[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-bound-to-my-enemy":3,"chapter-bound-to-my-enemy-bound-to-my-enemy-chapter-263":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Bound to my Enemy",{"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},1599935,2067,"Chapter 263.","bound-to-my-enemy-chapter-263",263,"\u003Cp>My head feels like it’s being split open when I finally wake up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A groan leaves my throat before I even fully open my eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jesus Christ, everything spins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a terrifying second I don’t even know where I am.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air smells damp and old. Like dust and mildew. My cheek aches from laying awkwardly against something hard and cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Concrete.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I blink rapidly trying to clear my vision, then panic slams into me all at once and I jerk upright with a gasp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The movement immediately makes dizziness crash over me again so violently I nearly throw up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What the fuck...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My voice comes out rough and weak as I force myself to look around. A\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room is dimly lit by a single hanging bulb overhead. The walls are old concrete with stains running down parts of them. There’s no furniture except two old chairs, some boxes shoved into a corner, and a dirty mattress lying against the far wall. My heart starts pounding faster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There’s No windows, so I have no clue where I am.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then suddenly I notice someone else in the room and I freeze instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A girl sits a few feet away from me....shes about my age maybe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dark curly hair with wide startled eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment she realizes I’m awake, she straightens immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh my God,\" she blurts softly. \"You’re awake.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fear spikes hard through me and I instinctively try moving backward only to realize my wrists are tied tightly behind the chair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Panic explodes in my chest instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What the fuck?!\" I yank hard against the ropes immediately. \"Who are you?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl looks almost alarmed by my panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No no no don’t freak out,please\" she says quickly while lifting both hands slightly. \"I’m not gonna hurt you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s exactly what kidnappers say!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m not one of them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My breathing comes fast now while I stare at her desperately trying to understand what’s happening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Memories crash back suddenly\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The car. Tessa, pulling a handkerchief over my nose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My stomach twists violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tessa,\" I whisper in disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl watches me carefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You know the people that brought you here?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I look at her sharply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You don’t?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She shakes her head slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I woke up here too.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That makes me pause and stare at her properly now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She isn’t tied up. Which honestly should comfort me but somehow makes this even weirder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then another horrifying thought slams into me and my hand immediately flies toward my stomach as best as I can with my wrists restrained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oh God.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My baby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Panic claws violently through me again and the girl notices instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hey hey,\" she says softly. \"You’re okay.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m pregnant.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The words leave me before I can stop them, I don’t know why I tell her that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her entire expression changes immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fear rises higher in my throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh my God.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You don’t look hurt,\" she says quickly. \"I think you and the baby are okay.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I yank harder at the ropes again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I need to get out of here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No you don’t understand,\" I snap, voice shaking now. \"My husband is going to lose his fucking mind.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly? That thought should comfort me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Zane absolutely will tear the earth apart looking for me but right now all I feel is fear, because whoever took me knew exactly what they were doing and they got through security.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through Thomas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which means this was planned carefully, very carefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I look back at the girl again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What’s your name?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Aria\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m Elaine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She nods slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That immediately makes my stomach drop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She quickly shakes her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No no I mean... they said your name earlier.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My pulse keeps pounding violently anyway, noothing about this feels right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I take a shaky breath before looking down at the ropes cutting into my wrists.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Can you help me loosen this?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I gesture awkwardly toward them.. Aria hesitates immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You can’t?\" I ask slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She bites her lip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then quietly says:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t think I’m allowed to untie you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What do you mean not allowed to?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before she can answer.....a loud metallic door somewhere outside the room creaks open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And both of us go completely still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few seconds later, the door rattles loudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My entire body tenses when the door slowly creaks open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Thomas walks in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a second...My brain genuinely refuses to process what I’m seeing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thomas?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Relief crashes into me so fast it almost hurts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh my God,\" I breathe. \"Thomas are you....\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he cuts me off immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh I see you’re awake.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The calmness in his voice makes something inside me go cold. He shuts the door behind him slowly before looking between me and the girl beside me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And I see you’ve made acquaintance with your in-law.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I blink at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He says it so casually, liek this entire situation is normal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My heart starts beating harder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What do you mean my in-law?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thomas sighs softly almost like he’s disappointed in me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Never took you as a dumb girl, Elaine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A small smile pulls at his lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Connect the dots already.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I turn toward the girl beside me and she looks down immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No. No fucking way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My chest tightens violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What the actual fuck?\" I whisper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stare at her harder now....the eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh my God.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My head spins again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She’s dead,\" I breathe shakily. \"She’s supposed to be dead.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl beside me flinches visibly, pain flashing across her face instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And suddenly I see it....the resemblance between her and Zane is enough to make my stomach drop straight to hell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I turn toward Thomas slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He smiles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, she wasn’t dead.\" he says calmly. \"I made everyone believe she was dead.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My breath catches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Part of my sweet, sweet revenge.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room feels like it tilts beneath me, I stare at him completely stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nothing makes sense. Nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re insane,\" I whisper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thomas actually laughs softly at that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No.\" He shakes his head slowly. \"No, Elaine. I was loyal.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His expression darkens immediately afterward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"For years.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A chill crawls down my spine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I gave that family everything.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1029,"2026-06-06T09:39:37.420Z",1,"novelbin.me","409fbd8b1977d83966b03093d4a1040e93204fad39541e5743658ad5a7343024","bound-to-my-enemy-chapter-264","bound-to-my-enemy-chapter-262",266,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fbound-to-my-enemy-cover.jpg"]