Turning Of the Tide by Diana Sander

Chapter 429

After listening to Rose’s story, Edward didn’t know how to respond. His heart felt heavy.

In the end, he didn’t say much. He stood up, drew a tissue, and crouched beside her. He gently wiped

away her tears. His touch was delicate and caring, as if afraid of hurting her again. “I’m sorry. Actually,

you don’t have to answer if you don’t

want to.”

Seeing Edward’s regretful expression, Rose’s brows furrowed together.

Rose smiled and comforted him. “It’s alright. Looking back, I realize I was quite foolish at that time. I’m

sure I made our cool and composed Grace sad. She doesn’t talk much. Even when upset or sad, she

never shows it on her face. She keeps her unhappiness and sorrow to herself. Unlike me, who used to

act out and even attempt suicide when unhappy. In hindsight, I really had both courage and

foolishness.”

After the foolish suicide attempt, she mustered the courage to get through that difficult period.

Now, she wanted to give her past self an award of courage.

While feeling guilty toward Grace, Rose also laughed at herself. Finally, she let out a sigh. She fanned

her hands to push the tears away. “Let’s continue. Tonight, let’s talk freely and be open. There’s nothing

we can’t say.”

“Edward, do you mind that I attempted suicide before? Do you think I’m mentally unstable?”

Rose asked cautiously. At this moment, she had taken off the mask of cheerfulness, revealing her

softest and most fragile side to Edward

Edward grabbed another tissue and continued to crouch beside her, wiping her tears. He gently placed

a hand on her neck and comforted her with his gaze. “No, not at all. Everyone makes mistakes. People

at 17 or 18 don’t have the perspective of someone who’s 30, nor do they have the ability to think

beyond their age range. There aren’t so many geniuses in the world. and there aren’t people who can

foresee the future. Many mistakes are unavoidable. This is a necessary path to mature thinking, a part

of the growing process. Without the accumulation of years, without experiencing things, neither you nor

I would have our current mindset.”

Edward always explained things in a gentle manner, taking others‘ feelings into consideration. “Want to

continue playing?”

“Of course, let’s keep going.”

Rose enthusiastically replied, and Edward, seeing her return to her usual state, returned to his seat and

picked up the cards again to play another round.

Once again, Edward won this round. To avoid touching on anything that might make Rose upset, he

carefully thought of a question and settled on something related to her childhood. “What’s the thing you

regret the most from your childhood?” Before she even answered the question, Rose burst into

laughter. Her laughter had a mix of silliness and excitement. Just a moment ago, she was in a gloomy

mood, and now she seemed almost manic.

Seeing her reaction, Edward couldn’t help but smile as well, amused by how he struggled to keep up

with her rhythm and

tone.

Laughing heartily, Rose regained her composure, but her lips were still twitching with a smile. With one

hand supporting the corner of her mouth to maintain her calm, she said, “Hahaha. You can’t laugh if I

tell you.”

Edward quipped, “But you’re laughing at yourself.”

“Alright, I’ll start,” she said with a composed smile.

Rose continued to chuckle for a while, then straightened up and said seriously, “The thing I regret the

most from my childhood is not being able to pee while standing up like my brother.”

Edward went speechless.

He was caught off guard and did not know how to respond. But fortunately, the question he came up

with hit the right mark. making Rose very happy.

Seeing Edward’s utterly confused expression, Rose knew he didn’t believe her. So, she said, “I’m

telling you the truth. Both my brother and I weren’t those kinds of high–society kids from Athana, you

know, those who don’t let their ten fingers touch sunlight.”

Rose continued to explain why she had this peculiar thought. “Grace and William were always busy.

When we were kids, my brother was the one who played with me. We always had a lot of bodyguards

around us. My brother had a habit. When he needed to pee, he would find a random place, and I would

keep watch for him. But when I needed to go, we had to look for a restroom. So, my brother was

annoyed by my restroom issues.”

That was why Rose wanted to be able to pee standing up, so she wouldn’t have to look for restrooms.

Edward thought, “Is this something I should know? Did Frank pee anywhere and everywhere?”

In the end. Edward couldn’t hold back his laughter. He laughed out loud. Rose saw him laughing but

didn’t stop him.

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Instead, she joined in with her hearty laughter.

Edward was laughing at Rose’s eccentric regret and the potential blackmail material about Frank.

On the other hand, Rose was laughing at the joy of her brother playing with her when they were kids.

For a moment, the room was filled with their shared laughter, and the sound was pleasant.

They chatted for a long time, recounting stories from childhood to adulthood. Rose shared all the funny

and embarrassing stories. Edward’s childhood, on the other hand, seemed relatively uneventful.

Whether in childhood or adulthood, he always followed his meticulously planned schedule. Even when

he was young, he would have a timetable for when to study and when to do exercises. He was

extremely disciplined.

However, Rose was different. She would play with Frank until it was dark, then rush through her

homework at the last minute. If she couldn’t finish it, she would pout and make Frank help her while

she would fall asleep.

In one night, Edward had successfully gotten a rough understanding of Rose’s life from childhood to

adulthood. He also realized a deeper truth. Rose had a vulnerable side hidden deep within her heart.

