Reborn in the Enemy's Embrace

"Sophia..." I’d barely hung up the phone when Dexter started his act.

"Ow, it hurts." Dexter raised his hand to show me the wound on his wrist.

I suspected that he’d caught wind of my chat with Juliet and was now scheming to stop me from leaving.

"Didn’t the doctor take care of it?" I held Dexter’s wrist and glanced at it. "Why would hurt yourself when you know it’s painful?"

With a hint of sadness in his eyes, Dexter whispered, "Sophia, how about we move out and live somewhere else?"

He didn’t want me to stay at the Black residence any longer and preferred to leave Ignatius there to fend for himself.

"We’ve got a place." He gazed at me with determination, wanting to convey to me that this was our home.

I took a moment to gather my thoughts and glanced around.

Not only were the flowers in the yard ones I loved, but even the room decorations were tailored to my preferences.

It appeared that he had truly been making continuous efforts all this while to create a

home with me.

"Dexter... This villa is expensive. Did you buy it or rent it?" I asked suspiciously.

Dexter’s eyes shifted slightly. "I rented it..."

I nodded in agreement. "If you don’t want to go back to the Black residence, we’ll stay here."

Dexter was the heir of the Black family. Of course, he could easily afford the rent with

Finally happy, Dexter didn’t seem to be feeling any pain from his wound anymore.

"Your foot and calf injuries haven’t fully healed yet. If you keep hurting yourself, I’ll leave you." I tried to make him heed my warning by threatening to leave.

Sure enough, Dexter was terrified.

He nervously glanced at me

"Then stop hurting yourself."

Dexter remained silent and simply held me tight, unwilling to loosen his grip.

"I’m going out tonight. Just stay home and get some rest. I’ll come straight here to be with you when I get back," I whispered, trying to reassure him.

I hadn’t yet remembered much about my time with Dexter, but the memories of our childhood meeting felt like they were deeply affecting me.

If Dexter and the orphanage were really that significant to me, why did I specifically forget about them?

Juliet was also from the orphanage.

And in my memories, the girl who admired my dress must have been the late Mandy.

Juliet, on the other hand, was the girl who always followed Mandy. She’d looked weak, but she’d coldly watch and even find joy in others’ misfortune.

Ever since she was a child, Juliet always had a mean streak in her.

On our way back, I questioned Howard about the time when Sophia was bullied by some boys for wearing a red dress.

Based on my recollection, Howard wasn’t part of the event and didn’t initiate the tearing of my clothes.

Howard responded, "Back then, Sophia’s father was in talks with Mr. Hanks about funding the orphanage while his own daughter was getting bullied there.

"Later, Mr. Hanks punished Dexter and those who bullied Sophia, but Juliet was the only one who wasn’t implicated."

This indicated that Juliet had always been a clever person who was skilled at stirring up trouble from a young age.

"Sophia! I’m in so much pain." Dexter suddenly gripped my hand tighter. "Sophia, don’t leave. Stay with me, please?"

I looked at Dexter suspiciously.

Did he overhear my phone call, or did he have a sense of what might happen later?

"Dexter, I have to go out." I wanted to uncover the truth and reclaim my memories. I couldn’t just reacquaint myself with Dexter again so naively.

It wouldn’t be fair to Dexter, nor to myself.

"Sophia, I’m thirsty." Dexter changed the topic.

So, I could only go and get him some water.

But as soon as I stepped away, Dexter’s gaze dropped to my phone screen.

It was showing Damien’s name on the caller ID.

Without hesitation, Dexter blocked the call.

Dexter’s villa was massive, yet there wasn’t a nanny in sight.

Dexter wasn’t fond of having people around, so there was only an old butler named Leo Hart who helped him with the yard work outside.

After fetching him some warm water, I brought it into the room.

That’s when I noticed Dexter was having a fever.

He was curled up in bed and couldn’t be bothered to cover himself with a blanket.

I was worried.

How did he survive all these years with such poor self–care skills?

"Sophia..." I wanted to get him a thermometer, but Dexter grabbed my wrist and pulled me onto the bed, holding me tight in his arms.

Even though he was sick, he was still very strong.

It was truly an endless show of his strength.

"I’m scared," Dexter murmured and groaned as he held me tightly in his arms.

This time, he remembered to cover us both with the blanket and even tightly wrapped me up with his long legs, as if he feared I might slip away. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"What’s scaring you so much?" I asked, puzzled.

"I’m afraid of sleeping alone..." He feared that when he woke up, his dreams would fall apart.

"Sophia, guess which one’s the real deal–dreams or reality?" Dexter whispered to me.

"Who knows?" I replied, feeling just as lost.

"Do you ever wonder why when we recall the past, it feels like we’re seeing things from God’s point of view?" Dexter asked in a hushed tone.

His question caught me off guard.

Recalling childhood memories did feel as though we were seeing them from God’s point of view.

"Could it be that when we revisit those moments in time, we’re not the same people anymore..." Dexter’s voice was low as he tightened his grip on my hand.

I thought about what he said for a while, but I just couldn’t understand it.

Perhaps this was just how a crazy person or a genius thinks–something beyond my understanding as an ordinary person.

"Want some water?" I whispered.

But as I turned to look at him, Dexter had already fallen asleep.

It seemed like he could always quickly drift off to sleep whenever he was with me.

His long eyelashes and flawless skin made him look exceptionally handsome.

Actually, it was kind of annoying.

Even though Dexter had wandered around and wore clothes that didn’t fit right, his skin still looked amazing. In fact, it looked much better than that of the people who splurged on skincare products every year.

The room had a fresh scent that was reminiscent of sandalwood, the aroma of which could induce drowsiness.

I couldn’t recall how I drifted off to sleep, but with Dexter holding me like that, I fell asleep very quickly.

When I woke up, it was already 10 pm.

The sky had turned pitch black, and Dexter wasn’t in the room.

My heart sank as I reached for my phone.

Surprisingly, Juliet hadn’t called me.

However, when I checked my phone, I realized it was on "Do Not Disturb" mode.

It was Dexter.

"Where’s Dexter?"

The vast villa was quiet and dimly lit. There was also no nanny, and it was just Leo that was still out in the yard weeding.

"Excuse me, where’s Dexter?" I anxiously asked.

Leo appeared elderly and possibly had some difficulty hearing because he merely glanced at me before continuing with his weeding.

It was already 10 pm, yet he was still busy weeding away.

Just then, a big dog came out of the bushes and lay down obediently next to my feet.

Its wolf–like cars stood tall, and it had a pair of cute and big eyes that gave it a pitiful look. It didn’t seem fierce at all.

Suddenly, Dexter came to my mind for some reason.

"Mr. Hart, where’s Dexter?" I asked again.

Leo put down the hoe and gestured to show that he didn’t know.

I couldn’t get what the hand signals meant, so I had to give Ewan a call.

Juliet had agreed to help the cops lure out the murderer on this night, so I hoped Dexter wouldn’t show up there.

Tavan Wildn’t pick up when I called, so I had no choice but to dial Zion’s number.

However, Zion didn’t answer either.

He was probably watching over Juliet right now. After all, they had to make sure she stayed safe.

Since Juliet hadn’t died the last time, the murderer hadn’t made any further moves. So, clearly, the murderer was the most desperate and eager for Juliet’s death more than anyone else.

"Sophia, why aren’t you here?" I called Juliet, and she sounded scared on the line. " Sophia, where are you? He’s after me... Help, please, I don’t want to die!"

I glanced at my phone and suddenly burst out laughing.

What was Juliet up to?

Was she experiencing the same hopelessness I felt before I died?