The Sway and Slide of Love

Noelle wasn't surprised to see Hendrix's name on her phone screen. Without hesitation, she answered the call.

Her decisive action seemed to catch Hendrix off guard. There was a brief pause on the other end of the line before he finally asked, "What did you call me for earlier?"

Noelle knew he was waiting for her to take the initiative. That was just the way he was. No matter what it was, he always expected others to make the first move.

Only after he got what he wanted would he consider giving a little in return. And even then, he'd act as if that little bit was some grand favor, making him a textbook egotist through and through.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" After just a couple of seconds of silence, his impatience flared, and he urged her to speak.

Noelle snapped out of her thoughts and replied, "It's nothing important. I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

Though her words sounded apologetic, Hendrix detected no trace of remorse in her tone. He couldn't help but let out a cold laugh. "Noelle, is this how you apologize?"

"This is just how I am," Noelle shot back bluntly. "Besides, this whole mess started because of you. If you hadn't pulled that stunt in the complex, I wouldn't have said those things to you. And don't think I don't know what you're up to.

"Even if I misunderstood you, you kind of had it coming. But since today turned out to be a misunderstanding, I still owe you an apology."

Noelle delivered her piece in one go, her voice calm and steady, as if she were simply narrating a story.

But from this, Hendrix could tell one thing for sure-Noelle wasn't sorry at all. To her, apologizing was just a formality, something she felt obligated to do.

Not caring whether he accepted her apology or not, Noelle simply hung up the phone.

Hendrix stared at his phone, the screen now dark, and suddenly felt like a complete fool. Especially just now-hesitating with the phone in his hand, unsure whether to answer her call, only to feel a hollow sense of tess when she finally hung up.

MS

The more he thought about it, the more he realized he had looked like a fool. The call was over, so even if he had something to say, the chance was gone. Frustrated, he tossed his phone onto the table.

Noelle had said she understood him and knew what he was trying to do. But when she said it, her tone had been completely indifferent, which meant she wasn't affected in the slightest.

Hendrix slowly shifted his gaze back to his computer screen. But the words on it might as well have been gibberish, since he couldn't focus on a single thing.

His phone rang again soon after. This time, it was Dan calling.

"Mr. Freeman, we've managed to get in touch with the landlord."

Over the next two days, the apartment complex returned to its usual quiet.

But for some reason, people started treating Noelle with a newfound politeness and eagerness. While Rosie played with the other kids, the mothers would sit beside Noelle, making small talk-or at least, that was how it seemed. In reality, they were fishing for information about Hendrix.

Though he wasn't someone who sought the spotlight, photos of him could still be found online. Thus,

Noelle figured most of them hadet

probably already figured out who he was otherwise, they wouldn't have started casually bringing up work-related topics.

"The job market's terrible right now. So many people are getting laid off or having their salaries cut."

"Yeah, the family upstairs from me is even thinking about selling their apartment."

"No surprise there. We bought our places at the peak of the market, and the mortgage rates haven't dropped much. It's getting hard to keep up, so selling seems like the only option."noveldrama