The Sway and Slide of Love

Noelle hadn't noticed that her phone had gone silent.

By the time they arrived at the apartment complex, most of the crowd that had gathered earlier had already dispersed. Moreover, it seemed like many of them were holding new toys.

Noelle was taken aback.

"Noelle, thank you," someone said to her. "And, um... don't pay attention to what's being said in the group chat. Seriously, they're acting way too entitled now." "Yeah, they're just greedy and never satisfied," another chimed in quickly. Noelle frowned, then suddenly realized something. "Who gave you these toys?" "Mr. Freeman, of course. But he said he had something to do today and couldn't come, so he sent his assistant instead to make sure no one was disappointed. Did he not tell you?"

Noelle's voice tightened. "When was this?"

"Hmm... It took them about two hours to finish distributing the gifts since there were so many people, so probably around 11:00 am?"

Hendrix had called Noelle around noon, which meant he had already arranged for the gifts to be delivered by then.

Noelle clenched her hands involuntarily. After a moment, she forced a faint smile. "Alright. Got it. Thanks."

"No problem. We should be the ones thanking you! Our kids have been over the moon these past couple of days. By the way, what does your hus-uh, I mean former husband-do? Is he in the toy business?"

"No way! He looks so familiar, and he's so handsome. Is he a celebrity or something?"

Noelle didn't engage further. She simply nodded at them and left with Rosie in

tow.

As soon as she got to her unit, she saw a notice from the property management. They stated that they were aware of the recent incidents in thenoveldrama

e complex and, to ensure the safety of the children, would be restricting access to outsiders starting the next day.

The announcement immediately sparked a wave of complaints in the comments,

and the property management took full responsibility for the backlash.

Noelle, however, knew exactly who was behind this. After all, Hendrix couldn't keep sending gifts indefinitely.

Once something like this started,

suddenly stopping would inevitably lead to resentment. And since he

didn't live there, that resentment et

would naturally fall on Noelle. So, he had the property management step in and take the heat instead.

Noelle quietly set her phone aside, as she couldn't be bothered to read further.

Rosie had spent over two hours playing at the park that morning. After washing up and changing into pajamas, she fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. Noelle didn't even need to read her a bedtime story.

After tucking Rosie in, Noelle stepped out of the room and opened her phone's contact list.

The only way she and Hendrix communicated now was through phone calls. She had initially planned to send him a text, but then she remembered that Hendrix never read such messages. So, in the end, she decided to call him instead.

The call went through, but Hendrix didn't answer. This was the first time Noelle had encountered this situation. She could easily picture him sitting on his couch, coldly staring at her name on his phone screen.

Since he didn't pick up the first time, Noelle wasn' going to call again. Even though she had spoken confidently earlier, the truth was this whole mess was Hendrix's doing. If

he hadn't suddenly pulled this

stunt,

none of this would have happened.

Thus, she set her phone down and was about to go back to sleep with Rosie

when her phone rang.