Reborn in the Enemy's Embrace

"Dad!" A sharp object on the wall pierced Dexter’s back. The entire cabin tilted 90 degrees and became very bumpy.

"Dexter..." I gripped Xandra firmly as the cabin tilted. I was enveloped by Dexter’s embrace and unable to see anything. The scent of briny seawater mingled with the metallic aroma of blood filled my senses. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"Mom, Dad..." Xandra had an injury to her forehead too. She choked up as she attempted to assess my condition.

Dexter and I both sustained injuries of different severity. Dexter’s injuries were the most severe, with blood on his back and his clothes drenched in blood.

"I’m fine. Don’t worry," Dexter assured us with a comforting embrace.

I was terrified and held them tightly. Fear spread in the darkness. The cabin tilted, and the power was completely cut off. The sea seemed like a giant beast that could devour everything. Everyone was waiting to be rescued.

"Dexter! Sophia!"

"Sofia?"

In the darkness, we heard the voices of Zion, Joel, and others, as well as Damien’s voice. I was shocked that Damien didn’t board Genome Society’s rescue ship in advance.

I moved and realized that my leg was trapped under the bed, which had slipped down along with us earlier. The pain was so intense that I nearly lost consciousness. This was my first experience of such severe pain.

"Sophia." Dexter desperately tried to move the bed in panic. But despite his efforts, gravity made him feel helpless. After all, he was just a human being.

The waves were getting bigger, and the seawater surged back with increasing force. This moment vividly illustrated the insignificance of human beings in the face of nature.

The sea was freezing, and I was scared. In my memory, I used to be emotionless and unaffected by fear. Yet now, I found myself truly terrified. I was utterly terrified of facing death.

I started valuing life because I had finally grasped the meaning of love. Respect was built upon love. How could one show respect if one didn’t even comprehend what love was?

"Don’t worry, Sophia." Dexter held my face. The chill in the air had left my complexion pale.

Damien shouted from the balcony above. He found a rope and threw it down. "Sofia, Zion, Eason! Come up quickly,"

Zion fumbled with the rope, sending Violette up first while Damien pulled her from above. "The cruise is about to sink! Hurry, come up!"

"Dexter..." After Zion had sent Xandra Zander up the rope, he came to find us.

"It’s too late." I choked, shaking my head.

There were too many objects on the bed. It was simply too heavy. The weight pushed me down, and I couldn’t escape. Eventually, I would drown when the seawater started to flow back.

"Nonsense!" Joel cursed. In the dim light, they tried their best to lift the bed.

Just as they were about to lift it, the cabin shook violently. The bed pressed down once more, causing me a second injury.

Despite the pain, I endured in silence, my hands clenched tightly. I nearly passed out due to the immense agony. However, at that moment, I was unusually clearheaded.

I embraced Dexter, my voice trembling. "Dexter, please leave with the children."

I begged him to go first. If he brought the children up there, they might still have a chance to survive. Otherwise, we would all die in this place.

"Leave, please," I cried and pleaded with him.

"Sophia!" Dexter kissed my forehead as if he had come to a decision.

He picked up the children and handed them to Joel, asking him to pass them on to Damien. Ashton and Xandra were crying. Despite being experimental subjects, they were still children.

"Dad, Mom!" I heard their cries and felt a sharp pain in my heart. They were our children, Dexter’s and mine. I loved them dearly.

I was willing to sacrifice my life for Ashton and Xandra’s growth.

"Joel, Zion, Eason, thank you for your help. Let’s give it another try," Dexter whispered after Damien picked up the children.

"The water’s pouring in, and the pressure keeps increasing. If we try again, what if..." Zion was worried that I would be in pain.

"Let’s wait until the room is flooded with seawater and test if we can use buoyancy to make it work," suggested Eason.

"It’s too late. Once the room is flooded, the exit will be blocked. We’ll all die in this room. You must go first," I urgently shouted at them.

Dexter remained calm and said once more, "Let’s give it another shot."

Zion and the others acknowledged and lifted the bed that pinned me down. "Three, two, one. Lift!"

They screamed and struggled to lift the bed, but the shaking of the cruise ship made them lose their grip once more. However, the heavy objects did not fall on my leg this time.

I looked at Dexter in astonishment. He endured the pain, held me close, and slowly pulled my leg out. It was him...

As they lifted, he stretched his leg inside, like a lever to support the heavy objects. I even heard the sound of bones breaking at that moment.

"Dexter..." My voice trembled as I ignored the pain. I burst out crying, holding him tightly.

"Take her away." Dexter was shaking all over.

Zion tried to pull me, but I pushed him away. "Hurry up and leave, all of you!"

Zion glanced at me, and I motioned for him to listen. "Help me take care of the kids. We’ll take a risk. Once it’s flooded here, hopefully, we can count on the buoyancy to escape."

Zion took a deep breath and embraced me tightly. It was an emotional expression of our friendship and camaraderie, a bond forged through both good times and bad.

He replied hoarsely, "We’ll be waiting for you up there. I’ll contact the rescue ship as soon as possible. Our people will be here soon. Just hang on."

Eason choked up, his voice full of emotions. "Dexter, don’t die. We should return to our country. We can be happy there, even though I dislike you."

Joel appeared remarkably composed in comparison to the others. He said firmly, "He’s Dexter. He won’t die. Let’s go first."

Amidst the violent shaking, I held Dexter tightly, determined to shield him from further harm.

"Why are you so silly?" he asked me.

"I don’t want to seem smart around you," I replied, crying like a needy child.

What was the true purpose of living if a person was required to display their intelligence in front of the person they loved?

"Sophia, I’m so happy now." Dexter was very weak at that moment.

The seawater had already reached our shoulders and was about to cover our heads. We had to wait until the room was completely filled with seawater.

"Are you afraid?" I inhaled deeply, urging Dexter to do the same. Considering the present rate of backflow, we needed to hold our breath underwater for a minimum of two minutes.

"Everything I do, I do it for my wife and my children... I’m not afraid at all," Dexter replied, smiling and shaking his head.

I smiled with tears in my eyes. "You’re the silly one."

"Hmm. Sophia, I’m so stupid. All of them bully me, so you have to protect me." Dexter’s voice had a hint of coquettishness. However, these words hurt me deeply.

In my fragmented memory, Dexter seemed like a loner at the orphanage when he was a child. The other children would mock him, insult him, and even throw things at him.

Later, he enjoyed hiding behind Sophia and would always quietly complain to her. "Sophia, they all bully me. You have to protect me."

In fact, he had actually found different ways to deal with those who bullied him. However, he would pretend to be weak and helpless whenever he encountered "Sophia".

As the seawater cascaded around us, I drew in a deep breath and dove into the cold seawater alongside Dexter. Our eardrums were pressured. We held each other’s hands tightly, enduring the challenging wait.

We were not afraid to take risks; we were willing to risk our lives. If we couldn’t escape, we were prepared to die together.

If there was an afterlife, I wished to be born into a normal family and have a simple and happy life. I hoped that Dexter would be the boy next door so that we could be childhood sweethearts and grow up together.

I wanted to protect him from harm and shield him from any negativity. All I wanted was for him to grow up healthy. I longed to see his smile, full of joy and brightness, in both good times and bad.