[{"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-146":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},1735780,2219,"Chapter 146: Weight of guilt","bl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my-chapter-146",146,"\u003Cp>CASSIAN\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The last bullet struck his lower spine. It was a surgical strike, designed to finish what the ankle shot started. Alex’s body went rigid for a heartbeat, then collapsed into a heap of dead weight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t scream this time; he just slumped, the light in his eyes flickering with the realization that he couldn’t feel his legs anymore. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t even twitch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I reached the edge of the couch and stood over him. He looked up at me, his breathing shallow and wet. \"Please... please don’t... \"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I said nothing. I didn’t need to. I just stared down at him with a cold, murderous detachment that was deeper than any rage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wanted him to see the face of the man who would end him. I wanted it to be the last thing he saw before the darkness of his own choices swallowed him whole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The doors behind me burst open again. My security team flooded the room, their weapons sweeping the space before settling on the carnage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They saw Alex bleeding out on the floor, surrounded by the brass shell casings of the gun I held. They saw me, standing like a specter of vengeance, and they saw Noah, a broken ghost on the white cushions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sir...\" my lead operative, Miller, spoke tentatively. He gestured to the heap that used to be Alex Hendrix. \"What do you want us to do with him?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I looked at Alex. I could call the police. I could let the system take him. But I knew how that story ended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hendrix money would buy the best lawyers. He would hide the evidence. He’d get a reduced sentence in a white-collar facility, or he’d buy his way out on a technicality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That wasn’t justice. That was a transaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Bundle him up,\" I said, my voice flat and emotionless, sounding like it came from miles away. \"Keep him somewhere secure. Somewhere deep. I’ll deal with him later.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t need a judge. I was the judge. Alex wouldn’t face a jury; he would face me, on my terms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment Miller’s team moved to secure Alex, I turned. I dropped my gun... it clattered onto the marble, a discarded tool... and fell to my knees beside the couch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Noah,\" I whispered. My hands were shaking, a fine, violent tremor I couldn’t control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Noah was still lost. His eyes were open, staring at the ceiling, but they were glazed with a chemical fog. He wasn’t tracking my movement. He wasn’t even aware a shooting had begun and stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His breathing was shallow, his chest hitching in a way that made my own heart ache. His shirt was a mess, the buttons torn away, exposing his pale skin to the cold air of the penthouse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked so small. So vulnerable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I reached out, my fingers hovering over him before I finally touched his shoulder. My touch was as light as a feather, terrified I might break what was left of him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With agonizing slowness, I pulled the edges of his shirt together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My fingers fumbled with the few remaining buttons, fastening them with a desperate, shaky urgency.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wasn’t worried about the fashion; I was worried about his dignity. I wanted to cover him, to shield him from the eyes of my men, from the world, from the memory of what had almost happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rage was gone now, replaced by a crushing weight of guilt that threatened to suffocate me. I had done this. I had pushed him into the arms of a monster because I thought I was being \"noble\" by staying away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I slid my arms under him... one beneath his shoulders, the other under his knees. I lifted him in a bridal carry, pulling his limp body against my chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His head lolled against my shoulder, his breathing warm and erratic against my neck. He was dead weight, completely surrendered to the drugs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My side was still bleeding from the knife wound, and my shoulder burned where the bullet had grazed me, but I didn’t feel it. I didn’t care if I bled out right there as long as I got him out of this place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I carried him through the apartment, past the bodies in the hallway, past the shell casings and the shattered glass. I didn’t look back at Alex.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t look at the carnage. I just walked, my arms tightened around Noah, cradling him like the most precious thing in a world that had tried to destroy him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elevator ride down was a descent into a different kind of hell. I looked down at Noah’s face, his features soft and beautiful even in this state, and the guilt intensified. I should have found him sooner. I should have known Alex was a predator. This is my fault.