Turning Of the Tide by Diana Sander

Forty minutes later, the SUV arrived at the Roberts" Villa.

Frank got out of the car first and helped open the door of the backseat. Then, he took out the suitcase and carried it into the living room with one hand.

Hearing the commotion, Grace cout from inside. Behind her were two children with short legs. One of them grabbed Grace's leg, and the other stood further from her. Then, both of them hugged Grace's leg. The two kids were unfamiliar with Alex, so they timidly hid behind Grace.

However, they curiously stuck their heads out to see who it was. They looked very cute.

Frank strode into the villa and reached out to ruffle his daughter's hair. His eyes were filled with love as he took the luggage to the guest room upstairs. After he went downstairs, he told Ava which room the luggage was in.

Then, he squatted down and hugged his daughter with one hand and his son with the other. He treated all his children equally and both of them loved Frank very much. Usually, when Frank was free, he would sit in the children's play area and play games with the two children. He would give them rides, spin them around, and build blocks with them...

Over time, the two children becquite clingy to Frank, especially Nona. She always liked to tiptoe to kiss her father's cheek. Frank's fatigue from working the entire day could always be dispelled by Nona's kiss.

Usually, Ava and Grace spent more twith their children. Grace had completely retired and was helping to take care of the two babies at home.

At this moment, Frank carried the two children to the play area. He took off his shoes and sat on the mat to build blocks with the two children. They competed to see whose stack of blocks was higher.

Nona gave Frank a thumbs-up. "Daddy." She walked over to grab Frank's arm and kissed him. The smile on Frank's face gradually widened.

Seeing such a warm scene, Alex was very envious. This was something she would never get. She hid the sadness in her eyes and said politely, "Hello, Mrs. Roberts. Sorry to disturb you." Grace gestured for her daughter-in-law to bring her friend upstairs to take a look. "It's not a bother. You're very welcome. Ava, bring your friend upstairs to her room. Tellif you need anything." "Okay, Grace. Let's go. I'll show you your room." After taking a few steps, Ava stood at the staircase and leaned on the handrail. She craned her neck and shouted at her son and daughter in the play area, "I'm going upstairs.

You have to listen to your dad." Cyril was playing by himself, while Nona was still hugging her father's neck. They nodded obediently. "Okay." Alex was brought upstairs by Ava. The room that Grace had prepared for Alex was very nice, clean, and warm.

The bed sheets were sky blue and the curtains were white. It gave off a very elegant feeling.

"Ava, thank you. I'm happy for you." The two of them sat down on the edge of the bed. Ava closed the door and prepared to have a girl's talk with Alex.

When they were in the car, Ava could tell that Alex wasn't in a very good mood. She didn't ask because she wanted to give Alex sspace.

Ava took off her shoes and crossed her legs, sitting across from Alex. It was as if they had returned to their university days. The two of them always sat like that in their dormitory to eat or play on the computer. "Alex, did you quarrel with your parents? Is that why you're here?" Hearing this, Alex smiled bitterly and revealed her true emotions. "You can tell?" "Not really, but I've been suspecting it for a few months. You graduated during the summer. | asked you to cto Athana at that time, but you kept dragging it out. | felt that there was something you didn't tell me. Did you quarrel with them?" Alex also imitated Ava and crossed his legs. She placed her elbow on her knee and rested her chin on her palm.

"After graduation, | told my parents that | was going to work in a big city. | didn't tell my parents where | was going, and they didn't ask. Naturally, they thought that | was planning to work in Sapphire City. In addition, my brother has three children. My mother felt that | should repay my family after attending university for so many years and help my brother and the others reduce their burden, so she askedfor money. She toldto give them 1,600 dollars every month after | started working. She said that the children need money to go to school and buy clothes." When Ava heard this, she looked at her good friend with heartache and frowned. "How could they ask this of you? You paid for your tuition fees. You worked many part-tjobs to support yourself and only then did you manage to graduate. If your brother feels that it's a huge burden, why did he have to give birth to three children?" Ava was furious. How could there be such parents? She really wanted to hug Alex.

Ava really went to hug Alex. She moved her butt and put her arm around her friend's shoulder. "Stick tofrom now on. I'll protect you." These words made Alex laugh. She turned to look at Ava's small frame. "More like I'm protecting you." Alex knew that Ava's protection was real. She also had the ability, and Frank even more so. However, she wanted to rely on herself and could not drag Ava down.

"Don't be agitated. | know you can do it, alright? I'm just joking. | want to rely on myself to gain a foothold in Athana. | won't go back to Sapphire City in the future. Before | cto Athana, | had already asked the village chief to be a witness and cut ties with them. I'm free now. I'll eat my fill alone and my family will eat their fill. | won't feel any pressure at all." There was no need to support anyone anymore.

