Turning Of the Tide by Diana Sander

At Turner Manor, after dinner, Ava’s mom had a side conversation with her, subtly suggesting that she

should tell Frank sooner rather than later.

After chatting with her mother, she asked her sister-in-law, Christina, again. Christina also said that she

shouldn’t hide it. She also said that she was very nervous because she was thinking too much. With

Frank around, this nervousness might disappear.

The balance has already begun to tilt. She gave her friend, Alex, a call.

As the video connected, Alex, wearing a loose short-sleeved shirt and square-cut shorts with a crew

cut, greeted Ava with a smile. “What’s up today? You rarely call me. I almost thought you forgot about

me.”

Ava smiled. She was not in a good mood. She curled her legs and supported her chin. “I just returned

to Sapphire City yesterday. What are you doing?”

“I just took a shower and was about to listen to a song. Why did you have a fight with Frank? You seem

a bit down. Did he drain all your energy?”

“No. Alex, let me ask you something. Help me analyze it.”

On the screen, Alex was casual, hopping onto the bed, sitting down, and raising an eyebrow at the

screen. “Come on, spill it. We don’t need to beat around the bush. If it’s easier for you to talk to me as a

girl, go ahead and treat me as one. If it’s better to see me as a guy, then consider me a guy. With my

gender, is there still anything to hesitate about?”

After Ava heard this, she chuckled. “Then don’t speak too loudly later. What if your mother comes

over?”

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Alex readily agreed, “Sure, spill it. I’m working in Sapphire City this summer, renting a place off-

campus. How’s the environment? I’m thinking of not staying in the dorm next year, and I’ll probably

finish my part-time job late at night.”

As she spoke, Alex adjusted the camera and pointed it at the room. The environment was quite clean.

Although Alex was like a boy, she was very particular about hygiene.

Originally, Alex could have graduated with a bachelor’s degree this year, but Ava suggested that she

pursue a master’s degree. Ava thought that the competition was fierce for bachelor’s graduates in big

cities, with at least half of the applicants having completed their undergraduate studies.

Alex’s family background was not good. After graduation, her family would definitely not give her living

expenses anymore. Even now, they gave her very little. Alex had to think of a way himself. He either

worked part-time or installed a computer for others to earn extra money.

Ava asked, “You didn’t go back during the summer vacation. Why didn’t you go back?”

“Sigh, it’s all because my family didn’t agree to my postgraduate studies and fell out. They think I

should earn money to subsidize my brother and the others.” Alex calmly described the bitterness in his

heart.

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“I’m sorry to hear about the challenges you’re facing,” said Ava.

Alex interrupted, “What are you sorry for? You’re right. I should rely on myself. Even if I go to work now,

it’s fine if I can support myself. If I can’t support myself, my mother will have to count it as money. Who

knows, she might even have to give me a certain amount of money every month. I’ll follow you to

Athana in the future. It’s fine, even if it’s a dowry maid or a guard. A big city like Athana is still safer for

graduate students. Otherwise, it won’t be enough to pay the rent.”

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Ava also felt that it was better for Alex to stay away from his family. “That’s good. When you graduate,

you can apply to my brother-in-law’s company or Frank’s company.”

Alex was more unyielding. He did not plan to go to either of these companies. He could not let Ava take

care of him all the time. “That won’t do. I’ve already graduated from my postgraduate studies. If I were

to be sent in, I wouldn’t need to study anymore. If you arrange it for me directly, I’ll save some tuition

fees.”

“Okay, you have a point. I was wrong.”

Returning to the main topic, Alex knew that Ava wanted to help her, but she wanted to rely on herself.

“What did you want to tell me just now? You changed the topic.”

After a few seconds of silence, Ava licked her wet lips. “I’m pregnant.”

The phone was silent. Ava looked up and thought that the line was disconnected. In the end, he

realized that Alex was stunned and did not move. It took her a long time to come back to his senses.

During this period, Ava did not call her.

“Did I hear wrongly? You’re pregnant. It’s not how you got pregnant. Didn’t you say that your family’s

Frank wouldn’t make you pregnant? Have you changed your mind?” Alex had specially asked this

question before. At that time, Ava had said that Frank was especially careful and wouldn’t make her

pregnant. He had taken full measures.

She wondered how Ava could have become pregnant in such circumstances and pondered whether it

might have been an accidental escape of the little tadpole.

Speaking of this, Ava coughed dryly and explained her small actions shyly for about two minutes.

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After listening, Alex gave Ava a thumbs up through the screen. “Ava, you’ve really impressed me after

a summer break. You’re amazing.”

“No, you’re pregnant. Why are you at Sapphire City? Where’s your Frank?”

“Don’t tell me he didn’t know you were pregnant.” Alex threw many questions and possibilities at Ava.

Ava sighed and explained his concerns to Alex, asking her to help analyze them.

“Can I ask what you saw to make you nervous? Before you see a doctor, you have to ask what you ate

before so that I can prescribe the right medicine,” Alex asked half-jokingly.

