Turning Of the Tide by Diana Sander

Over the next few days, Chris would pick Leia up for dinner, then send her hand kiss her goodbye at the door.

Due to the change in Chris’ behavior, Angie began to suspect something was up. Chris had not been home for dinner for several days, and when Angie had asked the hospital, the nurse at the front desk said that Chris had already left for the day.

That night, Angie, Charlie, and Stella were all waiting in the living room for Chris to return home to interrogate him together. The atmosphere felt quite serious.

After eating with Leia, Chris sent her to her doorstep before leaving to go home.

Humming a song, Chris pushed open the door. As soon as he stepped into the villa, he saw his family sitting together. The moment he entered, everyone's gaze was fixed on Chris, and he abruptly stopped humming.

Chris" intuition told him that something was wrong tonight.

Chris walked over nervously and sat down in the armchair. Chris didn't cross his legs or look at them directly, his eyes trailing off elsewhere. "What's the matter?" Chris asked.

Stella could not hold back and spoke before her mother could. "Chris, what have you been busy with recently? You don't come home for dinner, and the people at the hospital said you had already left for the day." Charlie crossed his legs and placed his hands on his lap, leaning back on the sofa and listening quietly.

Angie was hoping that her son was dating someone. "Are you seeing someone?" Angie asked.

Upon hearing this, Chris was silent for a while. Then, Chris replied expressionlessly, "No, | had something on so | didn't come home. Mom, I'm not a child." Angie spoke with a tinge of worry, "I'm not asking you this because you didn't come home for dinner. I'm just afraid that you'll take things too hard. Your mental strength isn't low, right? You won't jump off a building or jump into a river just because | pressured you to get married, right?" Chris was speechless. He had no idea what was going on. 'l just started dating, why would | kill myself?" Chris wondered.

Chris said affirmatively, "No, I'm not suicidal. Mom, stop imagining nonsense." "That's good. Even if you're single for the rest of your life, don't be too negative about it. Listen, many people want to commit suicide, but they don't succeed and end up paralyzed. If that happens and they become paralyzed, that will be worse. Besides, let's not waste manpower and resources." Chris was speechless once again.

Stella was just as speechless listening to her mother.

In the end, Chris went upstairs under all their gazes. The moment he went upstairs, Chris locked the door of his room. After taking a shower, Chris wrote a long message of about 500 words about the night's events and sent it to Leia.

Leia patiently read the message, expressed her sympathy for Chris, and sent a comforting emoji.

For the next six months, Chris arrived at Yamin Hospital every day in an exceptionally good mood. The nurses asked him if he was in a relationship, but Chris always said no.

However, the nurses did not believe him. As Chris walked into his consultation room with a smile, the nurses started talking, "Do you think Dr. Yamin is having a secret relationship? Don't tell me his girlfriend is a married woman." Another nurse said, "It can't be, right? | don't think so. | don't think Dr. Yamin is that kind of person.” When Kimble heard this, he reminded them, "Do you all want to be out of a job? Don't think about such nonsense for no reason.

Dr. Yamin is a bachelor after all. Even if he does nothing, there are still girls who are willing to marry him. Would he need to be a kept man or a third party in a relationship? Think before you speak. Don't cause trouble with your words." After saying that, Kimble pointed at his head.

The nurses’ faces turned red. They hurriedly nodded and turned to get to work to ease the awkwardness.

Kimble turned around and entered Chris’ consultation room with a smile, no longer looking as serious as before. Kimble pulled a stool and sat down with crossed legs before he spoke, "So how long are you going to keep up this secret relationship? Shouldn't your probation be over? The nurses outside all think that you're a kept man." "A kept man? Me?" Chris’ face was filled with disbelief. Chris didn't understand how they had cup with this idea. "The imagination of people nowadays is amazing. There's no limit to what they can cup with. Would | need to be a kept man?" Chris continued.

Kimble shrugged his shoulders and looked at Chris seriously. Kimble opened his mouth and said, "You do look the type." Chris threw a folder over. "Get lost." "Seriously, you've been sending flowers for half a month. How far have you guys progressed?" Kimble asked curiously.

However, Chris didn't want to answer. Chris didn't want to share his relationship with Leia as a story. He had to respect Leia. "It has nothing to do with you. If you want to know, go find your own girlfriend." At noon, Leia sent a message to Chris to tell him that she would not be working overtime that night and they could go to the beach.

The days felt long when they didn't see each other, and Chris already missed Leia a little, so he agreed without hesitation, sending her a message, [Shall | cand pick you up?] Leia responded with another message, saying, [Sure.] When it was almost time to get off work, Chris hurriedly walked out. Kimble shouted at his back, "Where are you going?" Chris answered, "I'm going to pick up your mother.” Kimble cursed at Chris’ back. "You're crazy." Kimble turned around and saw two nurses whispering to each other. Kimble explained, "My mother isn't dating him." The nurse did not believe Kimble. She was now certain Kimble had scolded them this morning out of embarrassment and anger.

