Reborn in the Enemy's Embrace - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: CHAPTER 24 Chapter 24: CHAPTER 24 “You’re just a drag.

Stop clinging to Damien,” Jack and I had attended the same college.

Although we were from different faculties, we began our freshman year together.

I was too soft€“tempered, so I ignored him.

But he persisted.

“Sophia, why are you so arrogant every day?

You’re nothing more than an orphan raised by the Colemans.

Damien took you in just to warm his bed.

Did you really think that you’re a lady in his eyes?” The people around Jack laughed, “She’s indeed a lady, just not a wealthy one.” At that time, my face turned red from holding back.

I felt wronged and was on the verge of tears.

Jack led those people to encircle me and spoke vulgarly to me.

I panicked and desperately wanted to escape.

When I turned around, I noticed Damien standing not far away with a gloomy expression.

I looked at him for help.

That was the first time he treated me with cold indifference.

He merely cast a disdainful glance my way and walked away.

Due to his indifference, Jack became more offensive toward me.

It happened in the fall when I was 20 years old.

During Damien’s mother’s birthday party, Jack seized the opportunity and forcefully pinned me down onto the bushes in the backyard.

Pressed onto me, his voice laced with disgust and threat.

“Sophia, since you let so many men touch you, can I touch you too?

You can’t just let Damien sleep with you.

Let me have some too, hmm?” I struggled to push him away, but he was too heavy.

He covered my mouth when I tried to scream.

“I’ll beat you to death if you scream.” I wasn’t afraid of dying, but he was just too strong.

“Sophia, everyone knows about your infatuation with Damien.

The Colemans adopted you out of goodwill.

Yet you repay their kindness with hatred.

You even forced him to marry you with some marriage contract?” I slowly abandoned any hope of trying to escape, filled with despair.

Thinking I had surrendered, he relaxed his grip on me.

Then, he immediately attempted to tear my clothes apart.

Seizing the opportunity, I picked up a stone and smashed it on his head.

Jack stared at me in pain and shock before fleeing.

That day, I hid in the backyard.

I sat there huddled with my legs to my chest for a long time until night fell, and the autumn rain soaked me through.

That was the moment I resolved to break free from the Coleman family.

I yearned to escape.

I had to leave.

Otherwise, I would die at the hands of the Colemans.

Die at the hands of Damien Coleman.

I studied hard and strived for various honors and scholarships.

No matter how hard I worked, I couldn’t counter the malicious rumors spread by others.

Rumors circulated around college that Damien got together with a goddess named Juliet.

They were deemed the perfect couple.

And I became the malicious woman accused of framing, slandering, and plotting against the goddess.

Jack led the way and proclaimed that I was a promiscuous woman who engaged in multiple affairs and even attempted to flirt with him.

I was helpless, unable to explain myself.

I knew it was a trap they had set for me.

The harder I tried to clarify and restore my reputation, the more entangled I was in their trap.

They heartlessly laughed at me and trampled on my dignity.

They pushed me toward a dead end, bit by bit.

In the third year of college, there was a student exchange program.

It was exclusive to those who had excellent academic performance and outstanding qualities.

I was thrilled at the opportunity.

I thought that as long as I could get it, I would be able to leave, and everything would get better.

However, I watched helplessly as the opportunity I had diligently pursued got snatched away by Damien.

He went to great lengths only to give it to Juliet’s sister, Eva Turner.

I cried hysterically and questioned him why.

Why couldn’t he just let me go if he despised me so much?

He responded, “You’ll still have many opportunities in the future.

Studying abroad isn’t your only option.

Juliet’s sister has been in poor health since she was a child.

She values this opportunity greatly.

Can’t you just give it to her?!” This opportunity was not the only thing I had to give away.

I had to give up everything to Juliet.

Why?!

I once questioned Damien why he felt entitled to make such a decision.

He replied, “Simply because you’re living and eating under my roof.

You won’t be able to repay the kindness my family showed you throughout your entire life.

It’s just a student exchange spot.

How dare you yell at me?” That day, I sat on the ground dejectedly and felt like an abandoned stray dog.

