Turning Of the Tide by Diana Sander

Natalie was very curious and had many questions to ask Sherri. The first question she would like to ask was how Sherri knew about it. The second question was how Sherri could remain so calm. From the way Hackett beat up Trevon today, Natalie guessed Sherri didn't even tell Hackett.

"Don't tellyou didn't tell your family Hackett?" Natalie asked.

Sherri widened her eyes and moved her hand from her chest. "How did you know?" Rose helped to explain, "Sherri wanted to tell him, but after struggling for three days, she finally decided to tellinstead of him. | told my husband, who is the most tight-lipped in our family. She was afraid that Hackett would beat the matchmaker up in a fit of anger and ruin everything." Worried that it was not vivid enough, Rose made a scissor gesture. Natalie held her forehead when she heard this. Now Natalie understood how much Sherri wanted Jasper to be her son-in-law. But Natalie was still shocked to learn that Sherri hid it from Hackett.

Sherri asked again, "Wait, how did you know | was hiding it from Hackett? Lettell you, every t| wanted to tell him, | would kiss him to shut my mouth. Once | was tired after sex, | fell asleep and didn't want to talk anymore. In this way, | could keep my secret. Ever since | found out about this, | have exercised too much in bed." Rose and Natalie didn't know what to say in response. What Sherri had just said was too private. If it weren't for the fact that Sherri didn't want more kids, she would probably be able to have enough kids to form a football team.

In the end, Natalie told Sherri and Rose about Hackett beating Frank and Trevon. After hearing this, Sherri and Rose laughed gloatingly and becthe focus of the cafe again. Natalie covered one side of her face with one hand to avoid the others' gazes.

It took Rose quite a while to realize the sobering fact. "My brother was beaten up?" she asked.

Natalie replied, "Goodness, what were you doing just now? He was beaten up a few hours ago." "I'll call and ask later. Sherri, | have a way to appease your anger. Get Natalie to send you photos of the injured Trevon. Then you can send the photos to Hackett and let him pick one as his phone screensaver. Every tyou look at it, you will feel better and calmer. Your dream of making Jasper your son-in-law won't be far away. Also, you can use all the tricks you know to lure Hackett at night," Rose said.

Before Natalie could oppose the idea, Sherri was already staring at Natalie. The look in Sherri's eyes said, "Do as you see fit." Natalie found Rose's idea ridiculous, but she could only forehead helplessly. "You can't do that. Old Trevon was beaten quite badly." Rose was already sending a message to his brother, saying, [Frank, are you all right? Should | go and see you? Can you still get up by yourself?] When Frank received the message, he thought to himself, 'Only bad news spread far and wide.' Then he replied, [I'm fine.] Rose texted, [Really?] Frank texted back, [Do I look like a weakling?] Rose thought about it and realized that it made sense. Hackett appeared weaker than Frank. So Rose texted, [I'm just concerned about you. Besides, it's possible for you to suddenly becweak. You're getting old.] Frank replied, [No matter how weak | am, | can still beat you up.] Rose sent him a gif that showed a very angry man carrying a long sword. With it, she wanted Frank to know she hated his tone.

Seeing that Sherri had been staring at her, Natalie, who was in the wrong, finally compromised. Natalie kept the secret longer than Sherri. "I can give it a try, but | can't guarantee success because I'm not sure if Old Trevon will cooperate with me," Natalie said.

Sherri said, "If he disagrees, you can wait until he falls asleep." Natalie replied, "I don't want to remarry again. Although this second marriage is fake, there is a certificate." Hearing this, the three of them laughed together. Natalie took a sip of coffee and asked, "Tell me, how did you know about Jasper and Ruby?" Speaking of this, Sherri felt a sense of accomplishment. With a smile on her face, she deliberately lowered her voice. "Lettell you, I'm so proud of my observation skills. | have to start with the day we cback from our trip. I'm a rather careless person. Sometimes, | forget to knock before | open the door. That happens a lot." Sherri was gesticulating as she spoke excitedly. She made the story vivid as Sherri showed them how she opened the door and made the sound of the door opening.

"Then, one day, | forgot to knock on the door. | forgot the exact date. | accidentally saw a faint hickey on Ruby's neck. She usually wears a semi-collar, a shirt, or a silk scarf. In that case, | couldn't see it. Coincidentally, she was wearing pajamas and preparing to sleep that day. At that time, | was giving her a gift from a trip, but I forgot to bring her the bracelet. That was how my sharp eyes caught it," Sherri said.

Natalie asked, "Then you held back and didn't ask?" It was a little unbelievable.

