Bound by lies Trapped by Desire novel Chapter 110

Elena’s POY

I stood across the street, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows from the surrounding buildings, my game fixed on the slightly rundown apartment complex before me. The was the address Joane had given me

Number 48. Taking a deep breath, trying to quell the nervous flutter in my stomach, I crossed the busy road.

This was it. My first and, given the rapidly approaching deadline, hopefully my only in person viewing of a potential shared living space in Marcester City.

Joane had agreed to me visiting today, a last minute arrangement after my impulsive decision to leave Velhaven earlier on a whim last night.

I reached the building, its brick façade showing signs of age and neglect, and consulted the numbers beside the doorbells, 48. On the second floor. climbed the worn concrete steps, the air in the stairwell thick with the faint, lingering smell of stale cigarette smoke and something vaguely flor perhaps an air freshener trying to mask the underlying odors.

Reaching the second floor, I found the apartment door and raised my hand to ring the bell pressed the small button once, then again, waiting what felt like an eternity before pressing it a third time, a sliver of doubt beginning to creep into my mind. Had I gotten the address wrong? Was she even expecting me?

Finally, after what felt like a small eternity, the door creaked open, revealing a disheveled Joane, But it wasn’t just her appearance that made my eyes widen. The moment the door was ajar, a wave of cloying, unmistakable scent hit me – the foul, musky odor of semen. My eyes flicked from the side of her sleep tousled head to the interior of the living room, the scene that lay beyond confirming my immediate, unpleasant suspicions.

The room was a chaotic mess, clothes strewn across the floor, empty food containers scattered on every surface, and the remnants of what looked suspiciously like a party from the night before. And there, sprawled out on the worn floral couch, lay a man, completely oblivious to my presence, his chest bate, a crumpled blanket barely covering his lower half. Joane herself was barely more presentable, her eyes widening in surprise as she looked me up and down, her gaze lingering a moment too long, her own attire consisting of nothing more than a flimsy, lace trimmedlingerie set.

Her eyes widened further as she finally seemed to register my presence, her gaze flicking down to my own rather conservative outfit – a plain polo shirt, comfortable blazer, and well–wom jeans. Then, her eyes darted towards a wall clock hanging crookedly above the doorway. “Oh, Elena! I’m so sorry.” she stammered. “1-1 seemed to have overslept.” She quickly turned around and walked back into the cluttered apartment, leaving the door slightly ajar. I waited awkwardly in the hallway, clutching my phone with her address displayed on the screen, a growing sense of unease settling in my stomach.

So this wasn’t the wrong apartment

I sighed inwardly, my gae drifting over the state of the walls visible from where I stood. They were undeniably dirty, stained with what looked like years of neglect. Grime clung to the comers, and in one particularly disturbing spot, a fuzzy green substance seemed to be actively growing

Taking a deep, slightly hesitant breath, I stepped inside as Joane reappeared, having seemingly made a minimal effort to cover herself by hastily pulling on a thin, silk robe that did little to conceal her previous attime. With a muttered “Get up! Leave,” she shoved the still sleeping man on the couch, sending him tumbling onto the floor with a groan. Then, turning back to me, she offered a strained, insincere smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Welcome Sorry about the… state of things.”

Though her “welcome” was more of a grimace, she continued, gesturing vaguely around the messy living room. “If you’d given me more of a heads–up about the exact time you’d be antiving, I’d have cleared the space. It’s not usually like this, honestly, Only once a week or so. You know? Single life gets a ttle out of track sometimes…” She said, looking me up and down again with a rather too interested gaze that made me instinctively step back.

“I’m sorry if I’m being a little too invasive,” she continued, narrowing her eyes slightly as she walked closer, her hands resting onnur hips, the silk robe parting slightly to reveal the lace beneath. “But are you maybe Elena Vetrov? As in, Nikolai Vetrov’s wife? The resemblance is uncanny.”

I pursed my lips, a wave of discomfort washing ever me as she closed the remaining distance between us. The fact that she recognized me, despite the low profile I had tried to maintain since…made me even more wary.

She was practically naked under that flimsyrobe. God. This was beyond awkward, it was bordering on surreal,

Yep. Absolutely no. This wasn’t going to work. Not even remotely

по

Chapter 110

I took a small, involuntary step away from her, puiting a bit more spare between us, and said, my voice tight with forced politeness, “Unm

This has been interesting. However,” Thesitated, searching for the right words to politely nutricate myself from this bizarre situation, “I don’t think din will work out for me. Your… Mestyle doesn’t seem to quite match with mine. I’m sorry” enhed, feeling incredibly awkward and al She frowned, her initial friendly façade crumbling, her arms crossing defensively over her chest. “What is that supposed to mean the ques tone now led with suspicion:

I swallowed, the air in the apartment suddenly feeling thick and heavy. “Nothing Treally don’t mean anything negative by it. It’s your home, you can obviously do whatever you please. I’m just… not really the type to party… like this it happens every work, then it would probably be both of us.” forced a tight, insincere smile and started backing toward the front door, eager to ape this uncomfortable encounter,

“Oh…alright then,” she said, shrugging her shoulders dismissively. Her arber interest had clearly vanished, replaced by a cut indifference. Without another word, she turned and shut the door right in my face,

sighed, turning around and making my way back down the dirty stairs. It was kind of my own fault, you know? I had just blurted out tomorrow” in front of Mom, my eagerness to escape Velhaven overriding any sensible planning. I should have waited, contacted a couple more people, and arranged a few more viewings before making the trek out here. But the tension at home had been so thick, the unspoken accusations so heavy, that any alternative, r matter how questionable, had seemed preferable to staying in my own house

Did that even make sense? I shook my head, a wry smile twisting my lips. My life felt like a badly written sitcom sometimes.

It was like in recent days, my own home had transformed into a place where I didn’t want to be anymore. The familiar comfort had been replaced by a suffocating weight. This had never happened to me before, this feeling of being completely out of sync with my own surroundings, and yet here we were With me standing in the dingy hallway of a stranger’s apartment building, staring off into nothingness.

I turned to look at the slightly dented sports bike I’d borrowed from Rachel if I didn’t manage to find a suitable place to live in Maxcester City today, the $30 I’d spent renting this slightly unreliable mode of transport would feel like money completely down the drain.

I sighed again, the weight of my rapidly dwindling options pressing down on me

My stomach suddenly let out a loud, insistent grumble, a reminder that I had skipped a proper meal in my haste to get out of the house. I turned to lock

around

I’d left Velhaven with just a hastly made banana milkshake and an apple clutched in my hand, and hadn’t taken anything else to eat for the next three hours. That was irresponsible of me, especially now

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify