Turning Of the Tide by Diana Sander

Chapter 21
The light streamed through the window, casting its brilliant glow upon Sherri’s eyes, too intense to bear. She winced and
squinted. Her head felt as though it were encased in a dense cloud of cotton, causing her great discomfort.
Extending her arms in a languid stretch, she arched her back lazily, emitting a hearty yawn, and opened her eyes, only to be
struck with the scene in front of her.
“Oh, shit...” she thought. “Where am I now?”
The surroundings and the furnishings of the room were unfamiliar. It was clearly not her own room.
Her mind reeled in confusion.
“Could it be possible that last night I have been taken away by a strange man, and then...”
Thinking of this, Sherri immediately threw back the covers to inspect the lower half of her body. After ensuring there was nothing
wrong and finding her clothes unchanged from the day before, she breathed a sight of relief!
Involuntarily, she instinctively patted her chest.
She attempted to make a sound, but her cheeks were so sore that articulating even a single word proved difficult.
Surveying her surroundings, her gaze collided with an array of vibrant balloons, triggering a fuzzy recollection that played out
hazily in her mind. She shook her head and slowly recalled a night of drunken madness. And she even kept blowing balloons all
night!
“Oh my, this was not true!” Sherri couldn’t believe it. She yearned to disappear from this world!
While soothing her aching, swollen cheeks, she contemplated her next
move.
Sherri was well aware of her proclivity for drunken madness. To dissuade her from getting drunk outside and being obstreperous
at home, Edward had purposely captured her intoxicated state on video as a stern warning
(Zapter 2:

Every time she contemplated indulging, she would watch the playback of
that video first.
Upon viewing it, any desire to drink dissipated, replaced only by an overpowering sense of shame that made her want to crawl
into a hole.
and never come out.
Anyway, the most important thing was to get out of here first.
Swiftly rising from the bed, she tidied her attire and prepared to make her stealthy escape. Just as she tiptoed toward the front
door, a voice of deep and low magnetism from the living room halted her in her tracks. “Is this how you conduct yourself, Miss
Landor? Sneaking away without uttering a word of gratitude?”
Sherri, who got caught, immediately regained her composure and feigned serenity. Straightening her stiff back, she gracefully
turned. around, came back to the living room, and said to Hackett with a smile plastered on her face, “What a fortuitous
encounter, Mr. Blackwell.”
Hackett possessed a flicker of mischief concealed beneath his gaze. “Encounter? This is my home.”
Sherri’s thoughts raced. “Damn it, how could I get so drunk that I followed this playboy to his residence?” she thought.
Swiftly regaining her composure, Sherri responded with a mischievous. grin, feigning indifference to her embarrassment. “Well,
thank you for taking care of me last night, Mr. Blackwell. I must return to work now. See you next time!” She longed to escape
from this embarrassing situation.
She was certain that her drunken escapades from the previous night had been witnessed by Hackett.
Her perfect image had been damaged, and she only wanted to make at swift exit now.
Turning abruptly, Sherri made her way toward the door. However, Hackett couldn’t let her go that easily. After all, she had caused
enough disturbance for him last night, and the lingering ache from last evening was still fresh in his memory.
“It’s 2:30 in the afternoon, Miss Landor. You’re not scheduled at this time. And last night, Miss Landor, you were quite drunk...”
Hackett exposed her without hesitation.
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Sherri immediately halted, not wanting him to describe her drunken antics. She knew exactly what she looked like when she got
drunk since her brother had described that countless times.
“Stop, Mr. Blackwell. Let’s discuss something else. What happened last night was my fault... I crossed the line. I was just
indulging in a bit of alcohol. Can we just put it behind us? Just tell me what to do to let you keep it a secret.”
Leaning lazily against the door frame, Hackett scrutinized her with his eyes. “Well, Miss Landor, you’re a smart woman. It
appears you are well aware of your drunken antics. Very well, let’s first talk about the cost of the 500 balloons I bought for you.
Since I’ve bought those balloons especially for you, I have to increase the price a bit. As for the expenses incurred from taking
care of you last night, we’ll settle those separately.”
“Wait, what did you say? 500 balloons?” Sherri’s voice rose abruptly, and a sharp pain flushed her cheeks, reminding her once
again of the foolishness she had exhibited last night.
“Yes. You requested 500 of them last night, Miss Landor. Sherri was rendered speechless. No wonder her lips trembled with
each word she spoke.
“How reckless have I been to ask for 500 balloons last night? Could it be that this scoundrel was making a hare of me?”
She was skeptical about what Hackett said, but it was true that she would go crazy after drinking.
He paused for a moment and said, “But... you’re lucky I stopped your before you blew up 500 balloons. Otherwise, you may
have facial paralysis today. But it still surprised me that you actually blew up 250 balloons in total. Thanks to my big house, you
were able to get enough room to put them all. Hackett’s face was calm and collected, even though he was lying.
Last night, he wanted to play tricks on Sherri to vent his anger, so he had forced Frank to buy the balloons, but unexpectedly,
once Sherri saw the balloons, she would focus on blowing them up and didn’t tie them up afterward.
She had pestered him to help her tie up the balloons, and in the end, not only had she blown up 250 balloons, but he also had to
tie up 250 balloons. His hands were now still a little shaky, and he had to hide his shaking hands in his pocket.
Chapter 21
Hackett still could hardly believe that he had actually stayed up all night with her, tying up balloons until his hands went numb.

