Turning Of the Tide by Diana Sander

Toby did not expect Hackett to say this right off the bat in such a direct manner. After thinking for a while, Toby replied politely, "Yes, Mr. Hackett. | would like to woo Ruby." When Liam heard Toby's answer, he was stunned.

Liam thought, 'l treated him as a good friend, but he wants to date my sister? What is he thinking? He's hidden it pretty well... but why do | feel like | brought danger to our doorstep? Wait. He hasn't succeeded yet. Dad found out about it." Toby had already graduated but had cto the school today to look for Liam. Toby had also been planning to take the opportunity to ask about Ruby while he was there. Thanks to Frank's information, Hackett could meet Toby at the front gates and not make a wasted trip.

"You want to woo Ruby... Sure." Hackett said.

When Toby heard this, his eyes were filled with surprise. A few seconds later, Toby's eyes began to darken and turned into a look of worry.

Hackett stared at Toby with a faint smile, almost as if he was going to swallow him alive. Toby guessed that there would be something else Hackett wanted to say. He was sure things were not that simple.

Sure enough, after a few seconds of silence, once the cigarette in Hackett's hand burned out, Hackett handed the cigarette butt to his son and instructed, "Throw it away. Be polite." Liam was unable to react immediately because of Hackett's abnormal behavior. Liam formally answered after a while, "Okay..." As he spoke, Liam took the cigarette butt from his father's hand and walked towards the trash can. Even so, Liam could not contain his curiosity and kept looking back with every few steps, almost tripping.

After Liam had walked a distance away, Hackett said, "I won't stop you from wooing Ruby, but Ruby is the apple of our eye. I'll tell you a few conditions I have. First of all, my future son-in-law has to be Athana's richest man, or at least ranked as the second richest man in Athana. This is my lowest requirement. Secondly, he cannot be a rich second-generation heir. | need someone who can protect Ruby, not a rich second-generation heir who will take over the family business. A second-generation heir was merely born into a rich family, but it doesn't require any sort of abilities. A person like that won't be able to protect Ruby well." Toby thought, 'Does this mean | have to becthe richest man in Athana all on my own before I can try to date Ruby? That's practically impossible." Little did Toby know Hackett just wanted him to give up on trying to woo Ruby. A moment later, Toby understood Hackett's purpose and politely said goodbye, "Mr. Hackett, | won't go to the stuanymore. Goodbye, Mr.

Hackett." Hackett felt that Toby was quite polite. At least, he was more polite than Jasper. "Kid, you're not bad. It's just that you're not suitable for Ruby. Good luck." Toby smiled awkwardly and thanked him. "Thank you, Mr. Hackett. Goodbye." Hackett, who had succeeded in his plan, was in a good mood. Hackett bent down and looked into the rearview mirror as he tidied his hair, a victorious smile on his face. When Hackett saw his son coming over, he smacked the back of his son's head and scolded him, "Are you stupid? He's interested in your sister, and you brought him right to her? Do you want your sister to get married that badly?" Liam felt he had been wrongly accused since he wouldn't have known Toby's thoughts unless he could read minds. "How would | know? Toby and | got to know each other through basketball. How would | know that he was interested in Ruby?" Liam protested.

If Liam had known, he would never have brought Toby to see Ruby. However, Liam felt that Toby was a good person. He was polite and cheerful, and he could even make Ruby laugh. "Dad, | think you're setting too high a requirement for my future brother-in-law. Why don't you ask her to marry the president, then? Ruby can immediately becthe president's wife, and you'll be the president's father-in-law. How great..." Before Liam could finish speaking, Hackett kicked him. Hackett glanced at his son in disdain. "Get in the car." Liam really missed his grandfather. Liam thought, 'At least when Grandpa comes, he takessomewhere to have fun. Dad hardly comes, and now that he's here, he even hitso many times. | should do a DNA test next time.’ At the stuthat night, Ruby lay in Jasper's lap. She held his hand and played with it. "Do you apply hand cream? Why is your hand as delicate as a girl's hand?" Jasper's hand was so fair that it did not look like a boy's hand at all.

Jasper answered in a serious voice, with no hint of modesty, "No, | was born this way." "You're not even going to be modest about praising yourself," Ruby answered.

Jasper said, "Excessive modesty is hypocrisy. | don't lie." "Jasper, | realize that you're getting more and more shameless. Your usual cold expression is all an act, huh?" Ruby said.

