Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Sway and Slide of Love: Kabanata 611 - Kabanata 620

Hendrix had no choice but to return upstairs.On most days, Noelle and Rosie's routine was the same—they would go out in the morning and again in the evening. By around 11:00 am, Noelle would usually bring Rosie back for lunch and a nap.But today, they didn't return.It wasn't until evening that Hendrix finally heard movement across the hall. He immediately opened his door. But what he saw was a group of unfamiliar men.His expression darkened instantly. "What are you all doing here?"The sudden sound startled the group of men. They turned to look at Hendrix, confused. "And you are?""What are you doing here?" Hendrix asked again, his tone impatient. "Are you here to fix the wiring? Do you really need this many people to fix one wire?""No, we're here to move some things," one of them replied.Hendrix's eyes narrowed slightly. Then, he asked in disbelief. "Move things?""Yeah." The mover double-checked the unit number. "Block 5, Unit 904. Yep, this is the place."As he spoke

As soon as the door opened, Noelle was hit by a strong smell of alcohol coming off Hendrix. She immediately frowned and tightened her grip on the doorknob, bracing herself against the doorframe."What do you want?" she asked.It was already very late at night.There were three other families living on this floor besides Noelle, and the last thing she wanted was to put on a scene for the neighbors. So, she kept her voice low.Just moments ago, Hendrix had been banging on her door, demanding she let him in. But now that she had actually opened it, he stood there in silence, staring at her.After a brief moment of eye contact, Noelle looked away. "If there's nothing else, please leave."She moved to close the door, but the next moment, Hendrix pressed his hand against it."Do you really hate seeing me that much?" His head was lowered, his voice raspy. "I just moved in, and you couldn't wait to move out? Noelle, are you really that heartless? Won't you even give me the slightest cha

Stormridge did get snow, but due to its geography and climate, it was only light snow—nothing like the heavy snowfall and snowman-building conditions Rosie had been dreaming of.Last year, Seline had offered to take Rosie abroad to see real snow, but she was still too young then, so Noelle had declined without much thought.But this time was different. Now that Rosie was older and had her own opinions, the moment Seline brought it up, Rosie immediately agreed. Then, as if suddenly remembering Noelle's say in the matter, she turned to look at her with big, sad puppy eyes."Mommy, we're going, right?"With her looking like that, even if Noelle wanted to refuse, she couldn't bring herself to say no. In the end, she just nodded and said, "Okay. We'll go.""Yes!" Rosie cheered, practically bouncing in excitement before turning to Seline to ask about the departure date. She even brought out her piggy bank, insisting she wanted to buy her own gloves and hat.Seline had originally planne

Noelle still couldn't shake her unease. But there was nothing she could do by following after them now, so she stayed where she was, watching them. Only when Seline and Rosie had become a speck in the distance did she finally enter the café.There weren't many tourists around, so the café was nearly empty of customers.Noelle chose a seat by the window. From time to time, she would either glance at the time or look up at the sky, which was still dark and overcast.The sense of foreboding Noelle was feeling grew stronger. She silently blamed herself for letting Rosie have her way. Once they got back, no matter how much Rosie begged or cried, she was taking her back to the hotel.Just as she was thinking that, a loud boom suddenly echoed from the distance. The thunderous sound made Noelle's hand tremble.Everyone in the café heard it, too, and they quickly stopped whatever they were doing and rushed outside.Noelle instantly turned pale in the face as she bolted out after them.Th

Noelle didn't know where she was. All she could see was the vast expanse of white. She didn't know what this place was or why she was here.Then, she heard Rosie's voice. "Mommy, I'm here. Come find me."The cheerful voice snapped Noelle out of her confusion. Right… She needed to find Rosie. But where was she?They had played hide-and-seek many times before. But Rosie never had much patience and would often peek out from her hiding spot to check on Noelle.Noelle always spotted her immediately. But to play along, she would pretend not to see her, spinning around exaggeratedly while asking, "Where's my little Rosie?"Every time, Rosie would giggle with delight, and when Noelle finally found her, she would laugh and say, "Oh, Mommy, you're so silly! You couldn't even find me!"But this time, Noelle truly couldn't find her. She kept calling Rosie's name.She could still hear Rosie's voice. "Mommy, come find me! Hurry!""Where are you? Rosie, come out, okay? Don't scare me like thi