The Sway and Slide of Love

"We're fine with anything," Noelle said as she moved to sit beside Rosie. "You can just focus on work if you're busy. We can make our own plans."

"It's a vacation. How can I just focus on work?" Dylan replied.

Just then, Erwin suddenly walked over to them. "Ms. Swanson, may I interrupt for a moment?"

Hearing his voice, Dylan immediately turned around. But Erwin didn't even spare him a glance. Instead, he handed his phone to Noelle.noveldrama

"I'm not familiar with the apps here. Could you help me send my location?"

Noelle looked at the screen. It was a chat log between Erwin and Hendrix. They had just finished a call, and Erwin was asking her to send his current location to Hendrix.

Though Erwin lived abroad and might not be familiar with local apps, Noelle knew his intelligence far exceeded such a simple task. He was purely toying with her.

"You can ask your companion for help," Noelle told him.

"But she's not here right now, is she? Besides, it's just sending a location. You wouldn't refuse such a small favor, would you? I thought we were friends?"

Erwin widened his eyes, feigning hurt.

Noelle couldn't help but press her lips together.

By then, Dylan had already stood up and made his way over to them.

Not wanting to escalate the situation, Noelle quickly sent the location and handed the phone back to Erwin.

"There. All done."

"Oh, thank you."

For a moment, Erwin's demeanor softened. He glanced down at Rosie, who was eyeing him curiously.

"Is this your daughter? She's adorable."

After a brief moment of hesitation,

he reached

Out

to pat Rosie's head. For him, this kind of gesture felt a bit forced. After all, he genuinely didn't like children. Or rather, he despised them. But since this was a friend's chitel, he managed to convince himself to tolerate it.

But to his surprise, Rosie saw his

gesture as a threat. She stepped et

back without hesitation to avoid his touch while giving him a wary look.

The expression on her face made Erwin laugh—though it was more out of

frustration than amusement. So, he was being rejected by a child?

As the thought crossed Erwin's mind, Dylan stepped in front of him.

"Hello."

As he spoke, he positioned himself between Erwin and Noelle, his protective stance unmistakable.

To Erwin, this gesture was almost laughable. First, he had no ill

intentions toward Noelle. Second, he couldn't care less about the man in front of him. What was he trying to prove?

Still, out of good manners, Erwin forced a smile and said, "Hello."

"Can I help you with something?" Dylan asked.

Erwin glanced at him, then at Noelle behind him before saying with a smile,

"Nothing much. I'm just saying hello to an old friend."

With that, he turned to Noelle. "He should be arriving soon. If you're free, maybe we can have dinner together tonight?"

Noelle didn't respond.

Erwin clearly didn't expect an answer. After a final glance at Dylan, he turned and walked away.