Reborn in the Enemy's Embrace

"Was it Simmy who gave it to you?" I asked softly, peering anxiously into Dexter’s eyes.

Dexter avoided my gaze and deflected, "Sophia... How’s Grandma Rosie doing?"

He was changing the subject.

I always knew that there were too many secrets surrounding Dexter. I had initially drawn close to him to unravel those very mysteries. Otherwise, Eason wouldn’t have been so fixated on him.

Yet, the deeper I delved into our connection, the more I realized that not only did Dexter harbor numerous secrets, but my original host, Sofia Miller, did as well.

To compound matters, I even began to question myself.

What hidden truth lay buried within my lost memories?

Why did Damien say that I had a psychological illness before? And what kind of illness was that?

Was it a mere coincidence that I found myself reborn into Sofia’s body?

The more I pondered, the more terrifying the things seemed to me..

I brought Dexter back to his ward. The nurse scolded him severely and resealed the punctured needle of the IV.

After ensuring Dexter could get out of bed and move around, I held his hand and headed to Grandma Rosie’s ward, only to discover Damien had been there all the while.

"Have some water, Grandma Rosie," Damien said, attending to her.

I frowned, feeling somewhat annoyed.

I remembered Damien as a spoiled rich brat, accustomed to having everything handed to him on a silver platter. He could barely take care of himself, let alone others.

Yet, here he was, being attentive in the ward.

"Mr. Coleman, this is my grandmother. I can take care of her myself. You can go now," I said, firmly as I walked over and snatched the glass of water from Damien’s hand.

Damien lowered his gaze and remained silent.

Grandma Rosie, who was awake, leaned against the head of the bed and gazed at Damien dearly

Sofia, how could you talk to Mike like that? He’s a nice, kind–hearted man.

"Not only has he been taking care of me during your absence, but he was also the one who found out that I was sick and sent me to the hospital in time. If it weren’t for him, I might have never been able to see you again..."

I was momentarily startled, frowning as I stared at Damien.

It seemed he had already ingratiated himself with Sofia’s grandmother long before this.

What exactly was he up to?

Standing at the doorway, Dexter scrutinized Damien with cold eyes. It was as if he had encountered someone even more skilled at acting than himself.

"Sophia... Dexter called my name softly.

I pulled Dexter over and introduced him to Grandma Rosie, "Grandma Rosie, this is my husband, Dexter Black. You can call him Dexter."

Grandma Rosie glanced at Dexter, looking somewhat displeased.

"You’ve been married to Sofia for so long, yet you’ve never bothered to come visit me. Instead, Mike was the one who has been taking care of me all this time."

"Grandma Rosie, Dexter suffers from an illness. He probably can’t even take care of himself, let alone you. It’s best that he doesn’t come and upset you," Damien whispered, clearly trying to sow discord.

Damien was well aware of my character, understanding just how much weight I placed on my family’s opinions.

But the person he knew was the me that he had "killed", or rather, the me who had lost an important memory after the car accident when I was 18.

Back then, I was immersed in the grief of my parents’ death. My restless and depressive emotions shrouded me like a dark hell.

I could barely live independently at that time and badly needed a warm shelter where I could call home.

Therefore, even though I was already 18 and legally an adult, I was still grateful to Lisa for taking me in and giving me a home because I simply couldn’t live by myself at that time.

Though I had indeed forgotten a lot of things, I had never suspected it once.

It was as if my memories didn’t disappear out of thin air but were erased...

"Such tragedy..." Grandma Rosie reluctantly glanced at Dexter, lamenting that a person with a mental illness couldn’t provide a better life for her Sofia.

Initially, it was her biological granddaughter, Ann, who was supposed to marry Dexter, though.

"Sofia, has Annie mentioned when she’ll come to see me?" Grandma Rosie cared about Ann a lot.

Before I came, I had worried that Grandma Rosie, who had raised Sofia, would see through me and realize that I wasn’t the real Sofia.

However, it seemed that my concerns were completely unfounded.

Grandma Rosie seemed to care more about her biological granddaughter, Ann, than about Sofia.

"Grandma Rosie, Ann’s not coming to see you," I told her straightforwardly, shattering her hopes.

Grandma Rosie sighed disappointedly. "Oh well, never mind."

Damien glanced at the time and said, "Grandma Rosie, I have to return to my ward now. Call me if you need anything, okay?"

Grandma Rosie nodded with a smile. "Will do. Sofia is so lucky to have met you, Mike."

Dexter stood by silently, his expression cold. Oddly, he didn’t try to please Grandma Rosie as he usually usually would do with others.

Something told me that he didn’t like Grandma Rosie.

"Sofia, how could your parents force you to marry into the Black family? How many wedding gifts did they receive?

"Remember, don’t give all your money to your parents. I’m the one who raised you, so you should let me know in case you’ve got money, okay?" Grandma Rosie said lovingly.

Although Grandma Rosie sounded as if she was genuinely concerned about Sofia, I was taken aback. I sensed something off about her.

She was completely different from how I had imagined.

I had thought she truly cared about Sofia, but... apparently not.

"Sofia, could you give Annie a call and ask her to come visit me?" Grandma Rosie requested softly.

