[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-bound-to-my-enemy":3,"chapter-bound-to-my-enemy-bound-to-my-enemy-chapter-82":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},1600020,2067,"Chapter 82.","bound-to-my-enemy-chapter-82",82,"\u003Cp>\"I fell asleep on the floor,\" I say quietly. \"I remember that much.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know,\" he replies. \"You were out cold when I found you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something twists in my chest. \"You didn’t have to.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I wasn’t going to leave you there.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I close my eyes again for a second, when I open them, my vision blurs and I have to blink hard to clear it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He notices it of course.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His thumb moves, brushing lightly under my eye. \"You cried a lot.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I huff out a weak, humorless breath. \"That obvious?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your eyes are swollen,\" he says. \"And you look exhausted.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shift, pulling back just enough to look at him. He’s propped slightly on one elbow, watching me with an expression I can’t quite place Something that makes me uncomfortable in a different way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Elaine,\" he says after a moment. \"What happened last night?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My stomach drops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I look away. At the ceiling, at the light filtering in through the curtains just anywhere but his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Did I.... Did I do something?\" he asks. \"Something you didn’t like?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shake my head. \"No. Not really.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His brow furrows. \"That’s not an answer.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sigh. My chest feels tight again, but not much like yesterday.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It wasn’t you,\" I say. \"Not exactly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He waits for me to continue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I force myself to keep going. \"It’s....old stuff. Things that happened before. I thought I was past it, but I guess my body and mind didn’t get the memo.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He doesn’t interrupt, doesn’t rush me...... Just listens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Trauma?\" he asks quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I hesitate, then nod once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His jaw tightens. \"Is that what the nightmares are about?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That makes my head snap toward him. \"What nightmares?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He watches me for a beat. \"You scream in your sleep.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My mouth opens then closes\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stare at him, stunned. \"No i do not.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You do,\" he says. \"Not every night. But often enough.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heat crawls up my neck, embarrassment mixes with something colder. Fear. The idea that I’ve been that vulnerable without knowing it makes my skin prickle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You never said anything about it\" I mutter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I didn’t think you’d want me to.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I press my lips together. He’s not wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So,\" he continues gently, \"is it connected?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I nod again, smaller this time. \"Yeah.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He exhales slowly through his nose. \"Do you want to talk about it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The answer comes so fast that i brace myself, waiting for him to push.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He doesn’t.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Okay,\" he says simply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I risk a glance at him. \"That’s it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something inside me loosens. Just a fraction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We lie there in silence for a while. His arm is still around me, warm and steady. I don’t tell him to move it, I don’t lean closer either. We just exist like that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m sorry,\" I murmur eventually.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"For what?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"For last night. For running. For.....\" I trail off, not sure how to finish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shifts, turning more fully toward me. His hand comes up, cups my cheek, thumb warm against my skin. I stiffen automatically, then force myself to stay still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don’t apologize,\" he says. \"You didn’t do anything wrong.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I let out a shaky breath. \"It didn’t look that way.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t care what it looked like,\" he replies. \"I care about what it was.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I don’t answer because I don’t know how.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment, he drops his hand, gives me space again. \"Get some more sleep,\" he says. \"You need it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Aren’t you going to work?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I will In a bit.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I hesitate. \"You don’t have to stay.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He doesn’t move anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I turn onto my side, facing away from him this time, but his arm stays around me. I’m too tired to fight it, too tired to think.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I wake up for the second time today I wake to an empty bed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I reach for my phone on the nightstand and squint at the screen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What the hell?. Its late, way llater than I thought it would be. I slept straight through the afternoon, into evening. My stomach sinks a little when I realize how long I’ve been out. My body feels heavy and sluggish, like I’ve been drugged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sit up slowly, waiting for the dizziness to hit. It does, but not hard enough to knock me back down like how it did months ago. I wait it out, breathing through it, then swing my legs over the side of the bed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I feel gross I didn’t shower this morning. I can smell myself, feel the dried sweat on my skin and the stiffness in my hair. That alone is motivation enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I grab a robe off the chair and head for the bathroom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shower helps so I stand under the spray longer than I should, letting the water run down my back, my arms, my legs. I wash my hair twice, scrubbing harder than necessary, like I can rinse yesterday off me if I try hard enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time I turn the water off, my fingers are wrinkled and my head feels lighter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I squeeze the excess water out of my hair and step onto the bath mat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s when I realize my mistake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The towels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I left the clean ones on the bed earlier and the hamper was emptied. I stand there dripping for a second, annoyed at myself, then decide it’s faster to just grab one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I push the bathroom door open and walk toward the dressing room, water dripping onto the floor behind me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m halfway across the room when the bed room door opens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I look up startled only to see Zane.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’s stepping in from the hallway, jacket already off with his sleeves rolled up. He stops short when he sees me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So do I.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a split second, neither of us says anything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes drop..... slowly running his eyes over my body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I feel the heat crawl up my neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I....sorry,\" I say quickly, already moving. \"I left the towels on the bed.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I try to hurry past him, bare feet slipping slightly on the floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He doesn’t move out of the way right away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fuc!.\" he practically groans.\u003C\u002Fp>",1030,"2026-06-06T09:39:37.420Z",1,"novelbin.me","52359cc19d09cdb75eee85406785cbbfd3dad3182a1b9c3bd2c674707e7c3c9c","bound-to-my-enemy-chapter-83","bound-to-my-enemy-chapter-81",266,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fbound-to-my-enemy-cover.jpg"]