"Of course, | couldn't ask. | know Ruby's personality. She isn't like me. It's easier for her to blush and be shy. She is a meek girl. After | gave it to her, | went back to my room. | thought about it. I didn't sleep the entire night.

Then | started to feel upset. Jasper has a girlfriend. Ruby got a hickey on her neck, so | guessed she had a boyfriend. My heart sank..." Natalie was afraid that Sherri would not get to the point after talking for a few hours. "Sherri, can you keep it short? Don't use too many modifiers. You are not writing an essay here. Just tell us how you found out. We'll skip the hickey." Sherri retorted, "Why are you so annoying? I'm in high spirits. Alright, it's quite tiring forto find good words in my mind.

"I didn't dare to ask. | was afraid that Ruby would think too much. Hackett is more principled than | and rarely enters Ruby's room at night. Before entering, he would knock on the door. He would raid the stubut not follow her. However, I'm different from him. The next day, | followed Ruby and searched the entire night to learn how to be a good stalker. My efforts paid off. After secretly following her for a day, | found something. At around eight o'clock, | saw Jasper enter the studio. Then, the lights in the stuwent dark. After nine o'clock, Jasper cout. | even saw the camera at the door turn black." Rose had a calm face after listening to it for the third time. The only difference was that Sherr used a few new words.

Sherri smiled and continued, "I was so excited and relieved. Then, | jumped a few times on the spot and almost did disco. Then, | went hhappily. I'm sure the hickey on Ruby's neck was left by Jasper." After listening to the whole story, Natalie understood. She had to praise Sherri's perseverance in investigating the truth. Natalie gave her a thumbs up and said, "Girl, it's a waste that you don't do a stalking job." "I only brought bread and milk that day. | didn't even dare to leave that corner, afraid that | would miss the truth if | left," Sherri said proudly.

Natalie guessed that the camera that Sherri mentioned had been hacked. It should be Jasper tampering with the surveillance video. Natalie thought, Jasper is really... No wonder Hackett could not find any evidence even though he suspected it before." Rose was suddenly curious. If the shappened to Olivia and Sophia, would Trevon beat someone up like Hackett? Natalie answered with certainty, "No, Olivia, Sophia, and Jasper have never brought bodyguards with them since they were young. It was only after the mercenary incident that he decided not to listen to the kids all the time.

Trevon dotes on his two girls very much, but he respects their wishes very much. Sophia is a good example. You both know what it means if the special forces show up. Didn't he also agree to it? However, he's someone who's prepared in advance. If he finds out that Olivia is in a relationship, he'll secretly investigate until he knows if the boy is reliable. In the end, he'll set up a trap to let Olivia see what the boy is like for herself." The couple had learned their lesson from Rose's incident. Both Trevon and Natalie knew that Rose had once tried to kill herself, so they would never let this happen to Olivia and Sophia. Trevon chose to respect his kids while doting on them.

When he sent Sophia overseas, others did not know that Natalie knew. Trevon suffered insomnia every night, but he did not force Sophia back. When Sophia returned from overseas, he hid in the study room and cried while looking at photos.

Sophia and Olivia were different from Ruby. Sophia and Olivia liked freedom more and always followed their hearts. If anyone talked nicely to them, they might listen. The two girls liked to discover problems and solve them themselves, and they hated that others interfered or did everything for them.

How could a girl who liked motorcycles like to be restrained or locked up and watched? Rose nodded in agreement. "I agree. Everyone in Athana knows that Trevon has never beaten Sophia or Olivia before. He pampers them so much that he would do anything for them. Sending Sophia to the army is indeed beyond our expectations." Natalie said, "Sophia is stubborn. No one can change her mind. Olivia is quite like her, so you have to let them experience it before you know if it's suitable for them or not. It will be counterproductive if you force them to make a choice." Sherri shook her head and sighed. This was the first the had heard her best friends say this. "I didn't expect Old Trevon to be such a good parent. He educates the girls and has to work like a ‘director’. | mean setting up a trap to test the boys who approach our girls. Like they say, it's hard to raise a child to be a healthy, sensible person.

"Would you believeif | told you that he has been reading this kind of book every day since we got back together?" Rose said, "He wants to snatch my job." Sherri patted Rose's shoulder and said, "Girl, all the books he read are about how to raise children, not treat illnesses. You and he are not in the smajor. Your job is very secure." The three women sat in the cafe for almost two hours. In the end, they were so full that they could not even eat dinner.

When they were about to leave, Sherri reminded Natalie again of taking photos. Sherri still planned to go back and make Hackett feel better. Natalie nodded and said that she would try her best.

Sherri wanted Jasper not to call her godmother anymore, and Natalie said only if Hackett agreed.

