Bound to my Enemy novel Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Chapter 32.

Elaine’s POV.

Lucas waits outside the hall with me like he’s standing guard.

He looks down at my arm looped through his and exhales through his nose. "You good?"

"I think so," I say. I don’t sound convinced. "If I throw up on someone, just pretend you don’t know me."

"That’s not happening," he says. "And if it does, I’ll throw up too. Solidarity."

I snort despite myself.

The doors open.

The sound hits first. Voices layered over music, the clink of glasses. The kind of room where everyone knows exactly where they stand.

Lucas straightens automatically. I feel it in his arm.

And we step inside.

Eyes turn. Just enough to notice.

I don’t rush. Ivy told me not to. She said, Let them look. Don’t shrink.

So I don’t.

The dress fits the way she promised it would. Not desperate. Just clean lines, bare shoulders, the kind of dress that doesn’t beg for attention but still gets it. The heels make me taller than I’m used to, but Lucas adjusts his pace without saying anything.

"See?" he murmurs

We move deeper into the hall.

That’s when I feel it.

That pull. That awareness like someone has hooked a finger under my chin without touching me.

I look up. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Zane is standing near the center of the room, a glass in his hand, talking to someone I don’t recognize. He’s dressed in black. Of course he is. Jacket off, sleeves rolled once, watch catching the light when he shifts.

He stops talking mid-sentence.

His eyes are already on me.

Locked.

My throat suddenly feels dry so I swallow.

Lucas notices. His jaw tightens, just slightly. "Don’t," he mutters. "Don’t look away."

So I don’t.

Zane’s expression changes in real time. Whatever confidence he walked in with falters. Not enough that anyone else would notice. But I do.

Because his shoulders go still.

Because his grip tightens around the glass.

Because his mouth parts like he forgot what he was about to say.

We keep walking.

Zane’s POV

I knew she’d come.

That wasn’t the question.

The question was whether she’d look like this.

She walks in on Lucas’s arm, and the room rearranges itself around her without realizing it. Conversations dip. A few people glance, then glance again. Not because she’s trying too hard. Because she isn’t.

She looks... striklingy beautiful, so fucking beautiful and hot at the same time.

Which pisses me off.

And impresses me.

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