Reborn in the Enemy's Embrace Chapter 412

"Xan!" Timothy shouted upon spotting her. He dashed over in a rush, his voice laced with concern, "Why have you returned?"

Xan stayed silent, simply heading to grab her bag that she had left behind on the seat. Keeping her head lowered, she pivoted to walk away.

"Ignore their rubbish talk, Xan." Fearing a misunderstanding, Timothy chased after her and gently clarified, "Kiara and I share nothing."

She shot him a look and questioned, "Did she confess her feelings to you?"

Timothy nodded, appearing jittery. "I believe she did."

"If you like someone, you confess, don’t you?" Xan inquired, eyeing him with curiosity.

Timothy hesitated briefly. "Not always. Plenty of folks harbor crushes but stay too scared to voice them, burying the emotions deep."

Xan mulled it over intently. Her thoughts remained a mystery to all.

The crowd kept gawking at the spectacle. Kiara lingered in awkward suspense, eyes turning red as she awaited Timothy’s acceptance of her love letter.

"In that case, I want to confess as well," Xan declared with innocent simplicity. Seeing Kiara do it first, she decided it was her turn too.

"What?" Timothy froze in shock, his thoughts scattering instantly.

"Who’s the lucky one?" Zachary wondered aloud, intrigued.

Xan fixed her gaze on Kiara for what felt like ages. She spotted the prepared love letter in play.

After a moment’s reflection, Xan pulled paper from her bag and scrawled "I like you" across it. Boldly, she passed it to Timothy.

He stood there dumbfounded. Xan had always struck him as unique, but this bold imitation of a love letter caught him completely off guard.

Zachary’s mouth fell open in astonishment. He whipped out his phone and fired off a message to Ashton: "Emergency alert, bro! Xan confessed to Timothy!"

Ashton: "?"

Zachary: "Xan handed Timothy a love letter and confessed!"

Ashton: "Tell Timothy to watch his step. Best of luck to the guy."

Zachary rubbed his head in confusion. He figured overprotective Ashton would explode and chew out Timothy over the phone.

Instead, Ashton offered well-wishes. What was that about?

A voice piped up, "Holy crap, even the dimwit’s jumping in!"

"What’s your game? Copycat much? Right after Kiara hands over her letter, you do the same—are you picking a fight?" Kiara’s friends snapped furiously.

Xan’s brow furrowed as she clapped her hands over her ears.

Their noise grated on her; she itched to silence them permanently. But Sophia’s ban on killing held her back.

"Uh, no need to mimic her, Xan." Thinking she was just imitating, Timothy snatched her letter and soothed her, "Let me take you to your parents, alright?"

She shook her head firmly. "You took my letter—you belong to me now."

Pointing at him, Xan claimed him as her boyfriend since he accepted it. "What if... I say no?" Timothy ventured, only for his mind to blank out right after.

Xan considered it briefly. "I’ll knock you unconscious and drag you home."

That’s exactly how Sophia handled Dexter back when he was hurt and faking death—she tracked him down, hauled him off, and locked him away.

A cold shiver raced down Timothy’s spine. "I mean... it’s all so sudden. Can I talk it over with Ashton first?"

Even if his heart leaned toward Xan, he couldn’t just agree outright. Ashton would jet back and pummel him for sure, and Timothy knew he’d lose that fight.

Xan frowned in bewilderment. "Why consult Ashton on being my boyfriend? Do you like him too?"

Timothy felt sanity slipping away.

Given Xan’s special circumstances, though, he explained patiently, "I’m male, Xan. Liking Ashton isn’t possible for me."

Xan eyed Zachary. "Zachary’s male too, yet he likes Ash—"

Zachary lunged forward, clamping her mouth shut before she finished. "Heavens, you trying to end me?"

Timothy reeled in shock. Was his best buddy crushing on his other best buddy?

Zachary exhaled sharply, scanning the gawkers and sighing in relief that they missed the slip.

"What’s your angle, Xandra? Kiara confesses, and now you copy her. Trying to sabotage her shot?" Kiara’s friend Daphne Yates demanded hotly.

She stormed up seeking answers. "Timothy, do you like Kiara or what? Spit it out clearly!"

"Sorry, I already said it—I don’t like Kiara." Timothy found their clamor irritating too.

Thrilled beyond measure, he yearned to hash things out privately with Xan, to confirm her feelings were real.

"Then reject this one too! She confessed, so turn her down flat!" Daphne barked imperiously. She refused to let Kiara suffer public humiliation alone.

Kiara eagerly anticipated Timothy shooting Xan down.

"Do I seem eager to reject her? Butt out—this is none of your business!" Timothy shot back heatedly, yanking Xan along as they left.

She trailed him meekly, then whipped around to glare icily at Kiara and Daphne. Chills hit them both, freezing them in place.

"Don’t you dare touch what’s mine," Xan warned in a chilling whisper.

Kiara swallowed hard, terrified.

Daphne, undaunted, fumed, "What’s that idiot on about, Kiara? She’s taunting you! How can you let it slide? Not me—we need to put her in her place!"

"Drop it, Daphne. Xandra’s just a dimwit. Rumor has it she’s autistic too," Kiara murmured.

"Timothy’s way out of line, Kiara. You bare your heart, and he picks a dimwit over you in front of everyone—just to humiliate you!" Her other pals stirred the pot.

"In my book, Xandra’s no high-society girl anyway. Let’s give her a thrashing so she stays away from Timothy for good," Daphne proposed quietly.

They shared looks and nodded their assent.

In the parking lot, Dexter and Sophia gazed at the campus views with fond memories.

"Youth is truly wonderful," Dexter murmured.

Sophia arched a brow. "Oh? Planning a body swap for youth or a fresh young wife?"

Startled, Dexter flailed his hands. "No, no, that’s not it, Sophia!"

Sophia tsked, checking her watch. "Where’s Xan? She’s taking forever."

Dexter glanced toward the cafeteria and spotted Timothy holding Xan’s hand as they headed to the woods nearby.

He sucked in a breath, yanking Sophia into a tight hug. Fearing her reaction, he dreaded her spotting them and going after Timothy.

"What’s this?" Sophia eyed him warily.

"Nothing much, just craving a hug. Imagine if we’d grown up normal and crossed paths in college—would we have enjoyed this kind of freedom like these kids?" He clung fast, blocking her view.

Dexter breathed easy only after Timothy, Xan, and Zachary vanished from sight.

"Maybe..." Sophia nestled closer, murmuring, "But I wouldn’t trade how we met for anything."

Ordinary lives might have kept her and Dexter from ever connecting.