When Rose called Edward to ask him to go back, he did not leave. Instead, he parked his car in the parking lot of the coffee shop. After seeing Rose cout of the coffee shop, he sent Rose a message saying that he was waiting in the parking lot.

In the car, Rose shared what had just happened in detail. He also told him about Trevon's parenting skills.

After listening to everything, Edward felt that Trevon was not wrong. As he drove, he replied, "There is no problem with Trevon's method, but he is constantly trying. There are always sthings that are not suitable for our family. Not every method can be applied to every kid. Different personalities are also taught differently. It's like cold medicine. Speople take it, and it takes effects immediately, but speople might not absorb it at all and suffer side effects." Rose tilted her head. She felt that Edward could always be so calm. Moreover, what he said made sense. His metaphor was also special. "Hubby, I think you speak like a singer. You speak so well." Edward didn't know what to say.

Rose smiled and waved her hand. "I won't interrupt you again. | like what you say. Listening to you talk is very enjoyable." With that, Rose blew Edward a kiss and winked at him.

It almost caused Edward to cross the solid line.

Meeting Rose's admiring and expectant gaze, Edward smiled helplessly. "Actually, Natalie is right. Ruby is different from Sophia and Olivia when it comes to personality. Sophia and Olivia are more unyielding, but Ruby is gentle but a bit tenacious and stubborn. | don't think Hackett is wrong to watch Ruby closely, but the method might make Ruby subconsciously lie..." Rose could not help but interrupt and ask, "Why?" Edward was afraid that she would not understand if he explained it to her in a complicated way. He thought of a simple analogy and said, "This is like an exam. In the first exam, your parents set a high score for you to reach.

For example, they want you to score 100 points. And they keep nagging about it and pushing you. When you only score 60 points in the exam one day, there will be a difference of 40 points from the goal they set for you.

Will you be willing to tell your parents that you did badly? Or do you plan to continue working hard and tell your parents the news when you reach the score they ask for?" After hearing that, Rose seemed to understand. She held her head and said, "Yeah... You mean that if Jasper becomes the richest person, it's like Ruby gets 100 points, meeting what Hackett expects. But Jasper is now 40 points away from the goal, and Ruby doesn't dare to tell Hackett the news. She is working hard with Jasper in private, right? That seems to make sense." Edward said with a nod, "Actually, both of them were wrong. Ruby and Jasper were wrong to hide it, while Hackett's mistake was to always talk about the standard of a son-in-law. It gave her a lot of pressure, though Hackett didn't mean it. Ruby already has hidden their relationship from Hackett. After hearing more of his talk of the standard, she would feel even more guilty and lie. She couldn't help but compare Jasper with Hackett's ideal son-in-law.

"It's just like how children will subconsciously think of hiding something when they do something wrong. How can they secretly think of a remedy and avoid being scolded by their parents? By the ttheir parents find out, it has been fixed, and they won't be scolded. Many children will behave like this, just like Harper. The kids will never want to admit their mistakes." Another analogy Edward wanted to give was that doctors could not treat themselves. He was constantly changing strategies in the education of his four children. This was his first tbeing a parent. How could he know everything about how to be a good parent overnight? Who could be perfect every time? It was said that a successful child had good parents. It was hard to know how the parents managed to make their child successful. Did they succeed from the beginning? Did they succeed in everything? Rose liked it when Edward explained things to her. In the past, Edward was very quiet. Ever since they had more children, Edward would always try to communicate with her and use the simplest analogy to let her know why something was wrong. "Hubby, you're so amazing. | love you. We don't have to worry about daughters getting tricked by boys in the future. What worriesis that Harper may have so many girlfriends. What if Harper is a cheating boyfriend? What if | can't even remember my future daughter-in-law?" Edward had always been unable to keep up with Rose's train of thought. After being married for so many years, Edward was still struggling with that. For example, just a second ago, they were talking about one topic, but now she was talking about another and picturing Harper as a cheating man.

Edward already tried to persuade Hackett to cut Ruby sslack, but he was rebuked by Hackett. At that time, he said, "You have four boys. | don't expect you to understand how it feels to have a daughter." Since Edward did not have a daughter, he was in no place to lecture Hackett. However, Edward had Rose. Rose had an embarrassing history. If he had a daughter, he would be like Trevon, respecting his daughter's wishes and communicating with her. He would not put too much pressure on his daughter. Differently, Edward would ask his daughter what her goal was, and if there was a problem, he would give sadvice.

Edward thought to himself and did not say it out loud. He would not mention the past in front of Rose again. He didn't think he would ever have a daughter in this life. No matter how much he wanted to dote on his girl, he would not have a chance.