She always showed everyone her happiest side, and only when discussing her saddest moments

would she shed tears.

Even when she did cry, she would act like she was fine, giving off the impression that she was strong

and happy.

It made Edward feel sorry for her. At least he felt that way. He wanted to protect her.

It was already 10:30 p.m. after the card game ended.

Edward glanced at his wristwatch, deciding it was time for Rose to get a good night’s sleep and relax.

He began to tidy up the cards on the couch. “Rose, I’ll collect these.”

“Sure, okay. Edward, these potato chips are quite tasty. Try one. They’re lemon–flavored.”

While saying that, Rose grabbed a chip and held it up to Edward’s mouth. He went along and took a

bite.

With a hopeful expression, Rose asked, “Is it good?”

Edward replied, “It’s pretty good.”

After tidying up the cards, just as Edward was about to get up, Rose suddenly grabbed his arm.

Edward turned to look at her with a questioning expression and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Rose sat on the couch and tilted her head in thought for a second. Then, she suddenly stood up. Her

feet sank into the soft couch, making her taller than Edward by half a head.

Suddenly, she reached her arms around Edward’s neck with a playful look. Slowly, she leaned in,

getting closer and closer. She could feel that Edward’s neck tensed up as he felt her approach.

She smiled mischievously. “Give me a kiss.”

Edward was too stunned to respond.

Then, Rose continued to tease him, wanting to see when he would finally let down his guard. He used

to take the initiative to kiss her when they were in Athana. She had noticed that after they arrived in

Artroyland, Edward became unusually reserved. He never initiated any affectionate actions, and she

wondered what he was afraid of.

“It’s just a kiss, why are you so…”

She was about to finish her sentence when the cards in Edward’s hand scattered onto the floor and the

couch. In an instant, he grabbed Rose’s neck and pulled her toward himself. With one hand around her

waist, he pressed his lips against her teasing ones. Rose was quite satisfied with his proactive move.

At last, Edward wasn’t composed. If he remained composed, Rose would’ve thought that he was not

into women.

The tangy scent of lemon danced on their lips, mirroring the fervent energy that surged through their

bodies. The room’s temperature rose gradually, mimicking their climbing body heat.

Their uneven breaths intermingled at their noses. The action was making Rose feel a bit tired. Their

lips remained locked. and she tightened her grip around Edward’s neck. With a slight leap, she hooked

her legs around his sturdy waist.

This action caught Edward off guard. He quickly pulled his lips away from hers and used one hand to

support her waist. For a moment, he seemed uncertain where to place his other hand, but he

eventually settled on her waist.

At this moment, Edward’s gaze slightly deepened. His eyes held a hint of redness after the lemon–

flavored kiss. He struggled to control his restless emotions and said in a deep voice, “Rose.”

Rose continued to encircle his waist, shrugged, and asked, “I have a sore back from standing. This is

more convenient. Am I heavy?”

Was her weight the issue here? Her action was quite dangerous if Edward couldn’t hold her.

However, Rose did not think this was dangerous at all, and she acted so carefree.

Edward exhaled a breath, the warmth of it brushing against Rose’s skin, causing her to shiver slightly

and her cheeks to flush

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Chapter 429

Edward asked, “Shall we continue?”

“Sure,” Rose replied. She was not afraid at all.

Staring into her determined eyes, Edward felt a bit helpless. Seeing him hesitate, Rose took the

initiative and pressed a kiss onto his eyes.

This action seemed to ignite a spark. The kisses that followed were more fierce than before, bordering

on aggressive. It was like he wanted to devour her completely, to erase any sense of restraint. The

passionate side of Edward emerged, momentarily unsettling Rose.

Her small hands tightened as they went from the living room to the bed. Gently, he lowered her onto

the bed, his hands placed on either side of her, striking a balance between ardor and restraint. He

simply kissed her passionately.

The progress bar was pushing its limit. It was just a step away from completion when Edward, using

the last shreds of his self–control, pulled back and looked down at the slightly dazed Rose. “Do you

want to go further?”

This time, it was Rose who retreated, her face turning even redder. With her eyes closed, she shook

her head. She felt embarrassed.

Seeing her reaction, Edward chuckled. He knew this was the result he would get. Rose had been brave

before, but now she chickened out. He didn’t immediately get up but reached out to playfully pinch her

petite nose and remind her. “Rose, I’m a

normal man.”

Rose replied, “I didn’t say you’re not a man. I just wanted… to see when you’d lose your composure.” It

was all about teasing, him.

With her hands still covering her cheeks, she was thoroughly embarrassed.

However, she liked the brave Edward very much. He was very manly.

Edward ruffled Rose’s head gently before standing up. He didn’t move her hands away. In a low voice,

he said, “It’s late. Get some sleep.”

Then, Edward got up and walked over to the couch to tidy up the scattered cards. He glanced back at

the bed to see Rose pretending to be asleep, making him chuckle.

He closed the door gently behind him.

Once she heard the door close, Rose removed her hands from her face, staring at the ceiling. In truth,

if Edward had continued, she probably wouldn’t have minded.

Blushing furiously, she pulled the blanket over herself, fully covering her body.

Edward returned to his room and went into the bathroom to take a shower.

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