[{"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-68":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},1735824,2219,"Chapter 68: Picture","bl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my-chapter-68",68,"\u003Cp>NOAH\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound of Cassian’s car tires crunching against the gravel as he drove away with Cyan felt like a physical weight being lifted off my chest, only to be replaced by a vacuum of pure, unadulterated spite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stood in the dust of the construction site, my hands trembling slightly as I clutched my tablet. I felt small. I felt like a footnote in the grand, dramatic biography of Cassian Wolfe. He’d spent weeks treating me like a conquest, then a nuisance, and now, worst of all, he was treating me like I was invisible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In that moment, a switch flipped. I was done being the \"good boy.\" I was done being the confused intern who waited in hotel suites for a master who didn’t want him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Cassian wanted to ignore me, fine. I was going to make myself impossible to ignore. I was going to burn so brightly he’d have no choice but to look, even if it was just to watch me turn to ash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Remember when I said I don’t drink much?\" I asked, turning to Alex.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alex tilted his head, a curious spark in his eyes. \"Yeah?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I changed my mind,\" I said, a dangerous smile tugging at my lips. \"Let’s go for a drink somewhere.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alex’s surprise was palpable, but it was quickly swallowed by a look of sheer delight. \"Okay. I like this version of you, Noah. Where’s this coming from?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Does it matter?\" I snapped, then softened. \"I just... I need to not be this version of me for a few hours.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alex nodded smoothly. \"Perfect. I know just the place.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The \"place\" was a members-only club called The Vault. It wasn’t a bar; it was a cathedral of hedonism. Tucked behind an unmarked steel door in a cobblestone alley, it felt like entering another dimension.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air was thick with the scent of expensive gin, heavy bass, and the kind of electricity that only exists when a hundred people are trying to forget who they are.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alex moved through the crowd effortlessly. He didn’t just have a membership; he had presence. The bouncers nodded, the bartenders anticipated his order, and the people in the VIP lounge looked at him with a mix of envy and reverence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"To a new Noah,\" Alex said, handing me a glass of something clear and dangerously potent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t sip it. I drank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first glass burned. The second glass felt like a warm hug. By the third, the world had started to soften at the edges. The pounding bass was no longer an intrusion; it was my heartbeat. I shed my jacket, tossing it over a velvet chair, and followed the pull of the music.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I started dancing. Not the awkward, self-conscious sway I usually did at weddings, but actual, reckless movement. I didn’t care who was watching. I wanted to shed the \"Noah Bennett\" skin, the one that was too shy, too broke, and too entangled with a man who treated him like dirt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I saw a group of women at the edge of the dance floor, watching me. I felt that old, familiar pressure to prove something. I was still attracted to women. I had to be. My body’s reaction to Cassian was just... a fluke. A glitch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hey,\" I slurred slightly, approaching a tall brunette. I tried to flirt, tried to lean into her space the way Cassian leaned into mine. I tried to feel that spark, that rush of blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I felt like I was acting in a play where I’d forgotten all the lines. I was going through the motions, but the inside of me was a hollow shell. I glanced back at the VIP booth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alex was watching me. He didn’t intervene; he just sat there, sipping his drink, a calm observer of my spiral. Occasionally, when I stumbled back to the table, he’d place a steadying hand on my waist or lean in close to whisper something encouraging. He was being the \"supportive friend,\" but his eyes were calculating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re really going for it tonight, huh?\" Alex asked, catching me as I nearly tripped over a stray bottle. He pulled me close to steady me, his face inches from mine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The lights flickered, red, blue, white. I was drunk. Not sloppy-drunk, but loose. Reckless. I looked at Alex and then I looked at my phone sitting on the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A terrible, wonderful idea began to form in my vodka-soaked brain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alex,\" I said, my voice thick. \"Take a picture with me? I... I want a souvenir. For being such a good fan of you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alex smiled, but there was a sharp edge to it. \"A picture? Sure, Noah. But everything has a price.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What price?\" I asked, my head tilting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before I could blink, Alex snatched my phone from my hand. He scrolled to the camera with practiced ease. \"This,\" he murmured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t wait for permission. He grabbed my jaw, his fingers firm against my skin, and pulled me toward him. He kissed me. hard. It wasn’t like Cassian’s kiss; it didn’t feel like a soul-shattering event. It felt like a claim. Click. The camera shutter sounded in the background, a digital guillotine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pulled away, smirking. \"You’re welcome.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stood there, dumbfounded, my lips tingling but my heart remaining stubbornly cold. \"Th—thanks,\" I stammered, screaming internally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sat down and stared at the photo. My face was flushed, my eyes were half-closed, and Alex’s hand was wrapped around my neck in a way that looked incredibly intimate. It looked like we were mid-affair. It looked... scandalous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I started doing calculus in my head. Am I gay? I didn’t hate the kiss, but I didn’t feel the world end. If I were gay, wouldn’t it feel like it does with Cassian? But if it feels like that with Cassian, then I’m definitely gay. But I can’t be gay for a murderer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My logic was a mess. But the spite was still there, clear and sharp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fuck it.\u003C\u002Fp>",1002,"2026-06-06T16:23:43.455Z",1,"novelbin.me","a23c6511e98699a26f90c1ab174e002f9a97a9fe933a371075fc7c11064e446d","bl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my-chapter-223","bl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my-chapter-222",307,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fbl-bound-to-my-enemy-the-billionaire-who-took-my-cover.jpg"]