Sherri closed her eyes and took a bite of her lip before saying, “Alright, how much? Cash or PayPal?”
“You’re so generous, Miss Landor. Could I text you on WhatsApp? It’ll be easier for us to communicate and handle follow-up
questions.”
Sherri ignored his words. Hackett was a typical playboy, and she didn’t want to have any further contact with him and planned to
blacklist him. after the transaction was complete.
“Alright.” She opened WhatsApp and saved Hackett’s number.
After Sherri added Hackett as a friend on WhatsApp, Hackett didn’t tell her the price. Instead, he said with a smile, “Actually,
there’s another way to let me keep it a secret. Do you want to hear it?”
“If you have something to say, say it. Don’t beat around the bush.” Sherri’s cheeks were so sour that she didn’t want to talk
anymore.
Hackett laughed. “Give me Natalie’s WhatsApp number, and I’ll keep it a secret. I guarantee that what happened last night will
only be a secret between you and me, and I will never tell anyone else about that.”
As soon as Sherri heard what Hackett said, she refused without hesitation. “No, don’t even think of that. Change the terms, or
you can state a price, Mr. Blackwell.”
“Do I look like someone who is short on money to you?”
It was true that the money she gave to Hackett was not even enough for him, the son of the real estate tycoon in Athana, to play
around with girls.
People like him always spent money like water. Even a million dollars were nothing to them. She shouldn’t underestimate him.
Hackett continued to threaten, “I recorded everything that happened last night, Miss Landor. That was really a horrible scene...”
Sherri opened her eyes wide, having an impulse to pounce on him and tear him apart like a wolf, but Hackett had got something
on her, and she could only manage to hold back her anger. “Calm down!” she said to herself.
Chapter 21
“Natalie, I’m so sorry,” Sherri thought with guilt while giving Natalie’s. WhatsApp number to Hackett.

“Now that I’ve given you her contact information, whether she adds you as a friend on WhatsApp or not, it’s not my responsibility.
But you must keep your word.”
Hackett, however, said, “I can’t trust you. What if you deliberately do not let her pass my friend request on WhatsApp?”
“Shit! How would this asshole know what I’m thinking?” Sherri thought.
Hackett noticed Sherri’s subtle expression and knew that she was not so obedient and had to be threatened.
“Okay, I’ll let her pass your friend request on WhatsApp, and I won’t blacklist you. Can I go now?”
“I’ll give you a ride,” Hackett said, in a good mood.
“That’s not necessary. Thank you, but I don’t need your ride,” Sherri refused unceremoniously.
Hackett looked at her back as she walked away and showed a smile.
At the Athana Hospital registration window, Sherri took a taxi and registered herself for an examination of the oral cavity.
She wasn’t worried that she didn’t take time off from work, as she had an agreement with Natalie that if any of them didn’t come
to work at a specific time, another would first take time off for the other party, no matter what the reason was.
Therefore, Natalie must have already taken time off for her at this time.
As Sherri headed to the outpatient department after the registration and passed by the front desk, she was stopped by the nurse
who was always. chatting with her. She just slightly nodded her head in response.
“Dr. Landor, what’s wrong with you?” the nurse asked with concern.
Sherri just smiled slightly and said she was fine.
When her turn came, she walked into the outpatient department, and the doctor in the outpatient department officially asked her,
“What’s wrong?”
The Athana Hospital was very large, and not all the doctors knew each other. The doctor in front of her didn’t recognize Sherri as
his colleague.
Chapter 21

Sherri didn’t want to reveal her identity either. She was now just a patient.
“I have a pain in my cheeks, even in my temple,” she told the truth about her condition.
The doctor asked, “Tell me what happened?” while entering the condition. on the computer.
Sherri embarrassingly explained, “I was helping blow up balloons for a friend’s wedding, and there were too many balloons.”
The doctor looked up at her. “Why did you have to do that? Didn’t you have an automatic pump?”
“I preferred doing that in person since it was my best friend’s wedding. Could you please help me see if there was an injury,
Doctor?” Sherri didn’t want to continue the topic.
The doctor then asked her to open her mouth, and after a detailed examination, he said, “It’s a little swollen. It should be a
muscle or soft tissue strain. Go home and use cold towels or ice packs to relieve the pain. It should improve in a few days. Avoid
opening your mouth wide to talk or laughing, so as not to aggravate the condition again. I’ll prescribe you some medicine. Take
them when you have pain. I’ve also prescribed five cold packs for you. Go pay for the medication.”
When the doctor handed her the payment slip, he looked at her with sympathy before adding a warm instruction, “Don’t blow
balloons so hard in the future.”
Sherri couldn’t have been more embarrassed. If the doctor knew that she had been blowing up balloons when she got drunk,
Sherri was sure that the doctor would consider her as an idiot.