Perhaps still assuming Dexter was an idiot, Grandma Rosie completely ignored him and continued, "Also, before I was hospitalized, your brother, Felix, mentioned wanting to buy at house."

"Even though he’s not your biological brother, your Uncle John did raise you well when you stayed with our family, didn’t he?"

Seeing me silent, Grandma Rosie said again in a hushed tone, "Sofia, does this dimwit

Grandma Rosle seemed to care more about her biological granddaughter, Ann, than about Sofia.

"Grandma Rosle, Ann’s not coming to see you," I told her straightforwardly, shattering her hopes.

Grandma Rosie sighed disappointedly. "Oh well, never mind."

Damien glanced at the time and sald, "Grandma Rosle, I have to return to my word now. Call me if you need anything, okay?"

Grandma Rosie nodded with a smile. "Will do. Sofia is so lucky to have met you, Mike."

Dexter stood by silently, his expression cold. Oddly, he didn’t try to please Grandma Rosle as he usually usually would do with others.

Something told me that he didn’t like Grandma Rosie.

"Sofia, how could your parents force you to marry into the Black family? How many wedding gifts did they receive?

"Remember, don’t give all your money parents. I’m the one who raised you, so you should let me know in case you’ve got money, okay?" Grandma Rosie said lovingly.

Although Grandma Rosie sounded as if she was genuinely concerned about Sofia, I was taken aback. I sensed something off about her.

She was completely different from how I had imagined.

I had thought she truly cared about Sofia, but... apparently not.

"Sofia, could you give Annie a call and ask her to come visit me?" Grandma Rosie.

Perhaps still assuming Dexter was an idiot, Grandma Rosie completely ignored him and continued, "Also, before I was hospitalized, your brother, Felix, mentioned wanting to buy a house.

"Even though he’s not your biological brother, your Uncle John did raise you well when you stayed with our family, didn’t he?"

Seeing me silent, Grandma Rosie said again in a hushed tone, "Sofia, does this dimwit have any money? Maybe he can buy Felix a house? We won’t ask for too much, Just a 1,000- aquare–foot house at Huma 2nd Avenue will do. It’d be great if he could throw in a car too."

I looked at Grandma Rosie dumbfoundedly.

A 1,000–square–foot house at Huma 2nd Avenue? The most basic house in that area would cost at least 41 grand per square foot!

And she thought Dexter was the one out of his mind? Had she looked at herself in the

mirror?

Why would Dexter buy a house for someone completely unrelated?

"Grandma Rosie, Dexter’s broke. He’s got no status or standing in the Black family due to his incompetence. We’re treated poorly in that family," I said, feigning grievance.

However, Grandma Rosie didn’t seem to give a damn about the bullying I endured.

Instead, she remarked, "So, he’s not as capable as Mike, is he? Mike is the president of a big company, so he definitely can afford a house. He seems quite interested in you. Why don’t you talk to him about this?"

"Grandma Rosie, Dexter needs his rest, so I’d better take him back to his ward now. You should get some rest too. I’ll visit you another day."

Ignoring Grandma Rosie’s request, I left the ward with Dexter.

"Sofia, have you grown arrogant now that you’re back with your biological parents?" Grandma Rosie snapped furiously.

What was this old lady’s problem?

I had always believed that Sofia was being manipulated by Charles because she felt Indebted to Grandma Rosie. But after seeing Grandma Rosie’s true nature, Sofia should have just let her be.

"Do you know how Sofia’s foster parents died?" Dexter asked in a low tone as we

walked down the hallway.

At that moment, he seemed perfectly normal, nothing like a fool.

"Huh?" I genuinely had no idea how Sofia’s foster parents died.

"They died in an accident while resisting arrest," Dexter said in a low tone. "They were human traffickers."

That was the reason Dexter had initially despised Sofia. Her foster family were human traffickers, including Grandma Rosie.

Grandma Rosie used to take Sofia to mingle with the homeless children, pretending to be friendly and kind. But in fact, she was waiting for buyers to make their move.

I looked at Dexter in shock, unaware that he had done a background check on that family a long time ago.

As I had suspected, Sofia carried a multitude of secrets with her.

"Sofia! Are you okay?"

As we stepped into the elevator, a nurse greeted me and asked if everything was alright. It seemed that she knew Sofia quite well.

"Huh?" Feeling a little confused, I glanced at her nametag and replied, "Um.... I’m fine... Judy."

"You really gave me a fright! I was worried that you’d do something silly when you came to me the other day asking for so much quinine!" Judy sighed in relief.

"You told me it was for your grandmother, but when I checked with the doctor later, they said your grandmother had already collected her medication. I was scared to death!"

"I tried to reach you, but you didn’t answer my calls. I was worried that you might do

something silly again..."

Quinine? I was stunned upon hearing that term.

"Do you remember what day it was?" I quickly asked.

Judy was taken aback. "Last month, on the 17th."

I instinctively glanced at Dexter.

That was the day Sofia died, the day I was reborn,

Sofia’s death wasn’t an accident?

She died because she had/intentionally taken a large amount of quinine, which caused a fatal toxic reaction in her heart?

Sofia had died by suicide.