Reborn in the Enemy's Embrace

"The kids have their own paths to take," Dexter said, holding onto Sophia’s hand.

What he said was right. Ashton and Xan had their own paths to take. As parents, all they could do was to be their strong support.

"I’ve already contacted No. 9. We’ll take action when it’s necessary." Dexter looked at Sophia.

No one could touch his wife and kids, who he cherished dearly.

"Is Xan alright, Dad?" Back at Huma University, Ashton gave Dexter a call. He was worried about Xan.

"She’s fine, don’t worry. Just focus on your studies," Dexter replied, trying to lessen his worries.

Like any other ordinary father-and-sons, they would occasionally have heart-to-heart talks. However, neither of them were any good at expressing themselves.

Ashton said, "Maybe you should stop cooking, Dad. You’re not improving even after all these years. I went home yesterday, and the clams were full of sand. I’m feeling a little sick now."

Fortunately, his stomach was strong. Otherwise, he might have started suspecting Dexter had slipped him something.

"You can cook the next time, then," Dexter replied, somewhat annoyed.

"What I mean is that you have to accept your weakness, Dad." Ashton laughed helplessly.

Dexter had everything going for him-good looks, a youthful appearance, and a mature demeanor. Unfortunately, he had zero self-care ability.

Not only had he not improved after all these years of cooking, but he even struggled with doing laundry.

Ashton couldn’t help but wonder how a genius like Dexter could be so helpless in his daily life, but he found no answer to it.

"What do you know?" Dexter replied indifferently. "Your mom would’ve left long ago if not for my struggle in daily life."

The last time Sophia was out on a business trip, their entire family was admitted to the hospital for food poisoning. Apparently, the mushrooms were still raw.

Similarly now, Ashton felt that he was suffering from food poisoning again.

Something would surely happen to them every time Sophia went on a business trip.

It turned out that Dexter was doing it on purpose-all just to make her worried and not leave him alone. Ashton’s eyes widened in disbelief when he found out that he and Xan were roped into their romantic play. "You’re truly heartless to us when it comes to Mom, Dad," he said while gritting his teeth.

"What are you talking about? You’re still alive and well, aren’t you?" Dexter ended the call in annoyance. Ashton stared at his phone in a resigned manner. There was nothing he could do about his own father, after all. "Why hasn’t your dad been coming over to pick you up, Ashton?" Recently, the seniors from the graduate department had been constantly trying to flirt with Ashton.

When Dexter first came to the university to deliver something to him, everyone thought Dexter was Ashton’s older brother. The older women who had been pursuing Ashton all had a change of heart.

"Do you need me for anything?" Ashton asked.

"Oh, not really... Are your dad and mom on good terms?" the senior asked with a smile.

It was evident that she was vying to become Ashton’s stepmother if Dexter and Sophia were on bad terms. "My dad can’t live without my mom," Ashton replied with a wry smile.

Everyone would be in trouble if their relationship soured.

The senior looked somewhat disappointed. "Alright then."

"Ashton!"

Just as Ashton was about to leave, a luxury car stopped by the roadside. Damien got out of the car and looked around warily.

He only spoke once he made sure that Sophia wasn’t around. "Come with me."

Ashton rushed over excitedly. "Why haven’t you been contacting me recently, Damien?"

"Do I look like I dare to?" Damien said ominously.

In order to ensure his family’s safety, Ashton secretly contacted someone from Genome Society over at Melovia. Damien tried to stop him once he found out but ended up being persuaded by Ashton.

All this while, Damien had been feeling guilty and remorseful toward Sophia. He wanted to make amends and secretly protect her as best as he could.

As such, he secretly reached out to Ashton.

However, Sophia was smart enough to know that nothing good would come out of Ashton getting close to Damien. She had warned them multiple times but to no avail.

Upon finding out that Damien was introducing foreign collaborators to Ashton, she stormed into his company and gave him a harsh slap.

Damien was known as a cold and ruthless CEO to the public.

The story of how Sophia stormed into his company to slap him had spread like wildfire, yet he did not even make a fuss about it. In fact, Damien dared not do anything of that sort.

"Have those from Melovia agreed to the collaboration, Damien?" Ashton asked softly.

He wanted to protect Dexter and Sophia by his own means. He wanted to infiltrate Genome Society.

Damien replied, "They’ve agreed to it, but your parents won’t. I’m telling you, Ashton, don’t put me in a tough spot. Your mom will truly kill me."

He pulled the car over to the side and looked at Ashton sternly. "The last time your mom found out that I introduced clients to you, she stormed into my company and slapped me. That was her warning,"

Sophia was the kind of person who wouldn’t let things slide. She gave a warning the first time and a slap the second time. She might just end him for the third time.

Damien tugged at his tie nervously. "I don’t want to die yet, so I can’t help you out. It’s best for you to give up too. Your parents have their own plans."

"Am I supposed to stay under my parents’ protection forever, doing nothing? They can protect Xan and I for now, but they can’t do it forever. What if" Ashton frowned.

What if Sophia and Dexter couldn’t handle it either and ended up getting hurt in the process?

"What I’m doing is right, Damien. We have to be prepared for the worst. You need to find a way to send me overseas." Ashton insisted on studying overseas.

He was no longer a child, and he had to do something.

"Just kill me instead," Damien mumbled, reaching out to massage his temples.

Sophia would make sure he suffered if he tried to persuade Dexter and her to let Ashton go overseas. "Is this all you’ve got? My mom..." Even Ashton shuddered at the thought. She was truly terrifying. "How about you give it a try, Damien? Just do it for my mom’s sake," he tried to reason with Damien. Damien gritted his teeth and said, "I’ll head over to your house tonight to sound your mom out first." "I knew you’d help me out, Damien!" Ashton cheered happily.

"It’s an unknown world outside. The darkness in Ulophia is just the tip of the iceberg. The plutocrats and certain organizations control everything. It’s a vast ocean of sin that you can’t even grasp." Damien thought that Ashton was still too young for this.

"I’ll never know how vast the world is if I stay protected forever." Ashton insisted on leaving.

Now that he was all grown up, he wanted to protect those he cherished. As such, he had to mature and grow stronger.

"I’ll try..." Damien replied helplessly.

Dexter was busying himself in his kitchen. Sophia walked over and hugged him from the back. "Just leave the vegetables here once you’re done. I’ll do the cooking."

"Okay." He looked disappointed, seemingly unhappy to be dismissed. However, a smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

He was intentionally feigning helplessness so that Sophia would continue to dote on him. Who else would spoil him endlessly otherwise?

"Go check if Xan has woken up," she softly said.

Stevie was barking outside, and Sophia instantly knew that it was Damien who had come.

Whenever Damien came over, Stevie would only bark thrice. If it was Joel, Stevie would bark twice. If Eason and the others showed up, Stevie would howl instead.

"Why did you come uninvited?" Sophia picked up the kitchen knife from the table and walked out. Damien bit back whatever he was about to say when he saw the kitchen knife. "Well, it’s nothing, Sophia..." Ashton, who was leaning against the door, rolled his eyes. He knew that Damien couldn’t be trusted.

He straightened up and mustered his courage. "The university has openings for overseas study, Mom. I want to apply for a slot."

Ashton was prepared to be scolded or beaten up by Sophia after that.