Reborn in the Enemy's Embrace

"Call the family doctor," Dexter instructed in a cold tone, casting a warning glance at Joel, as if to convey, "This is the first and last time you do this to me".

Joel was clearly intimidated by Dexter. He straightened up, trying to explain, "I had everything under control. I wouldn’t let her be— "

Before Joel could finish his sentence, Dexter mercilessly grabbed a chair from the ground and hurled it at him.

I flinched in fear, my breaths becoming rapid.

Joel managed to dodge in time. He stared at Dexter in disbelief, his own breath quickening. It was evident he was disappointed and upset by Dexter’s action.

"Dexter! You’ve been treating me like crap over and over again for the sake of that woman! I’m telling you, I’ve had enough! Damn it!"

Dexter stood still, his fingers trembling slightly. Joel turned away and left, clearly disappointed and angry.

I thought they had a falling out, but soon after, Joel returned with a doctor, his head lowered as he carried a medicine box.

Joel huffed and stood aside, sulking. Dexter gave him the cold shoulder and had the doctor examine my injuries.

After examining the sole of my foot and cleaning the wounds, the doctor administered a tetanus shot.

"Be careful not to get it wet for the next few days," The doctor advised before he left.

Ignoring Joel, Dexter carried me to our bedroom. Joel stubbornly followed, and after taking a few steps, he said, "I was wrong... "

I looked at him, noticing his usual demeanor had faded, revealing an ordinary teenage boy. I was rather surprised that he was the one apologizing to Dexter.

"Don’t give me the cold treatment... " Joel muttered softly. "I don’t want to go back to school."

Dexter continued to ignore Joel, clearly still upset about Joel taking matters into his own hands and locking him in the basement.

"I apologized! Isn’t that enough?" Joel’s youthful pride couldn’t tolerate Dexter’s cold shoulder.

"I didn’t anticipate her to become so foolish... " Joel muttered in displeasure. "Back then, nobody dared to mess with her. Who knew she would turn into such an idiot all of a sudden."

As Joel continued to mutter to himself, Dexter glanced down at me, who listened attentively to Joel’s words in his arms. Then, he turned to Joel and gave him a stern look. "She’s fine as she is now."

Joel snorted and huffed. "No one but you have eyes for idiots."

Dexter ignored Joel and headed right to our bedroom. He kicked the door shut, leaving Joel outside.

He carried me to the bathroom, intending to give me a bath.

"Dexter... " I nervously looked at him, pressing his hands that were about to remove my skirt.

I had no choice; Sofia’s legs were too fair, making the red marks left by Joel’s grip visible. If Dexter saw them, he might dash out of the room and settle the score with Joel.

"I’ll wash myself... just leave me alone," I pleaded softly.

Dexter lowered his head, speaking aggrievedly, "Sophia, your injured foot can’t get wet. Let me wash you."

"Your hands are injured too," I said firmly.

Dexter gently pulled my fingers. "Sophia... My hands don’t hurt."

Seeing that he had no intention of leaving, I stood up and unfastened my skirt...

As I had anticipated, the moment Dexter saw the red handprint on the inside of my fair thighs, his gaze turned icy.

"I’ll kill them... " Dexter’s voice was low.

"It’s... It’s Joel," I whispered softly, as if reporting Joel’s wrongdoing to him.

Joel had it coming; he was to one who had to pretend to be a... jerk while rescuing me.

Although Dexter frowned without making any comments, I could feel the pressure already.

It seemed like Joel was in huge trouble.

"Sophia, this shower gel is nice. It lathers up really well." Dexter remarked as he squeezed some onto the bath puff and started rubbing it in.

I was in the bathtub, one foot propped up outside, feeling embarrassed. "Can you please leave? My foot hurts, not my hands."

Ignoring my request, Dexter began lathering foam onto my leg.

Blushing furiously, I covered my face, feeling like I was being treated like his favorite toy. "Dexter, seriously, get out."

But Dexter paid no attention, continuing to apply foam all over my body.

"Dexter Black!" I warned firmly, feeling the heat rise in my ears.

He stayed silent, leaning against my shoulder and rinsing my back with the showerhead.

"Sophia... Don’t listen to them. You’re not a fool. You’re fine as you are, really... " Dexter said softly, trying to comfort me. "They don’t know anything. They’re the ones who don’t understand."

"Wasn’t the old me good enough?" I asked softly.

There was a brief moment of tension in Dexter’s body before he shook his head. "No, that’s not it— "

"Then what is?" I pressed, looking at him.

He straightened up, avoiding my gaze. "You weren’t happy, and I didn’t know how to make you happy."

Sophia’s original state lacked basic emotions. She had studied and imitated all feelings and sensations by herself.

When she recognized that normal people would smile in a situation, she would smile along; if it was a situation for tears, she would react accordingly.

She felt like a misfit, out of sync with society. Agony, sadness, or even joy were all beyond her comprehension.

"But now, I’m not happy either... " I felt like an idiot who couldn’t even recall my own memories.

"Sophia... Forgetting is best for you." Dexter looked at me seriously. "You chose to forget. You made that choice."

I fell silent, feeling unbearable discomfort overwhelming me.

If I were to revert to my old self, would Dexter still love me?

"By the way," I suddenly remembered something. "Peter and Aunty Lisa— "

I intended to inform him about Peter and Aunty Lisa’ plan to have Juliet impersonate me, although I wasn’t sure if they had succeeded. But I could finish, someone interrupted.

"Sir, Juliet is here to see you," Ewan announced, knocking on the bedroom door.

I was taken aback, feeling a tightness in my chest. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Juliet... Was she here to see Dexter, pretending to be me?

Since Damien was still unconscious, did she decide to come to Dexter first?

"I won’t see her," Dexter replied, furrowing his brows.

"She’s acting strange today. She asked me to pass this to you, saying that you’ll agree to see her once you read it," Ewan added.

Dexter’s expression darkened. He gave me a reassuring glance and said, "Wait for me, Sophia."

I nodded, despite the surge of uneasiness in my heart.

Swiftly rinsing off under the shower, I stepped out of the bathtub, wrapping a towel around myself as I approached the door.

I was curious to see what Juliet had passed to Dexter — it was a piece of paper with a ’π’ written on it.

Frowning, I didn’t understand its significance.

However, Dexter’s fingers visibly stiffened, and he instinctively glanced back at me.

For some reason, I sensed hesitation and suspicion in his eyes.

What was he suspicious of? A sense of foreboding washed over me.

Dexter said nothing and headed downstairs.

Panicking, I swiftly changed into clothes and limped downstairs after him.

Outside the door, Juliet stood there coldly, her gaze deep and noticeably different from before.

Startled by her stare, I nervously clenched my fists.

Her acting skills were convincing, causing me to doubt myself.

Juliet cast a cold glance at me and spoke in a low voice. "I can’t believe you actually buy she’s Sophia Milford."