[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-bound-to-my-enemy":3,"chapter-bound-to-my-enemy-bound-to-my-enemy-chapter-56":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},1599994,2067,"Chapter 56.","bound-to-my-enemy-chapter-56",56,"\u003Cp>I wake up slowly my body sore and tired. Every movement hurts, My throat aches first, a dull soreness that makes me swallow carefully... I guess Zane chocked my harder than I thought he did. My shoulders follow, then my back, then the faint sting in my palm where my skin still remembers the impact. I stare at the ceiling for a long moment, breathing shallow, taking inventory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That has to be enough for now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There’s a knock on the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I close my eyes for a second groaning silently, then say, \"Come in.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The door opens slowly. A woman steps inside, hovering just past the threshold like she’s not sure how welcome she is. She’s way younger than Margaret, maybe mid-twenties, hair pulled back neatly, hands folded in front of her apron. Her eyes flick to my face, then away again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m sorry to disturb you,\" she says. \"I didn’t want to come in unannounced, but I was told.....\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stops herself, straightens. \"My name is Lora.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I nod once, my throat feels dry. \"Elaine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her mouth curves into a small, relieved smile. \"I know you, we all do. I didn’t meet you properly yesterday. I was off-duty during the introductions.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That explains it. Margaret had paraded half the staff past me, all warm smiles and curious glances. I remember thinking I’d never keep the names straight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lora clears her throat. \"I’ve been assigned to you. Your husband asked that I attend to your needs while you’re here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Assigned,\" I repeat lightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She winces. \"I know how that sounds. I’m here if you need anything, anything at all. Clothes, food, teac, a bath drawn. Anything just name it Ms whitmore.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sit up carefully, swinging my legs over the side of the bed inch by inch. The mattress dips and complains. I don’t give anyone the satisfaction of seeing me wince\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just Elaine, Lora ,\" I say. \"All this formality is giving me a headache.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My teeth grind together before I can stop myself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I look away, toward the window, because if I don’t, I’ll say something unfair. Lora is just standing where she’s been told to stand. Doing what she’s been told to do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She shifts her weight. \"Would you like help getting ready this morning?. Can I draw you a bath? Mrs whitm... sorry Elaine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I blink, pulled back into the room. \"No, you may not.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her face falls instantly..., a small, quiet drop of disappointment that makes guilt bloom hot in my chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I didn’t mean it like that,\" I say quickly. \"It’s fine. I can do it myself so don’t bother yourself .\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What I don’t say is that I need to be alone. That the waiting is the worst part. That once I’m moving, once the day has started, I can pretend I’m steady again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course,\" she says. \"I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You didn’t,\" I reply. \"Really. I just... I need a minute.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She nods, steps backward toward the door. \"I’ll be back in the afternoon. If there’s anything you need in the meantime.....\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I doubt I will.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The words come out flat. The only thing I want is not something she can bring me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She offers a small smile anyway, the kind people give when they don’t know what else to sy, and then she’s gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The door closing softly behind her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sit there for a moment longer, then stand. My legs hold. Good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shower helps. Warm water loosens the tightness in my shoulders, stings my neck just enough to remind me it’s real, that last night wasn’t something I imagined. I wash my hair slowly, methodically, grounding myself in the motions. Soap. Rinse. Repeat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I dress in something simple. Soft trousers. A long-sleeved top. Nothing too much or too showy. Nothing that asks too much of me. I leave my hair down because I don’t have the energy to fight with it getting it into a bun this morning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time I make my way downstairs, the house is full.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dining room smells like coffee and buttered toast. Sunlight spills across the table, catching on polished wood .\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I take a seat anyway\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Margaret appears a moment later, nodding warmly, and sets a cup of tea in front of me without asking. I wrap my hands around it, grateful for the heat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zane isn’t there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don’t know whether that’s a relief or.....\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Breakfast passes quietly. Staff move in and out with practiced ease, never lingering, never intruding or talking which I’m grateful because I’m not feeling resllly chatty now.. I eat because I know I should.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time I finish, the silence has settled into something familiar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is what the cold war looks like, I think. No shouting. No apologies. Just space filled with things we refuse to say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I straighten in my chair, lift my chin, and sip the last of my tea\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zane comes down after I’ve already finished my tea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don’t hear him at first. I feel the shift in the room before I see him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looks exactly as he always does. Crispy and put together . If someone didn’t know better, they’d think yesterday never happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He takes his seat across from me without looking my way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good morning,\" Margaret says, warm and maternal , as she sets his plate down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Morning,\" he replies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice is normal, It makes my jaw tighten.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Margaret turns back to the sideboard, reaches for the coffee pot, then pauses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I see it happen in stages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her eyes lift, meaning to check if I need anything else. They catch on my face first. Then my neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She freezes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>. Not enough that anyone else would notice unless they were watching her the way I am. Her hand stills mid-air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don’t move or try to cover myself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The marks are there. I know they are. I felt them when the water hit my skin this morning, when my fingers brushed over the tender spots I didn’t want to think about. I chose this outfit because it was comfortable, not because it hid anything. Long sleeves don’t matter when the evidence is higher.\u003C\u002Fp>",1033,"2026-06-06T09:39:37.420Z",1,"novelbin.me","dc90321c4a1e8bf7ece006a0765764ba6c6d430ebd1251155f5c315ba5fc28a4","bound-to-my-enemy-chapter-57","bound-to-my-enemy-chapter-55",266,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fbound-to-my-enemy-cover.jpg"]