Bound to my Enemy novel Chapter 225

Chapter 225: Chapter 225.

"Do you own one normal hobby?" I mutter under my breath.

Probably not. I move on.

There are awards, plaques, expensive decorative pieces that likely cost more than some people’s rent, and framed certifications.

Everything about this room screams success.

And yet.....The deeper I look, the more subtle things I notice. Like a particular whiskey bottle that’s clearly, a photo tucked near the corner of a shelf that looks less formal than the others.

That catches my attention and I pick it up carefully. It’s older zane looking Younger and less guarded somehow, standing with people I assume are family.

He isn’t smiling exactly but he looks...Lighter.

The difference is subtle but noticeable and strangely.....It makes my chest tighten.

Because sometimes I forget that before all this... before the power, the sharp edges, the impossible intensity.....Ther was probably just a man. I stare at it for a moment longer before carefully setting it back.

Then continue. His desk is next...now I know I probably shouldn’t.

But "shouldn’t" has rarely stopped me before.

I circle around it slowly, glancing over the meticulously organized surface

I open one drawer but there’s nothing particularly interesting.

God, he really is insufferably organized.Then.....One drawer sticks slightly.

My curiosity sharpens immediately.

"Oh?"

I tug again and it opens.

Inside are more personal items, nothin scandalous but enough to feel... more private. Important-looking paperwork, a spare phone.

And.....My fingers pause. There, tucked slightly beneath a folder, is something familiar.

I pull it out slowly and my breath catches.

It’s a photo Of me.

I blink. Actually blink.

Because...What?

I stare at it. It’s not some formal event photo or staged. It’s candid. Me, completely unaware, laughing and Smiling. And judging by how healthy I look....It’s older. Before everything got so bad, before the poison nearly destroyed me, before so much pain for a second.....i just stand there confused and quiet. Because why...Why would he keep this?

My chest does something strange, something I don’t entirely like or understand. Because this doesn’t fit the version of him I’ve been trying so hard to protect myself from.

This.....This feels personal and Soft, even and somehow that feels more unsettling than cruelty. I slowly place the photo back exactly where I found it. Then close the drawer gently.

My thoughts are suddenly louder So I move away. Toward the bar, towards literall anything else.

I pour myself water, needing something to do, something grounding. Because for all my stubbornness....That tiny discovery shook something.

I glance around the office again, at the carefully built world of Zane. At the power, the discipline and the hidden softness he clearly never intended for me to find. Amd for the first time tonight.....i don’t feel like I’m just wandering his office, I feel like I’m wandering him. And honestly? That may be far more dangerous.

I last longer than expected, maybe twenty minute? Maybe thirty?

I pace, sit and look through books I have no intention of reading.

I drink more water, I even attempt staring out the massive windows dramatically like some imprisoned billionaire wife in a tragic romance.

It doesn’t work. Because no matter how luxurious this office is....I’m bored out of my mind and worse?

Now that I know what’s outside...The music, the energy and chaos.....Staying in here feels impossible.

I sit on the couch for approximately ten more seconds before groaning dramatically.

"Oh, come on."

I lean my head back.

"He can’t actually expect me to just sit here."

Well. He can, But that’s not the point.

I stand. Again and this time, there’s no pretending. No half-hearted attempt to obey or rationalization.

I simply accept the truth, I cannot stay here.

"Just a quick look," I tell myself.

Perfect, reasonable and harmless.

I smooth my dress, check my reflection briefly in the mirror, and head toward the office door.

My hand lands on the handle....i pause, for exactly one second. Because yes....i know he explicitly told me not to, repeatedly and repeatedly out emphasis. Woth that very serious voice but then again...He also should know me better by now.

"An hour is too long," I mutter and with that...i open the door and step out. Immediately, the atmosphere shifts. The quieter executive calm of his private office disappears, replaced by distant bass, muffled conversations, and the unmistakable pulse of nightlife. I close the door behind me carefully and glance around.

The hallway is empty for now. Good.

I start walking, slowly at first..like maybe I’m giving myself one last chance to turn back.

I don’t.

Instead, I descend the staircase carefully, heels clicking softly and the deeper I go....The louder everything becomes.The energy wraps around me again almost instantly.

Music, laughter and desire. It’s intoxicating.

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