[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-bound-to-my-enemy":3,"chapter-bound-to-my-enemy-bound-to-my-enemy-chapter-51":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},1599989,2067,"Chapter 51.","bound-to-my-enemy-chapter-51",51,"\u003Cp>\"No,\" Elaine cuts in. Her voice is steady, but there’s heat under it. \"You don’t get to ’dear’ me five minutes after discussing my uterus like it’s a business asset.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few heads turn nearby. I feel her pulse hammering where my hand rests on her waist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Interesting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My mother blinks once, then smiles thinly. \"You’ll learn.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elaine looks at me then. Searching my face for something. Support? Objection?. Anything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I give her nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The disappointment flashes across her expression before she masks it, quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We’re not discussing this further,\" I say, disengaging my arm from her waist. The absence of her warmth is immediate. And I fin it Annoying. \"We’ll be leaving soon.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My mother studies me for a moment. \"No honeymoon, then.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No,\" I confirm. \"We will return to the house.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elaine’s head snaps toward me again. \"The house.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She exhales slowly through her nose, clearly counting to keep from saying something regrettable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I hope,\" she says tightly, \"that you realize how unbearable you are.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I meet her gaze. \"I’m counting on it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That does it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She turns away from me, shoulders squared, chin lifted, stalking toward the edge of the room like she needs distance before she does something unreasonable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My mother watches her go. \"She has spirit.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She has a temper,\" I correct.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Same thing,\" she says, sipping her champagne. \" I know you will break her in.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don’t answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because I’m not entirely sure that’s how this is going to go.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the thought.....unwelcome and unsettling that she might fight harder than I expect lingers far longer than it should.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I few moments later, my best friend Donald walks up to me and leads me to the balcony outside, Donald is more of a brother to me than a friend, he was there through all of my worst moments, when I lost my siste, my fallout with Lucas, when the brotherhood turned on me, he was there through it all. So yeah we brothers more than friends.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The noise from inside barely reaches the balcony, muted music. People talking , Glasses clinking. A wedding continuing without me for a few minutes, and no one daring to question it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Donald leans against the stone railing, jacket unbuttoned, his is tie loosened. He’s known me long enough to know when to shut up, and when not to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The city stretches below us, shatp lights against the evening sky. I grip the cold stone with both hands and breathe. Once. Twice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So.....,\" he says finally. \"When are you planning to activate the last clause.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don’t look at him. \"I’m not..... I don’t know yet.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Donald hums quietly. \"That’s not what your morher thinks.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t care what my mother thinks.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You usually do.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I turn then, fixing him with a look. \"I don’t intend to fuck her yet.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Donald straightens slightly. He steeples his hands, tapping his fingertips together the way he does when he’s thinking three steps ahead. \"And how exactly are you going to manage that.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"By not fucking her.\" I shove my hands into my trouser pockets and start pacing. The balcony isn’t large, but I make it work. \"It isn’t a challenge not to stick my dick in someone.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He snorts. \"You’re pretending this is about discipline. It isn’t.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stop pacing. \"Don’t start Donald.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You married a woman you’re clearly affected by,\" he continues calmly. \"You kissed her like you forgot where you were. And you expect me to believe abstinence is the plan.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I said I don’t intend to yet,\" I snap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Donald tilts his head. \"You don’t intend to, or you want to but don’t know how to .\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I glare at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gestures dismissively. \"Whatever.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No,\" I say sharply. \"Don’t play dumb. You know why I don’t want kids yet \"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His expression shifts. Not amused now and not teasing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The idea of them being killed ,\" I continue, voice lower, tighter, \"like how..... like how my sister was.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The words hit harder than I expect. My chest tightens. I look away, jaw locking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My sister’s face flashes in my mind the way it always does when I least want it to. Younger and Terrified. Trying to be brave for me... my brave little girl\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My sisters scream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I flinch, just slightly but still enough that Donald notices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I can’t risk it,yet \" I say. \"Not with her. Not with anyone. I haven’t decided if that’s a choice I’ll make but I know I will have to sooner rather than later.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Donald exhales slowly. \"You’re happy to bring kids into the world...our world...and risk what happened to your sister happening to one of your own children?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence stretches between us. The music inside swells, then fades again. Somewhere in that room, Elaine is probably being congratulated. Smiled at and judged by some.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I deserve nothing good,\" I mutter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Donald sighs, clearly exasperated with me now. He rubs a hand over his face, then shakes his head. \"You’re punishing yourself. And her.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I didn’t ask for your diagnosis.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You married her anyway.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I married a contract.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s a woman,\" he counters. \"Whether you like it or not.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He motions toward the door. \"We’d better get back. You have a wife to ’not fuck’.\" He makes air quotes. \"And a honeymoon you apparently don’t want to go, which by the way you know our society will judge you for not taking your wife on a honeymoon right? .\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don’t answer him because I know he is just rage baiting me and if I give him that sense of satisfaction we will be throwing blows right now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as I follow him back inside, one thought refuses to let go.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elaine doesn’t know any of this\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She doesn’t know about my sister..... abut the connection it has with her family and why I accepted her. About the nights I wake up convinced I’ve failed someone again. About the reason I keep control so tight it cuts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the worst part is this\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even with every reason not to\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to keep my hands off her.\u003C\u002Fp>",1026,"2026-06-06T09:39:37.420Z",1,"novelbin.me","95d6092027ef545af4ac43df452d3bd9fef4bec049bef06ad288aae1ce24526d","bound-to-my-enemy-chapter-52","bound-to-my-enemy-chapter-50",266,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fbound-to-my-enemy-cover.jpg"]