[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-bound-to-my-enemy":3,"chapter-bound-to-my-enemy-bound-to-my-enemy-chapter-47":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},1599985,2067,"Chapter 47.","bound-to-my-enemy-chapter-47",47,"\u003Cp>She wipes her hands on the apron and walks toward me. \"I’m Margaret. You don’t need to stand there looking lost. Come, come Sit.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her tone leaves no room for argument. She gestures to the table near the window. I hesitate for half a second, then do as I’m told.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Did you sleep alright\" she asks, already moving back toward the stove.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As well as I could,\" I say honestly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She hums, like that’s the answer she expected. \"First nights are always strange. Food helps.\" She talks with a slight accent like she’s not really from here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I watch her work, she moves with ease, grace and efficiency. She Knows where everything is without looking. Plates warming. Eggs sizzling quietly. Bread toasting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Zane will be down shortly,\" she adds. \"He doesn’t like to be late.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I nod. Of course he doesn’t.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She sets a cup in front of me. A full cup of teas with Steam curling up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Drink ,\" she says. \"You’ll feel better.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wrap my hands around the cup. The warmth seeps into my fingers, I take a sip. It helps more than I want to admit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few minutes pass in comfortable silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then footsteps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heavy and measured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zane enters the kitchen like he owns the space because well..... he does. Dressed casually but still put together. Dark shirt. Sleeves rolled. Hair slightly damp like he showered recent\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The driver from yesterday is with him. The same one who handed me the EpiPen. He nods when he sees me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Morning,\" Zane says.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Morning,\" I reply\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s it. No warmth. Just acknowledgement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Margaret places plates on the table.fhll with losts of dishes on it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sit,\" she tells him the same way she told me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And he does....i guess her tone works on every one\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The driver takes a seat farther down, clearly used to this routine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We eat quietly at first, just cutlery sounds and Coffee pouring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zane glances at me once. Just once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You settle in alright\" he asks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nothing more. No follow-up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Margaret watches us like she’s pretending not to but definitely is because I catch her eyes a few times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment, she says, \"If you need anything in the house, you ask me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I meet her eyes. \"Thank you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She smiles.. all teeth, genuine and bright\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zane finishes his coffee and stands. \"I have meetings in a few \"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looks at me. \"You’re free to do as you like today.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s not reassuring. It almos sounds like a warning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mhm ,\" I say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mouth twitches like he almost smiles but doesn’t. Then he turns to leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His driver following behind him , I should probably get to know his name and stop calling him driver in my head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Margaret waits until they’re gone, then looks back at me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well,\" she says lightly, \"welcome home darling .\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don’t know what to say to that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I sip my tea and let the quiet settle around me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zane turns on his way out, facing me fully now .\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There’s something else,\" he says.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I look up from my plate rolling my eyes to the back of my head. \"Of course there is.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He ignores the tone. \"Your grandfather is hosting something tonight. A party.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I pause mid-bite. \"Tonight?.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"For who.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"For us,\" he says plainly. \"Since we missed the reception.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Margaret goes still by the counter, just for a second. Then she resumes what she’s doing like she didn’t hear anything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I swallow. \"I wasn’t informed.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You are now.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I push my plate back slightly, my appetite disappearing just like that. \"What kind of party.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The kind where people expect to see us standing next to each other,\" he replies. \"Smiling.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I let out a breath through my nose. \"That sounds exhausting.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s because it is,\" he says. \"But it’s necessary.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I lean back in my chair. \"I just got married yesterday. I spent the night in a hospital. You were the one in a bed, but somehow I’m the one who feels like I got hit by a truck.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes flick to me briefly. There’s something there. Not sympathy. Not quite irritation either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’ll manage,\" he says.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I laugh once. Sharp. \"You really say that about everything.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looks at me for a while . \"Be ready by eight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t even know what I’m wearing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I do.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That makes my jaw tighten. \"I can choose my own clothes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You can,\" he says calmly. \"And you will. Just don’t embarrass either of us.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I push my chair back and stand too. \"I’ve been embarrassing people since birth. You married into it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His mouth curves slightly. Not a smile. Something else. \"Eight,\" he repeats\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he turns and leaves the kitchen like the conversation is closed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Margaret waits until his footsteps fade before she looks at me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well,\" she says carefully, \"that went... well .\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I snort. \"If that’s what we’re calling it now.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She brings a plate over, setting it gently in front of me. \"Eat a little more. You’ll need the energy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I glance down at the food, then back up at her. \"Does he always give orders like that.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She hesitates. Just long enough to answer honestly. \"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I nod once. \"Good to know.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I take another bite even though I don’t want it. Because she’s right. Tonight is coming whether I’m ready or not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today’s just beginning and I already hate it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m still sitting there, pushing food around my plate, when Margaret clears her throat softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Whenever you’re ready,\" she says, nodding toward the doorway. \"I can show you around the house.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I glance down at myself... \"Now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She smiles. \"Now is fine. This place doesn’t judge.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That makes one of us,\" I mutter, but I stand anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She leads the way out of the dining room and into the main hallway. The house is... big.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This was built by his grandfather,\" Margaret says as we walk. \"Old money. They liked things solid.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I noticed,\" I say, eyeing a staircase that looks like it could survive an earthquake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She chuckles. \"Come. I’ll introduce you properly to the other staff.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1029,"2026-06-06T09:39:37.139Z",1,"novelbin.me","b7ce83f26dac77ec5fcd241a3b75089fd3bd2a0baa30e1cddffaa464658fae01","bound-to-my-enemy-chapter-48","bound-to-my-enemy-chapter-46",266,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fbound-to-my-enemy-cover.jpg"]