Bound by lies Trapped by Desire novel Chapter 81

Chapter 81

Elena’s POV:

Fuck. I couldn’t focus. Not for a single goddamn second.

My pen rested between my fingers, idle, unmoving, as I sat frozen in my seat in the middle of the lecture hall. The words on the board blurred, dancing in front of my eyes like they were mocking me. Professor’s voice droned in the background, syllables folding into white noise. None of it was registering. Not the equations, not the diagrams, not the repeated murmurs of classmates flipping pages. My brain felt like it was filled with wet cotton, every thought sluggish, my heartbeat far too loud in my ears.

Because he was behind me.

Lazar.

The moment I walked into class and saw him slide into the seat directly behind mine, I’d known I was doomed. I’d felt his stare before I even saw him- those ghost–green eyes like knives pressed to the back of my neck.

That feeling you get when you know you’re being watched? Multiply that by ten. It made my skin itch. My spine felt brittle, like it would snap if he blinked too hard. And I knew. I knew it wasn’t some accident. No one else sat near me anymore. So why would Lazar?

Because he wanted me to know he was there.

I clenched my jaw, the nausea rising thick in my throat. My nails dug into the cheap composite desk as I tried to steady my breathing. But it was no use. My focus slipped like sand through my fingers.

A buzzing. My phone vibrated for what felt like the tenth time that morning.

I didn’t even have to look. I already knew who it was.

Nikolai.

Except this time… it wasn’t.

I hesitated, curiosity getting the better of me, and slid my phone just enough to peek at the screen. My lips twitched despite myself.

Fiona.

“GURRRLLL. I’M DYINNGGG. I CAN’T STUDY ANYMOR

PLEASE SOMEONE PUT ME OUT OF MY MISERY.”

I couldn’t help the tilt of my mouth at the dramatic string of caps. Classic Fiona. Over the top. She always managed to throw her entire soul into everything, including complaints about exams. Despite how awful I felt, her message cracked the shell around my mood just enough to let a little light in.

She was studying medicine. I was proud of her, even though she’d always been the last–minute type–cramming her entire academic year into the last few weeks before finals. Which explained why I hadn’t heard from her in a while. But it still felt… comforting, to know that someone was out there freaking out over textbooks instead of marriage and mafia–related husband/fatherhood bombshells.

I started typing a response,

something witty and sarcastic, when a voice behind me sliced through the moment like a scalpel.

“Fiona? She studies science, right?”

The teasing edge in Lazar’s tone made my skin crawl.

I stiffened, my thumbs pausing mid text. I didn’t respond.

“She’s the redhead, right?” he continued, unbothered by my silenco, “Pretty, Delicate.”

i shut my phone slowly, then clenched it in my lap, fingers white knuckling the edges. My teeth ground together trans Mickering to Un pie af

Chapter 81

“Mind your own business.”

He chuckled. Low. Casual. Infuriating. “Hm? Well… you’re not very good at keeping your business private, are you?” He leaned in just enough that I could feel the faint puff of his breath near my hair. “I can’t believe the mess all this made… but aren’t you being a little cold? We’re family, after all.”

Every syllable made my stomach churn.

Family?

I wanted to vomit.

“We aren’t anything to each other,” I hissed.

I couldn’t do this. Not here. Not now. My hands were shaking slightly, the words on my open notebook trembling as my fingers hovered above the page.

Fuck this.

I grabbed my textbook and notebook, stuffing them back into my bag with stiff movements. Then I stood, walked to the opposite end of the room and dropped into a new seat as far from him as possible.

To my relief, he didn’t follow.

But he didn’t stop smirking either.

I caught the edge of it, that arrogant tilt of his lips from across the room. As if he’d won something just by making me move. Who the hell was he really? Sergei’s son? Cousin? The possibility of him being my half–brother made bile rise in my throat. If that were true, then all the flirting, the insinuations, the lingering looks-

No. No, he wouldn’t be that insane. He wouldn’t flirt with his-

I shuddered, clenching my jaw.

Focus, Elena. You have work to do.

But the command inside my brain fell flat.

Because instead of focusing, I thought about this morning. About the last thing Nikolai said to me before leaving.

You owe me.

The words coiled around my heart like a snake, squeezing. I wanted to scream.

I opened my phone again, almost out of spite. A part of me hoped for another ridiculous meme from Fiona, something to distract me. But instead… it was him.

Nikolai.

Message after message.

“I’m sorry for what I said earlier. That’s not what I meant. I’m not doing this because of the contract.”

“Elena? Please reply.”

Another.

“Can we talk?”

I stared.

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Chapter 81

The guilt came first. Thick and immediate. A stab of familiarity. My eyes scanned the messages again. He sounded… frantic. Soft. I didn’t think I’d ever see Nikolai like this. Like he was actually panicking. If I went two months back in time and told my past self that I was in contract marriage with THE billionaire Nikolai, the calm and composed one in public and I’d turned him into a panicking mess. I’d call myself insane and laugh at myself. But right. now I wasn’t laughing. My gut twisted.

Why the hell did I feel guilty?

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