The sea breeze at the beach was very strong. Huge waves hit the reef, and the fine sand was covered in a thin layer of snow.

The shells were also covered in white, making it impossible to see their original coating.

The beach wasn't crowded at this time. However, there were still quite a few couples walking hand in hand.

Perhaps couples who were in love liked places with fewer people.

They could hear the sounds of the huge waves rolling in their ears, wave after wave. Their feet stepped onto the thin snow, their neat footsteps piling behind them. Their fingers were intertwined, and they occasionally stopped to help each other straighten their clothes.

At this moment, Chris felt the sharpness of the sea breeze and stopped in his tracks. Chris took the scarf around his neck and wrapped it around Leia's neck. Chris opened his coat and let Leia enter his embrace before he wrapped his coat around her.

Chris’ embrace was very warm. Hiding in his coat, Leia felt very safe and warm. Even her heart felt warm.

No matter what a couple in love did, even if they were standing on the beach and shivering in the sea breeze, they would still find it beautiful. To outsiders, it almost looked crazy, but to the couple, it was a way to love each other.

In a small cottage far away, two women stared at the couple outside and made comments.

This beach was where Athana's famous internet celebrities came often. The small cottages were each standalone cafes.

It was winter now, so no one was willing to come out. Only couples in love would come to the beach with their fingers intertwined, looking for a different feeling.

"Is there something wrong with those two? It's so cold, and that woman is already hiding in the man's arms. In this situation, they're still taking a walk outside. What do you think they're after? Excitement?" "Maybe they don't have the money to stay in a hotel. Or maybe they're just looking for excitement like you said." "Sigh, | don't understand people anymore." Stella wiped the fog-covered glass and leaned closer to look outside. Stella's cheek was almost touching the glass. "Wait, why does the person outside look so familiar? Why does he look a little like my brother?" The person who was with Stella was her university classmate and roommate. The two of them would occasionally meet. "Your brother? Isn't your brother single?" Stella was also dumbfounded. The woman in his arms was blocked from her view, but the man was indeed her brother. Stella was sure she was not wrong about this. "It should be my brother. Let's go over and take a look." Just as Stella stood up, her arm was grabbed. "Isn't it awkward to go over now? If your brother didn't tell you, they probably just started dating.” Stella said affirmatively, "It's because they just got together that | have to go. My brother is such a typical guy that I'm afraid that my future sister-in-law will run away. | have to help." Stella's university classmate also stood up. She had wanted to persuade Stella more but in the end, she just followed Stella.

Chris hugged Leia tightly, wrapped in his coat. When Chris looked down, he could see Leia's beautiful facial features and her red lips with a layer of lipstick. Under the moonlight, Leia looked even more charming. He could not help but want to take another step closer. "l want to kiss you." Leia smiled and nodded shyly.

After getting permission, Chris immediately lowered his head. The moment their lips touched, Chris blocked out the surroundings. The sound of the waves became clearer, and the moonlight became brighter. The two of them were immersed in their own world.

The kiss was lingering. After the first kiss, they kissed again. The sound of their lips intertwining was abnormally crisp. Both their ears were red, and Leia's cheeks seemed to be dyed with rouge.

The people by the side had been standing there for a long time. They could not bear to disturb the two people who were immersed in their own world. Stella trembled as she held her classmate's wrist, so they could warm each other as they waited.

Stella curled up into a ball and watched what was happening before her. Her university classmate was embarrassed. She had never seen such a detailed process before. Stella was trembling and smiling as she watched.

After a while, the couple's lips separated. The first thing Chris did when he looked up was to press Leia's head into his arms as he looked at the two people before him.

Chris had met Stella's classmate before. Not only was Chris embarrassed, but Stella's friend was also embarrassed. She stretched out her hand to greet him. "Hi, Chris. What a coincidence.” Leia was confused by Chris' sudden action. Leia only knew that someone was there when she heard the voice so she continued to quietly hide in his arms. Leia's face was red and burning, so she needed some time to calm herself.

Stella waved her hand. "Chris, you're good. | was wondering why you've been so elusive recently. Mom thought you were going to jump into the river, but it turns out you're in a relationship.” Raising his chin, Chris automatically ignored his sister's actions and asked, "Why are you here?" Stella adjusted her jacket. The wind was so strong, it could knock someone over. "For the sea breeze," Stella answered.

Chris didn't respond, thinking about how difficult it was for him to go on a date. Previously, they had met Frank when they had gone to eat. Fortunately, Frank was better than Hackett and kept his mouth shut so no one knew about it. It was rare for Leia to get off work early, so they had come to the beach, but he had run into his sister.

Unfortunately, it seemed they couldn't keep their relationship a secret any longer.