The Sway and Slide of Love

Noelle froze for a moment.

"We meet again," Hendrix said softly. "Do you live here?"

Noelle looked at him and nodded slowly.

"I live here, too," Hendrix told her.

Noelle's eyes widened. "But I've never seen you before."

"Yeah, I just moved in today."

"Oh, but this house is pretty old. It might even leak when it rains."

As Noelle spoke, she frowned slightly. She didn't know why-she didn't even know his name, since they had just met today—but the moment she heard what he said, she instinctively felt something was off.

The house didn't seem to match the man in front of her. He shouldn't be living here. But where should he live? Noelle didn't know, either.

While the two were talking, Irene suddenly noticed Hendrix was holding Noelle's hand. Her expression immediately changed, and she charged forward with a broom in hand.

"You scoundrel! How dare you touch my daughter? Let go of her right now!" Before Hendrix could react, Noelle quickly stepped forward and hugged Irene. "No, no. Mom, calm down. He was just talking to me."

Irene had been chasing Jerry around earlier and was still catching her breath. Noelle's embrace stopped her in her tracks, but her eyes remained fixed on Hendrix. She glared at him as if he were her worst enemy.

"Come on, Mom. Let's go back inside and continue with our dinner," Noelle said.

"What about t—"

"He said they just moved in as new neighbors," Noelle answered for Hendrix.

This immediately shifted Irene's attention. She glanced at them a few times and then blurted out, "Are they stupid or something? Everyone's leaving to work in the cities these days, so why would they move here?"

"I don't know."

"They don't look like good people. You'd better stay away from them," Irene added.

Hendrix couldn't hear what Noelle said in response. But just before entering the house, she suddenly turned and glanced at him.

Hendrix immediately smiled. Maybe it was his imagination, but at that moment, the tips of Noelle's ears seemed to turn slightly red.

The next second, Irene pulled her inside and slammed the door shut.

Hendrix stood there, watching, with a lingering smile on his lips.noveldrama

It wasn't until Jerry walked over, rubbing his head, that the moment was broken. "That Mrs. Wallace really packs a punch."

Hendrix understood what he meant and quickly turned to him. "Sorry for the trouble. Don't worry. I'll definitely let Chief Warren know you've been a big help to

me."

"No, no, it's no trouble at all," Jerry replied quickly, though he couldn't hide the grin on his face. Trying to downplay his excitement, he

changed the subject. "Um, Minet

Freeman, are you sure you want to stay here? There are some decent hotels in town. They're not too far—"

"It's fine. I'll stay here," Hendrix said as he turned around.

With a light, push, the rickety wooden door creaked open, its sound heavy with age. But as Hendrix looked up, his eyes landed on the wedding decoration "Mr. & Mrs." pasted on the window.