[{"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-17":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},1735651,2219,"Chapter 17: Worse","bl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my-chapter-17",17,"\u003Cp>The words hit me like a slap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I froze mid-sentence. \"...What?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cassian leaned forward, eyes scanning the screen with cold precision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This,\" he repeated, voice flat, \"is trash.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My pride shattered into a thousand pieces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I, \" My throat tightened. \"I followed your instructions. I included everything you asked for, \"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You included the data,\" he interrupted. \"But the structure is a mess. The flow is disjointed. Half of these slides are redundant.\" He scrolled through, and I watched in horror as he pointed out mistake after mistake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This chart? The axis labels are wrong. This section on competitive positioning? You buried the lead three slides too late. This risk assessment? It’s surface-level at best. Any investor worth their salt will tear it apart in seconds.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each word was a knife.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And this, \" He tapped the screen. \"This color scheme is goddamn hideous.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wanted to scream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wanted to cry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wanted to set this entire building on fire with him inside it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, I stood there, jaw clenched, fists balled at my sides, forcing a smile so wide it hurt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Understood,\" I said through gritted teeth. \"I’ll fix it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’ll redo it,\" he corrected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My eye twitched. \"Redo it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"From scratch.\" He leaned back again, taking a slow sip of whiskey. \"I want the structure completely overhauled. Follow the notes I’m about to send you. Tighten the narrative. Make it compelling, not just informative.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, sir.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And don’t bury the ROI projections on slide forty-three. Lead with them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, sir.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fix the charts. All of them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, sir.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And for God’s sake, change the color scheme. This isn’t a children’s birthday party.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My smile was now a rictus of barely concealed rage. \"Yes, sir.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He watched me for a long moment, amusement flickering in his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You can’t leave until it’s done, by the way.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My soul left my body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m sorry, what?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You heard me.\" He stood, shrugging on his suit jacket with infuriating grace. \"I need this finished tonight. So you’ll stay here and finish it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But you’re leaving,\" I said, voice rising slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I am.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s not fair!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused, turning to look at me with one eyebrow raised, but said nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And I stood there, fuming, my brain short-circuiting somewhere between outrage and exhaustion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is bullshit. Complete bullshit. If he’s going to treat me like his plaything, force me into this insane arrangement, I might as well get SOME favoritism out of it, right? Special treatment? Easier workload? Something other than having a monster dick shoved down my throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I realized, somewhere in the middle of my internal rant, that I was staring at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the way his suit fit. The sharp line of his jaw. The way the smoke curled around him like he was something out of a noir film.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stop it. Stop staring. Stop...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Having dirty thoughts, Noah?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice snapped me back to reality, and I found him smirking at me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Unfortunately,\" he continued, voice dripping with mockery, \"I can’t get turned on if you do trash work like this. So maybe focus on fixing the presentation instead of fantasizing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My face exploded in heat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m not... \"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good.\" He brushed past me toward the door. \"Then get to work.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And he left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stood there, alone in his office, trembling with a mixture of fury and humiliation and something I absolutely refused to name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then I grabbed my laptop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And got back to work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It took another four hours.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Four. Hours.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time I finished, it was past ten. The office was empty. The building was silent except for the hum of the air conditioning and the occasional creak of settling floors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I saved the file, sent it to Cassian’s email, and closed my laptop with shaking hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t want to see his stupid, smug, infuriatingly handsome face ever again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I grabbed my things and left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment I stepped outside, my phone buzzed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A text from my mom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mom: Your father’s birthday dinner is this Saturday. 6 PM. Don’t be late. Your brother will be there. The neighbors are joining too. Dress appropriately. And try not to embarrass us this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stared at the message.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No \"how are you.\" No \"hope you’re doing well.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just expectations. Obligations. Guilt wrapped in passive-aggression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My chest tightened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wanted to ignore it. To delete it. To throw my phone into the nearest trash can and pretend my family didn’t exist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I couldn’t.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because despite everything, I still wanted them to love me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if they never would.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shoved my phone into my pocket and hailed a cab.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Home was exactly as depressing as I’d left it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Small. Dark. Empty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I heated up leftover takeout, ate it standing over the sink, and tried not to think about how pathetic my life had become.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My phone buzzed again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mason: You alive?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Me: Barely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mason: Hang in there, man. Tomorrow’s a new day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t respond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, I opened Instagram.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And, like the masochist I apparently was, I went to Lila’s profile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She’d posted again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A photo of her at some upscale restaurant, wine glass in hand, laughing at something off-camera.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The caption: \"Living my best life. No regrets. 💕\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stared at it until my vision blurred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then I locked my phone and went to bed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was just drifting off, finally, finally about to escape this nightmare of a day, when my phone rang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I groaned, fumbling for it in the dark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>11:46 PM.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unknown number.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I almost didn’t answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But something made me pick up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hello?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do you have a death wish?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cold. Sharp. Unmistakable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cassian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Who told you,\" he repeated, voice dangerously soft, \"to leave work without my permission?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My brain stuttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What the fuck, \"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You heard me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sat there in the dark, phone still pressed to my ear, heart hammering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And realized, with sinking certainty, that my life had just gotten so much worse.\u003C\u002Fp>",1009,"2026-06-06T16:23:43.175Z",1,"novelbin.me","859ca101accb0964ca2dbbf9c9ae61fa731ff774f74c1578d9fee88a046c5b7d","bl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my-chapter-18","bl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my-chapter-16",307,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fbl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my-cover.jpg"]