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the doors opened on the ground floor, I avoided the main gala entrance. I couldn’t let the elite see him like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t let them whisper about the \"vulnerable boy\" in Cassian Wolfe’s arms. I exited through a side service door, the night air hitting us with a shock of cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My car was waiting, the engine idling. My driver’s eyes widened as he saw me emerge, covered in blood and carrying a drugged man. \"Sir, should I call... \"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just drive,\" I snapped, kicking the back door open. I slid into the seat, never letting go of Noah. I kept him in my arms, pulling him into my lap so I could hold him close, his head tucked under my chin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The drive to the hotel was a blur of streetlights and silence. I didn’t speak. I just held him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My hand moved to his hair, stroking the soft strands over and over in a repetitive, mindless motion. \"You’re safe now,\" I murmured into his ear, my voice cracking. \"I’ve got you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t answer. He just breathed, a slow, chemical rhythm against my chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When we reached my suite, I bypassed the staff, ignoring the stares as I carried him straight to the master bedroom. I kicked the door shut behind us, cutting off the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I laid him down gently on top of the silk covers, my hands lingering on his shoulders. I removed his shoes and loosened his collar, my eyes searching his skin for any signs of physical assault.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Relief... sharp and painful... washed over me when I found no marks. I had gotten there in time. I had interrupted Alex before the point of no return. I couldn’t finish the thought of what would have happened if I’d been five minutes later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I got a damp cloth from the bathroom and wiped the sweat and the smell of Alex’s cologne from Noah’s face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was feverish, his body reacting to whatever poison had been forced down his throat. I pulled a heavy blanket over him and sat on the edge of the bed, my eyes never leaving him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An hour passed. Two. The only sound was the hum of the air conditioning and the thrum of the city below.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, Noah’s eyes fluttered. They didn’t just open; they struggled to focus, darting around the room until they landed on me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Recognition dawned, slow and painful. \"C-Cassian?\" His voice was a slurred, barely audible ghost of a sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m here,\" I said, leaning closer, my heart leaping in my chest. \"You’re safe. You’re back in the suite.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, his hands reached out. They were weak, but they moved with a desperate, frantic energy, grabbing the lapels of my blood-stained shirt. He fisted his hands in the fabric, pulling me toward him with a strength born of pure terror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don’t... don’t leave... \" he choked out, his voice shaking and rising into a sob. \"Please don’t leave me alone.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I won’t. I’m not going anywhere, Noah. I promise.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he wasn’t listening. He was caught in a drug-induced panic, the trauma of the night replaying in the dark corners of his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He began to cry... heavy, racking sobs that shook his entire frame. \"Please... please save me... \"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’ve got you, Noah. You’re already saved. It’s over.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wouldn’t let go. His grip on my shirt was so tight his knuckles were white.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was begging, his face crumpled in agony, and I realized he didn’t feel safe just having me in the room. He needed to be held.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t hesitate. I climbed onto the bed, sitting against the headboard, and pulled him into my lap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I cradled him against my chest, his back pressed to my heart, my arms wrapped around him like a fortress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He curled into me, tucking his head under my chin, his hands still fisted in my shirt as if it were a lifeline.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m sorry... I’m so sorry... \" he sobbed into my chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Shh. You have nothing to be sorry for,\" I murmured, my hand stroking his hair in that same repetitive, soothing motion. \"It wasn’t your fault. None of it was your fault.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could smell the alcohol on his breath... the heavy, sweet scent of whatever Alex had used to wash the pills down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My rage spiked for a second, a cold flare in my gut, but I pushed it down. Right now, Noah needed the protector, not the killer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Shh. You’re safe. I’ve got you. Nothing’s going to hurt you.\" I repeated it like a mantra, my voice soft and nurturing... a tone I hadn’t used in years, a tone I hadn’t known I still possessed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sat there in the quiet of the room, rubbing his back in slow, steady circles, feeling the way his sobs gradually turned into hiccups, and then into deep, shuddering breaths.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was still clinging to me, his body shaking with the aftershocks of the drug, but he was finally, finally beginning to calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The weight of my guilt was crushing. I had caused this. I had pushed him away, and he had almost paid the ultimate price for my arrogance. I looked down at the top of his head, my chin resting on his hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I held him tighter, my arms a shield against a world that had tried to break him. We stayed like that for a long time... two damaged men in a quiet room, breathing together in the dark.\u003C\u002Fp>",1722,"2026-06-06T16:23:43.455Z",1,"novelbin.me","8181ad77b91dcc7dcb806e1e6b6b0008685e50b352027e6e16a3aa45077d4757","bl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my-chapter-147","bl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my-chapter-145",307,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fbl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my-cover.jpg"]