The Sway and Slide of Love

Noelle had already muted the group chat, but private messages kept popping up.

They were from the mothers she'd met in the apartment complex while taking Rosie out to play. They were all asking when Hendrix would arrive today. Some even said that if he wasn't coming, he should've given them a heads-up, since their kids had been looking forward to it all day.

Noelle stared at the messages blankly. Truthfully, she should've seen this coming from the moment Hendrix started this charade. Manipulating people and controlling them like puppets were the things he had always excelled at.

She had finally found some stability in this apartment complex, but now, he had ruined it. He certainly understood the saying, "Give someone an inch, and they'd take a mile", better than anyone.

And the money he spent on all those toys? It meant nothing to him. What he really wanted was to control people's minds and shatter Noelle's peace.

"Mommy! Mommy!"

Rosie's voice brought Noelle back to reality. She looked at Rosie.

"Is yours not good?" Rosie asked, eyeing her curiously.

Noelle glanced down at the food in her hand and shook her head slowly. "It's not that. I was just thinking about something. Go ahead and finish your food."

"You're acting very weird today, Mommy," Rosie muttered but did as she was told. Noelle picked up her phone. She had been about to call Hendrix, but as if he had read her mind, his call came through first. She pursed her lips briefly before answering.

"Are you in your apartment complex?" Hendrix asked. "Sorry. I'm busy today, so I won't be going over."

"You don't need to tell me that," Noelle replied flatly. "You should be telling that to the people who you've made promises to."

"Promises? I didn't make any promises to anyone."

"Then, why are you calling me?"

"I thought you might be waiting—"

"I'm not waiting for you," Noelle interrupted. "Forget about handing

out gifts-hell, you could be throwing money around the apartment

te

complex every day, and I stilD

wouldn't care!

en

"But whatever you do, don't drag me into it. I don't want anything to do with you,

and stop using your business tactics on me! You really disgust me, you know?"

Noelle poured out all her frustrations in one breath.

On the other end of the line, Hendrix fell silent.

Instead of giving him a chance to respond, Noelle simply ended the call.

She had let her emotions get the better of her and hadn't realized how loud her voice had become. It wasn't untikafter she hung up that she noticed Rosie staring at her.

Noelle knew Rosie was at a sensitive age, so she always tried to maintain a calm demeanor and rarely showed negative emotions around her.

Yet now...

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Noelle said quickly. "I didn't mean to scare you. I was just talking to someone about-"noveldrama

Her voice trembled slightly due to how flustered she was feeling. Her lips parted as if to continue speaking, but no words came out.

But Rosie quickly shook her head. "It's okay, Mommy. The book says everyone throws a little tantrum now and then. I do, and you do, too."

Since Rosie had already come up with an excuse for her, Noelle didn't say anything more. Instead, she

simply squeezed Rosie's hand tightly and said, "Thank you, sweetheart."

Rosie smiled and held out the pie in her hands. "Here, Mommy. Try this. It's really sweet and super yummy."

"Okay," Noelle said, her emotions gradually settling under Rosie's comfort.