[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-bl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my":3,"chapter-bl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my-bl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my-chapter-135":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","[BL] Bound to My Enemy: The Billionaire Who Took My Girl",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1735769,2219,"Chapter 135: Stranger","bl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my-chapter-135",135,"\u003Cp>\"Noah?\" Alex’s voice broke through my spiraling thoughts. \"You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I... I’m sorry, Alex,\" I whispered, the guilt gnawing at me. He was saying everything \"right,\" offering me the world, but all I wanted was to find the man who had told me I was nothing. I was a mess of conflicting desires and growing dread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The walls of the ballroom suddenly felt like they were closing in. I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t pretend to be in this romantic moment when every instinct I had was screaming that something was rotting beneath the floorboards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I... I need to use the restroom again,\" I said, pulling back from his hold. I went for the most embarrassing, self-deprecating excuse I could think of. \"I’m so sorry, I just, I have a really small bladder. The champagne, I guess.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alex hesitated. His fingers tightened on my waist for a second too long, his eyes narrowing as he searched my face. \"Again? Noah, are you feeling alright? You look pale.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m fine, really,\" I insisted, already backing away toward the edge of the dance floor. \"I just need a minute. I’ll be right back.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He reluctantly released me, his hand lingering in the air for a moment. I didn’t wait. I turned and practically bolted through the tables, the relief of escaping the spotlight mixing with a crushing sense of shame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I pushed through the double doors into the long, marble hallway that led away from the main gala. The air here was cooler, the music of the waltz muffled into a low hum. I leaned against the wall, taking deep, gasping breaths of air that didn’t smell like Alex’s cologne.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I debated just hiding in the bathroom for the rest of the night, but I realized I actually did need to go, the nervous energy had a way of working through my system. I started walking down the dim corridor, my footsteps echoing on the stone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was about a minute away from the main ballroom, rounding a sharp corner near a service alcove, when it happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>BAM.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t even see the person coming. It was a high-speed, shoulder-to-shoulder impact that knocked the wind out of my lungs. I went flying backward, my hands scraping against the floor as I collapsed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ow... god,\" I groaned, stars dancing in my vision. I scrambled to get my bearings, pushing myself up onto my elbows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The person I had hit was also on the floor, panting heavily. I looked up, and my heart dropped into my stomach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was her. The reporter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she didn’t look like the polished professional I’d seen at the site. Her hair was a wild, tangled mess, and the shoulder of her blazer was torn. She looked terrified, her eyes darting around the hallway like a cornered animal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our eyes met, and the shock was mutual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You,\" she wheezed, her voice trembling. \"I know you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re the reporter from the construction site,\" I said, my voice rising in alarm. \"What happened to you? Why are you, \"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re with him,\" she interrupted, her eyes blazing with a sudden, sharp anger as she scrambled backward away from me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"With who? Cassian?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No,\" she spat, her face contorting. \"Alex. I know you’re with Alex Hendrix.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before I could defend myself, the sound of heavy, rhythmic footsteps began to echo from the far end of the hallway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Search every room!\" a voice shouted. \"She couldn’t have gone far! Find her!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman’s face drained of color, turning a ghostly, sickly white. She looked at the hallway behind her, then at the dead end to our left. She was trapped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A split-second instinct took over. I didn’t know why she was running, but I knew the look of pure terror when I saw it. I reached out and grabbed her hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Come on!\" I hissed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I pulled her toward the nearest door, the men’s restroom. We burst inside just as the shouting voices grew louder, the heavy thud of boots drawing closer to the corner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bathroom was bright and sterile, smelling of industrial lemon. I practically shoved her into the furthest stall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Stay quiet,\" I whispered, my heart hammering against my teeth. \"Don’t make a sound. Don’t come out until I tell you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I closed the stall door just as the main bathroom door swung open with a violent thud. Two men stepped inside. I recognized them immediately, they were the same security guards Alex had left the ballroom with earlier. The same ones who had \"escorted\" her away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stood by the sinks, my hands shaking so hard I had to grip the edge of the marble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You see anyone run through here?\" one of the men barked, his eyes scanning the stalls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I played the only card I had: the \"stupid, shy assistant.\" I blinked at them, my voice trembling with genuine nervous energy. \"What? No. I’ve been in here alone. Is... is something wrong? Did someone get hurt?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The men looked at each other, suspicious. One of them started to walk toward the stalls, his hand moving toward the first door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The gala... the waltz just ended,\" I rambled, stepping into his path as if by accident. \"I was just, I have a really small bladder. It’s embarrassing. Are you guys security? Is there a fire?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My sheer awkwardness seemed to throw them off. The guard paused, looking at my expensive suit and my flushed, panicked face. I looked like exactly what I was: a rich man’s neurotic guest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Forget it,\" the other guard grunted. \"She probably doubled back to the kitchens. Let’s go.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They turned and marched out, the heavy door swinging shut behind them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I waited until their footsteps faded into silence before I leaned against the sink and exhaled a breath I felt like I’d been holding for a lifetime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They’re gone,\" I whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stall door creaked open. The reporter stepped out, and for the first time, under the harsh, unforgiving fluorescent lights of the bathroom, I saw the full extent of the damage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My breath hitched. There were dark, mottled bruises forming on her cheekbones. Her lower lip was split and swollen, a bead of fresh blood standing out against her pale skin. When she raised her arms to steady herself, I saw the defensive purple welts along her forearms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thank you,\" she said, her voice barely a thread. \"You didn’t have to do that.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What happened to you?\" I asked, my voice trembling with horror. \"Who did this? We need to call the police. We need to get you to a hospital.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No!\" she snapped, her eyes widening with panic. She tried to push past me toward the door. \"No police. I need to go. I need to get out of this building before they realize I’m not in the vents.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I blocked her path, my hands out in a placating gesture. \"Wait, you can’t just leave like this! You’re bleeding. You’re hurt. Let me help you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You don’t understand!\" she cried, a sob breaking through her voice as she tried to shove me aside. \"I need to get out! Now!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I can help you,\" I insisted, grabbing her shoulders to steady her. \"Just tell me what happened at the site. Tell me who did this to you!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stopped struggling, her eyes boring into mine with a look of profound, jagged pity. \"No one can help me, Noah. Not against him. Not in this city.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My stomach dropped. The dread I’d been feeling all night solidified into a cold, hard lump of lead. The question I had been terrified to even think, let alone ask, finally clawed its way up my throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is it...\" my voice was barely a whisper, a ghost of a sound under the buzzing fluorescent lights. \"Is it Alex? Did Alex do this to you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The silence that followed was the loudest thing I had ever heard.\u003C\u002Fp>",1326,"2026-06-06T16:23:43.455Z",1,"novelbin.me","bca27d33fe4122aca7f8a391e9dfd9c3fc2129c8bc18edb78d6ebe49840702ff","bl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my-chapter-136","bl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my-chapter-134",307,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fbl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my-cover.jpg"]