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly, though his tone remained gentle. She’s already unraveling, he thought, the first threads of Maddy’s carefully controlled composure beginning to fray-and he was just getting started.

“We have a business meeting with the investor tonight,” Damon said, glancing at Maddy one last time. A faint, satisfied smile tugged at his lips before he turned and left her office.

Maddy watched his retreating figure, her jaw tightening. “Lila… I won’t let you take Damon,” she whispered under her breath, her voice low but full of determination.

Meanwhile, Margaret did not miss a single development regarding Lila and Damon’s child. Every photo, every milestone, was sent to her as part of the agreement she had made with Mark: she would not help Damon find their location, and in return, Mark would allow her to see her grandson, Damian.

“This boy is growing fast,” Margaret murmured softly, her eyes fixed on the laptop.

“Who’s growing fast?” Damon’s voice suddenly cut through the room. Margaret spun around to see him standing in the doorway.

“This boy… grandon of our relative,” Margaret said flatly, her tone tinged with sadness. She felt a pang as she realized Damon did not even know his son was growing. She stared at him longer, thinking, He deserve it anyway. “If only you hadn’t wasted time ‘helping’ Maddy… I would already have a grandson.”

“It’s a shame,” she added, turning her gaze back to the laptop where Damian’s smiling face was displayed.

Damon was momentarily speechless, struck by the quiet mockery in his mother’s words. Then his expression hardened, determination burning in his eyes.

“Don’t worry, Mother,” he said, his voice low and firm. “After I find my wife and bring her back, giving you a grandson will be our first mission.”

He stared at the child on the screen, Damian’s smile frozen in the photo, and his obsession grew stronger with every passing second.