Jack wrapped his arms around Eva, the person who stole my spot, and walked toward me.

They proceeded to trample on me with the cruelest words.

Eva said, “Sophia, you’re really worthless.

Damien’s affection should only be reserved for my sister, not someone as unworthy as you.

You’re nothing more than a stain in Damien’s life.” Jack kicked me and added, “Damien said the thing he regretted most was having Aunty Lisa adopt you.” I sat there, and my body gradually stiffened.

“Sophia, I’ll kill you if you dare breathe a word to Damien,” Jack threatened me.

“Don’t worry.

Even if she did, Damien wouldn’t believe her.

Nobody would believe a woman like her.” Eva strutted away proudly, holding a bag that Damien had gifted Juliet.

The bag was easily worth tens of thousands.

Damien always claimed I owed him and the Colemans.

Throughout these years, my living expenses at the Colemans and tuition fees only totaled a few tens of thousands.

I had a scholarship that essentially waived my tuition and covered my living expenses.

I would rather work night shifts in 24-hour convenience stores than spend any of the Colemans’ money.

What I owed Damien was nothing more than my parents’ funeral expenses and the penalty he had paid off for my family for not honoring the business contract.

The workers were compensated using my parents’ death compensation and the sale of the house.

I knew I owed Damien a significant amount of money.

Still, even if it was substantial, it couldn’t compare to the amount Damien spent on Juliet, her family, and friends.

I vividly recall when I fell sick in my junior year.

I had encephalitis and fainted on the school field.

Despite my high fever, Damien insisted that I perform a physical fitness test on behalf of Eva.

I told him I was suffering from my fever, but he remained persistent.

“Sophia, it won’t kill you.” I couldn’t argue.

I’ve always remembered he said, “Sophia, you owe me.” I just thought of it as repaying what I owed.

Lightheaded, I got up from the bed and went to the field.

That day, I fainted halfway through the half-mile run.

My elbows and forehead stung from the scrapes.

The doctor called me crazy and said that I didn’t value my life for attempting a physical test with a 10%-degree fever.

Due to this incident, the school discovered that Eva had someone else take her physical test.

They canceled her qualification for the student exchange program.

That day, Damien rushed into the hospital ward with a gloomy face.

He nearly yanked me off the bed.

“Sophia, I didn’t know you were so cunning.

How could you do this to Juliet’s sister just because she got the spot?” He had called me cunning and calculating, but he never once acknowledged my hospitalization due to encephalitis.

My encephalitis almost took half my life.

I desperately needed money for the hospital treatment, or I would die.

However, my living expenses for that month were not sufficient to cover my expensive medical bills.

I had begged Damien to lend me money for the treatment.

I promised to repay him after I recovered and started work.

However, he only gave me a look of disgust.

“Sophia, you’re still pretending at this point.

It’s such a waste that you’re not an actress.” My head throbbed as I dropped onto the ground.

“If you want money, fine.

Show me what you’re willing to do for money.” Damien grabbed my hair and sneered, “What did you exchange in return for asking Jack for money before?

I have already told you to come to me if you need money.

How can you be so dirty?” I stared at him blankly and explained, “I didn’t ask him for money.” “You’re still making excuses.

You’ve been full of lies since you were a child!” He pushed me away and leaned against the wall.

“Stop acting if you want the money.

Leave, I’m not interested in having you around.” I lowered my head as my tears fell.

He repeatedly called me dirty and vented his anger on me.

That night, my fever didn’t go away.

I bled from both nostrils and collapsed in the hotel bathroom.

The janitor discovered me the following day and took me to the hospital.

I could’ve died if it had been any later.

Yet Damien never gave me any money.

Left with no alternative, I phoned Violette.

She hurried over from the hospital.

She begged her father, who had never supported her ever since her parents’ divorce, for five thousand dollars.

Violette and I both sacrificed our dignity, all for the sake of five thousand dollars.

We shared laughter and tears in the ward without uttering a word.

I knew she was the only one I had.

On the day of my discharge, I ran into Damien at the hospital.

He appeared somewhat fatigued as he moved in and out of the inpatient department.