Bound to my Enemy Chapter 20 - TWENTY

No one spoke.

Atleast Not imdiately.

The words hung there, heavy and unreal.

"I’m sorry," Lucas said finally, his voice sharp. "You want who?"

Zane didn’t repeat himself. He didn’t need to. He was still looking at , calm as ever, like he hadn’t just dropped a match into a room full of gasoline.

I felt every pair of eyes turn toward . Ivy’s. My brothers’.Even my grandfather’s, though his was slower, more asured.

"I think there’s been a misunderstanding," my grandfather said. His tone was controlled, but there was an edge to it now. "The arrangent was for Ivy."

"I know," Zane replied. "That was the arrangent."

Noah pushed off the bookshelf. "You don’t just walk in here and change the rules."

Zane finally looked away from and turned his attention to Noah. "I can. And I just did."

Lucas stood up.

The chair scraped loudly against the floor. "You don’t get to say her na like that," he said. "Not in this house."

Zane’s gaze shifted back to him. The air between them tightened instantly, like sothing old and ugly had just woken up.

"Sit down, Lucas," my grandfather warned.

Lucas didn’t. "You think this is funny?" he demanded. "You co here, stir this up, and expect us to just sit through it?"

Zane’s mouth twitched. Not a smile. Sothing colder. "I don’t expect anything from you."

That did it.

Lucas took a step forward, fists clenched. Noah moved without thinking, grabbing his arm and pulling him back. "Don’t," he said under his breath. "Not here."

Caleb stood too, positioning himself slightly in front of Ivy without making it obvious. "Maybe we should all take a breath," he said. "Because this feels like it’s about to go sideways."

I was still sitting.

Still quiet.

Still staring at Zane like if I looked away, this would sohow beco less real.

My grandfather turned to . "Elaine," he said. "Did you know about this?"

I swallowed. My throat felt dry. "No."

It wasn’t a lie. I hadn’t known he would say it like this. Out loud. In front of everyone. With no hesitation.

Zane spoke again. "But she did propose the idea."

Every head snapped back to him.

"What?" Ivy said softly.

Lucas’s head whipped toward . "Elaine."

My pulse was loud in my ears. I stood slowly, my legs steady even though my chest felt tight. "I did propose to him marrying , in place of ivy" I said carefully.

Zane tilted his head slightly. "You agreed to marry ."

"That was to protect Ivy," I shot back. "You knew that."

"And this protects her," he replied evenly. "More than pretending I ever intended to marry her in the first place."

Ivy looked between us, confused and pale. "Elaine?"

I reached for her hand without looking. "It’s okay," I said quietly. "I promise."

Lucas laughed once, sharp and humorless. "This is unbelievable."

"Is it?" Zane asked. "Or is it just inconvenient?"

Lucas lunged forward again. This ti Noah and Caleb both grabbed him.

"Let go of ," Lucas snapped.

"Not a chance," Caleb said. "You punch him and Grandpa will have a stroke."

My grandfather slamd his cane against the floor. "Enough."

The room stilled.

He looked at Zane. "You ca here knowing this would cause chaos."

"Yes," Zane said. "I ca here knowing it would."

"And you believe this is acceptable?"

"I believe it’s necessary."

My grandfather’s gaze returned to . "Elaine," he said again, softer now. "Is this what you want?"

Every instinct in my body scread no.