Ava narrowed her eyes and asked suspiciously, "You severed ties with them? Did your family agree?" Alex rested her chin on her hand and tilted her head to look at Ava. She replied seriously, "They did. | gave them all my savings." Alex's tone was a little mocking, but she was mocking himself. "They didn't agree at first. Seeing that | didn't agree to give them 1,600 dollars for living expenses, they wantedto be the wife of the bachelor in the neighboring village just so they could get the engagement gift. Do you know how much that engagement gift is? 6,000 dollars. Just 6,000 dollars was enough for them to sell me. In the end, | gave them all my savings." Ava spoke carefully. She saw the tears in her friend's eyes. Alex rarely cried. She had only seen her cry twice since university. The first twas when her family cut off her tuition fees and living expenses, and the second twas now.

Ava felt terrible and patted her friend's shoulder silently. "If you don't want to talk about it, then don't. I'm sorry, | won't ask you anymore. This is a new start. You still have me, and all of us. My sister and the others also welcyou here. There's also Rose, Sherri, and Stella. They're all on your side. You have many people who care about you." 'It will only get better from here on," Ava thought. She felt a lump in her throat.

Alex held back her tears and looked at the ceiling. She forced a smile as if she was relieved, or perhaps she was hiding her emotions. "I gave them triple the money, 17,600 dollars. | gave them all the money I'd earned from working for the past few years and from my scholarship. | originally planned to cover after graduating during the summer vacation, but | didn't have any money. | couldn't cto you like that and be a freeloader, right? So, | worked at Sapphire City for almost half a year and now | have money in my pocket again." After saying that, Alex patted her pocket to show that she was confident and in a better place.

Alex did not cry, but Ava's tears kept falling. This made Alex anxious. Frank treated Ava like a treasure. If he found out that Ava was sad, she would have to live on the streets at night. "Don't cry. Ava, you should be happy because I'm free now. Wipe off your tears." Alex hurriedly took the entire packet of tissues from the bedside table, took one out, and handed it to Ava.

Ava pouted, her tears still flowing. Her heart really ached for Alex. She took Alex's tissue and began to wipe her eyes. She said in a nasal voice, "You did the right thing. You should have left earlier. If | had known that you could leave earlier, | would have redeemed you long ago." "It's not too late now. It's pretty good. I'll apply to jobs tonight." Ava sniffed. "Are you really not planning to work at my company? I'm going to work next year. My mother-in-law askedto manage the technology companies. Why don't you help me? The two of us can work hard together.

You can join first. I'll join after New Year's next year. How about that?" Alex shook her head. "I would still be relying on you. I want to try to stand on my own two feet. Don't tell the staff, and don't tell Natalie and the others. I'll submit my resto a few companies. | have to give it a try." Seeing that her friend was determined, Ava did not force her. "Alright, but the door of my company is always open for you." "Got it." After dinner, Alex began to submit her reswithout stopping. She thanked Ava for taking her in, but she did not want to disturb them for a long time.

Ava accompanied Alex to look for a job in her room. It was not until half past ten at night that Alex urged Ava to return to her room and said that she would look for a house tomorrow. Ava asked Alex to rest for a few days before looking for a job. Alex did not agree. She said that she would have to look for a job sooner or later. They could meet at Athana anytin the future.

In the room, Ava was not in a very good mood. She sat under the blanket with a worried expression. Her eyes were wandering, and no one knew what she was thinking.

When Frank cout of the bathroom, he saw Ava in a daze. The two children were already sleeping soundly on the small bed, but Cyril had kicked his blanket away. Frank walked over and covered Cyril with the blanket. Then, he lifted his own blanket and got under it. He turned off the light and turned on the bedside lamp. It was not bright and made the room dim.

He rolled over and pinched Ava's cheek. He asked patiently, "What's wrong? Why are you unhappy after Alex came?" Ava was the sas Stella. She could not hide her feelings, but there was a difference between her and Stella.

Ava could not hide anything from Frank. She wanted to share everything with Frank, no matter if it was a big or small matter. Frank loved to listen to her chattering.

Every tAva finished telling Frank something, she would ask for his opinion. That made him much more talkative.

Ava nestled in his arms and played with his slender fingers. She counted them one by one from the left to the right, and then from the right to the left. She told him everything about Alex from beginning to end and also told him about Alex finding a job.

In the end, she raised her head and wanted to ask Frank if there was anything he could help with. When he met Ava's gaze, Frank lowered his head and kissed her eyelids. He hugged her tightly and said, "It's not appropriate to help now. | can get someone to help find her a house tomorrow, but that's all we're doing. We can't help by renting it, and then renting it to her at a cheap price. We won't be able to keep this a secret for long. When she finds out, she will be sad." Ava nodded. She knew that Alex didn't like asking for help. "Yes, | think so too. Otherwise, she would have borrowed money fromlong ago." Frank had a good impression of Alex. "Don't worry. She can handle it. You have to believe her. If she can't handle it, we'll take action. If we take action now, her confidence will be affected. We can only help her find a house and allow her to find a job herself. It's not difficult for her to find a good job as a postgraduate. Let's sleep. Do you feel better now?" Ava nodded. Frank covered her with the blanket and lay down with her in his arms. His deep and magnetic voice sounded. "Goodnight, darling." "Good night, darling. | love you." "| love you too."