Jasper's other hand was helping Rudy tidy up her curly hair that was spread out on his lap. His five fingers were intertwined with the soft ends of her hair. He was very careful, afraid that he would hurt her. "No, you're an exception. Have | ever been cold to you?" Ruby lay flat on her back and stared into Jasper's deep eyes, which were full of love for her. Ruby asked, "Haven't you? | just don't argue with you. Jasper, can | ask you something? When did you start to have feelings for me?" "I don't remember. It was a long tago." Jasper said.

After a while, Jasper asked, "What about you?" "I don't remember. | only remember that the only person | was willing to do anything for was you." Ruby answered.

Jasper spoke, "There won't be a second person's non my marriage certificate." Jasper was sure that he would not marry anyone other than Ruby.

Both their eyes were filled with emotions. Jasper lowered his head as Ruby raised hers. Just as their lips were a few centimeters apart, suddenly, the door was pushed open. Afraid he would see something he shouldn't, the bodyguard had covered his eyes while reporting to Ruby, "Miss Ruby, Mr. Blackwell will be here soon. His car has already driven into the parking lot." The ambiguity in the air dissipated in an instant. Ruby did not panic. She had imagined her father's sudden appearance countless times. Ruby calmly told the bodyguard, "Go outside. I'll be right out. When my father comes, tell him I'm changing before | leave." Ruby knew that this way, her father would not cin immediately. After giving her bodyguard instructions, Ruby got up from Jasper's lap. There was no trace of panic, and Ruby was very calm. Jasper was not panicked either. He had always known that Ruby's emotions were stable and that she would not panic no matter what happened.

Seeing that Jasper was smiling at her, Ruby patted his arm. "You're still smiling? Do you want to get caught? I'll leave first. Helpclose up later." Jasper patted her curly hair and quickly pecked the corner of her lips. "Alright, go on." To prevent her father from coming in, Ruby tidied her hair as she headed for the door. She slung her bag over her shoulder and quickly turned off the lights in the studio.

After Trevon's reminder, Jasper knew better about how to behave on dates, so Ruby did not need to change her clothes today.

When Ruby opened the door with her bag slung over her shoulder, Hackett was already at the door and was about to open it. Ruby's bodyguard had not had tto tell Hackett what Ruby had instructed him to say.

Ruby looked a little surprised, her expression pleasant. Ruby smiled and asked, "Dad, why are you here?" The bodyguard felt it was a waste that Ruby had not becan actress since she had superb acting skills. A second ago, she had been all loving with Jasper, and now, she had transformed into a good girl who was surprised by her father's appearance as she was on the way home.

Ruby was amazing.

In the darkness, Jasper sat alone on the sofa, his hands clasped behind his head, laying down with his legs crossed leisurely. No one would guess that they had almost been caught. He listened to the conversation outside with interest, and the corners of his mouth curled up into a beautiful smile. For sreason, he felt that Ruby was very cute.

Hackett did not expect his daughter to finish work so quickly. "I happened to be doing something nearby and wanted to pick you up." After Toby's incident, Hackett had been worried that his daughter had already been charmed by sboy and that she was hiding it from him. Now, Hackett felt that he must have been overthinking things.

Ruby took her key out of her bag and locked the door of the studio. After locking it, she even checked it carefully.

Then, Ruby held Hackett's wrist and walked out without looking back. "Is Liam back today?" Ruby asked.

The bodyguard wondered if Ruby was leaving Jasper locked in the stufor the entire night.

Hackett answered, "Yes, | picked him up today." "Oh, | thought Grandpa went to pick him up." Ruby had already gotten into the passenger seat and was fastening her seatbelt. Afraid that she would unintentionally give something away, Ruby had put her phone on silent mode and was not holding it either.

Hackett started the car, driving towards has he lied to Ruby, "The office wasn't busy today, so | picked him up on the way." 'The Blackwell Group and Athana University are in completely different directions. How did their paths cross?’ Ruby wondered.

Forty minutes later, the car arrived at the Blackwell family's villa.

Hackett turned off the engine, and Ruby got out of the car. As soon as she got out of the car, she took her father's wrist and headed toward the door. When the people sitting on the sofa saw them returning together, they could not help but feel something was wrong. Sherri said, "Why did you go and pick Ruby up again?" Hackett answered naturally, "It was on the way. | picked Ruby up after having sdrinks with a client." Joy said, "Then Ruby won't have a car to go to work tomorrow, right? Ruby, you can drive your father's sports car.