Ava propped her chin on her hand and answered honestly, “The television series is one. There are also

real documentaries that I watch more often. There are also some online knowledge points. Some older

sisters who are older than me accidentally miscarried before the baby was three months old. For

example, the fetal heart stopped, the progesterone level was too low, and the development was not

perfect. Anyway, the information on the doctors online said that it was the easiest to miscarry three

months ago.”

Alex did not understand these things and was stunned. There were so many knowledge points. That

was indeed quite dangerous. No wonder Ava was so nervous because excessive focus would turn into

nervousness.

“It’s really a loss for the medical world if you don’t become a doctor. You’ve already understood all the

gynecology and obstetrics knowledge when you’re pregnant.”

Alex was half-lying on the bed. She had finally found her illness. She looked at his legs and kept

shaking. “Actually, I don’t think you need to think so much. How should I put it? I think your Frank is

quite reliable. I’ve never been in a relationship before, so I don’t know what you two are thinking. But I

think you should tell him. Think about it. If he finds out that you have a child in a few months, if he loves

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you very much, he will definitely blame himself for not spending time with you properly in the first place.

I think he will have regrets.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Ava looked up at her good friend, who had never been in a

relationship and had a buzz cut. She suddenly felt that what she said made sense.

The evening chat revealed the tension with Ava’s friend. Careful and always leaning towards the

negative, Alex interrupted, “I know what you’re worried about. You’re afraid that the baby in your belly

might be unstable, fearing some unforeseen circumstances. Forget what your family does? Moreover,

where’s so much uncertainty? You’re overthinking it. In your situation, you should tell your Frank earlier.

With him by your side, you’ll feel secure, and all these messy thoughts will vanish.”

“It is true. Stop looking at me like that. Pregnancy isn’t something that happens overnight. You keep

saying ‘what if,’ well, what if? Can you guarantee stability as solid as iron three months later, with

nothing going wrong? I’m just using your ‘what if’ as an example, not saying anything about the

condition inside your belly. Anyway, I just think you should tell him. Even if there’s a real ‘what if,’ he

should be involved.”

“Also, it’s just like what you said. If he doesn’t even know what’s going on, he’ll definitely be sad. That’s

what I think. Of course, I’m thinking from a boy’s perspective. It’s mainly up to you.”

Alex really thought so. If he were a boy, he didn’t want girls to hide it. It would be fine if nothing

happened, but if something happened, he would never be able to get over this matter for the rest of his

life. It would be a pity.

Mom and sister-in-law just hinted at her, not so directly. She was too concerned about her belly,

focusing on the ‘what if’ and the documentary of failures. Suddenly enlightened, she said, “I think

you’re right. Initially, I wanted the surprise to grow a bit more before saying anything. Now, I feel like the

surprise might need Frank’s nurturing to grow faster.”

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Alex said, “Anyway, that’s what I think. I don’t know if it’s right or not. You can ask your mother and your

sister-in-law.”

“There’s no need to ask. My mother and sister-in-law have the same thoughts as you. Now, I have the

same thoughts as you guys. I’m no longer a weirdo.”

Ava glanced at her phone screen. It was already quite late. “I’ll tell him tomorrow morning. If I tell him

now, he can rush over overnight. Alex, thank you.”

“There’s no need to thank me. I’m just saying it casually from a boy’s perspective. Hurry up and sleep.

Pregnant women can’t be tired. Bye.”

“Okay, bye.”

After thinking it through, Ava felt much better. She put down her phone and said to her stomach, “Baby,

you have to be strong. I’ll be able to see your father touch you tomorrow at the latest. Good night.”

Ava decided that if he checked more diligently in the future, she would be able to discover the problem

in advance. This was not something she could be careless about. It was better to be careful.

At the Roberts family villa, Frank tossed and turned in bed, thinking about what Trevon had said to him

before getting into the car. He felt that there was a deeper meaning behind it, but he could not figure it

out.

He sat up immediately. It was early in the morning, so it was not appropriate for him to call Ava now. He

probably wouldn’t tell her, even if he called Trevon. He had never been so vexed before.

He randomly rubbed his hair and went straight to the bathroom. He washed his face and was about to

take the cigarette from the bedside table to smoke. After shaking it a few times, he realized that it was

empty. He opened the drawer to get a new cigarette. New chapter avаilable oո Drаmаs.com

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He absentmindedly picked up a pack of cigarettes, only to realize they were greasy. Frank lowered his

gaze, examining his hands with a furrowed brow. He crouched down and pulled the drawer out a bit,

intending to see if anything inside had spilled.

He opened the drawer with little expectation and was surprised to find that the balloons were defective.

He questioned whether they had a leak when he initially purchased them.

Moreover, he pondered if they were already damaged inside the packaging box, unnoticed at the time.

This seemed unlikely, as he had diligently selected this brand, and they had been used for quite some

time without any issues.

His heart was beating so fast that it felt like it was about to jump out of his throat. His hand was

trembling as he held the cigarette box.

Ava was smart. It didn’t change the packaging. Instead, it bought something from the same brand as

Frank. It just opened the thing and processed it. It was dark and felt the same. Frank naturally couldn’t

discover it.

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