As for your car that's parked at the studio, ask the driver to bring it back." Hackett spoke, "I'll send Ruby to work tomorrow before | go to the office." Ruby did not refuse and readily agreed, happy that her father was taking her to work. Ruby said softly, "Grandma, it's fine. Dad can taketo the stutomorrow." Sherri knew something was not right. She turned to look at her son, who had been playing League of Legends with his head lowered. However, Liam did not look up for a long time. He quietly played his gwithout interrupting or disturbing anyone.

When they had returned earlier that afternoon, Hackett had warned Liam to keep quiet and told him that if he dared to shoot his mouth off in front of his sister, he would be in trouble. After being threatened, Liam was afraid that he would say the wrong thing, so he used his gas an excuse to remain almost invisible.

There were too many smart people in the family. Liam's grandparents, mother, and sister were extremely intelligent and could smell something up from just a look. Liam did not dare to look up and even thought it was good to pretend to be dead.

This could be considered to be a secret between Hackett and Liam. If this matter leaked out, it would undoubtedly be Liam who had leaked it.

At the studio, Jasper did not leave immediately. Instead, he walked around the entire stulike he was touring it.

Usually, with the assistant around, Jasper could not touch anything at will. At night, he could look around as he pleased.

Jasper's phone rang. Ruby had sent Jasper a message after going up to her room from the living room, [Have you gone home?] Jasper wouldn't keep anything from Ruby, so he wouldn't lie to her. Jasper replied honestly, [I'm still in the studio.] Ruby was a little worried, sending Jasper another message, [Can't you pick locks? Can't you get out?] Jasper suddenly sent a joking message, [It's good to sleep in the stutoo. That way, | can see you tomorrow morning.] After reading the message, Ruby's face flushed red, and she felt very loved. She realized that after they had started dating, Jasper was completely different from his previous cold personality. Sometimes, even his unintentional words would pull at her heartstrings, just like now.

Ruby thought that Jasper was really planning to sleep in the stuand typed, [My father will sendto the stutomorrow.] Jasper replied with another message, [I'll be going soon. Sleep early. You don't have to wait forto get home.

I'll send you a message when | reach home.] It was impossible for Ruby not to wait for Jasper. She sent him another message, [Be safe. Don't text and drive.] Jasper replied, [Okay.] Meanwhile, one of the rooms of the Roberts' villa was in high spirits. Frank's phone was playing songs from Lithern Club's DJ one after another, to the point that Frank felt that he might be in Lithern Club.

Half an hour ago, Frank had asked Cyril to write an essay. Cyril said he wasn't in the right mood and asked for smusic to put him in a better mood. Frank had then asked Cyril if he would be able to write an outstanding essay if there was music.

Cyril had given an affirmative answer. After eight songs had been played, Cyril was swaying his waist to the rhythm of the music. Frank was sitting with his legs crossed, and Cyril's actions now reminded Frank of Rose when she was driving.

Frank spoke, "Just listen to the music. Can you write more if you wiggle your backside around?" Hearing this, Cyril stopped moving his backside and sat down properly.

Frank's other phone was specially used to receive messages. When it rang at the corner of the table, he bent down to take a look and continued to lean lazily against the back of the chair. After reading the message, Frank's lips curled up slightly as he took the phone which was playing music.

Cyril thought that his father was about to turn off the music, so he quickly said, "I haven't finished writing yet.

Wait a moment." "I'm only giving in to you this time. Do you think the college entrance examination is a bar where you can listen to music as you write an essay? If the content you write later isn't substantial, I'll make you run laps." Frank said.

"Okay, | got it. | don't expect you to give in toanyway. You've given all your love to my mother. | know, | know." Cyril answered.

Frank sent a message to his nephew, Jasper, [Congratulations. Your future father-in-law personally helped you get rid of your love rival.] Jasper had already guessed what his godfather had done, and coupled with Hackett's surprise visit to the studio, everything started to make sense. Jasper replied very quickly with a simple sentence, [Thank you for giving him the information.] After reading the message, Frank smiled and did not reply. He kicked his son's foot and urged, "Hurry up. What's so difficult about writing an essay? Even if you don't want to sleep, | want to." Frank's son was in high school, but Frank felt as if he was the one who was in school. Thanks to that, Frank could not even hug his wife to sleep at night. Every the returned to his room, Ava would already be asleep.

Frank was so angry that he added, "If you want to repeat the year like Harper, we can do that too." Cyril answered, "Don't speak. | was just bursting with inspiration when you interrupted me." Frank was speechless. 'He's just a young kid, but he's so arrogant. Little brat.’ Frank thought.