Sweet Love 2x: Miss Ruthless CEO for our Superstar Uncle

Chapter 413: Conflict Of Interest

Half an hour later, Arianne found them in her office.

Franz was standing near the window, his arms crossed, his expression troubled. Gio was seated in the chair across from her desk, working on his tablet. They both looked up when she entered.

"What did my father want?" Franz asked. "And why wasn’t I included?"

Arianne crossed to her desk and sat down. She looked tired, not with the bone-deep exhaustion of the early postpartum weeks, but something different. The weariness of someone who had been carrying a weight for too long.

"It was something I should have disclosed to him from the beginning. There’s no problem. It’s resolved now." She turned to Gio. "Did you schedule the overseas trip?"

"Yes. The arrangements are in place."

"Good."

Franz looked between them. "What overseas trip?"

Arianne met his eyes. "I need to go to Rohan. For at least a week. Possibly longer."

"Rohan?" The name was familiar. Angelika Sinclair had been sent there, months ago, to start a new life. But Arianne had never mentioned any personal connection to the country. "Why Rohan?"

Arianne was silent for a beat. Then she said, "Because I’m closely involved with the Mythos Group."

The words landed in the office like something dropped from a great height.

Franz stared at her. "You’re involved with the Mythos Group. The same Mythos Group that Dominic Blackwood spent months trying to secure an investment from. The same group the board just suggested we pursue."

"Yes."

"You’re a consultant for them."

"Something like that."

"And that’s why you didn’t answer when Harding brought them up. Because you have a conflict of interest."

"Because I didn’t want to use that connection unless it was absolutely necessary." Arianne paused. "The Mythos Group is influential. If I leveraged my relationship with them for Rochefort Group’s benefit, it would open doors, but it would also create expectations. Obligations. I’ve been careful to keep the two separate. That’s why I stayed silent."

Franz absorbed this. His wife. Involved with one of the most powerful international investment groups in the world. A connection she had never mentioned, never leveraged, never used in all the months they had been building something real together. She had sat across from him at dinner and in bed and in this very office, and she had kept this from him. Not out of malice. He understood that. But the weight of it settled in his chest regardless.

He understood why she hadn’t told him. He did. He knew her well enough to understand that what she had built during her exile was the one thing that had been entirely hers—before her return to the Summers family, before the engagement, before the company, before him. It was the part of herself she had guarded most closely.

That didn’t make it easier to sit with.

"Why didn’t you tell me?"

"Because I wasn’t ready. Because it’s complicated. Because I built a life during my exile—something that was mine, separate from the Summers family, separate from everything I left behind. I wasn’t ready to share it." She held his gaze. "I’m telling you now."

He was silent. Then: "You want me to come with you."

"Lexx is two months old. I’m not leaving him for a week. And if he’s coming, you should come too. We’ll bring the twins. Aunt Estella. Make it a family trip."

"And Rochefort Group?"

"Gio will stay behind. He’s handled things before."

Franz looked at Gio, who gave a single nod of confirmation. Then he looked back at Arianne: his wife, who kept revealing parts of herself he hadn’t known existed, who had built something in the years of her exile that she was only now beginning to share with him.

"A family trip," he said. "To Rohan. With the Mythos Group."

"If anyone asks, it’s just a family trip. The rest is need-to-know."

He was silent for another moment. Then he nodded. "All right. I’ll come."

Arianne’s expression didn’t change, but something in her eyes softened. "Thank you."

"You don’t have to thank me. You just told me you’re secretly involved with an international investment group. I’m not letting you out of my sight."

"That’s not why I asked you to come."

"I know. But it’s true either way."

Arianne almost smiled. "We leave in two weeks. Gio will handle the details."

"Two weeks." Franz shook his head. "I’m going to need more information. About the Mythos Group. About what you built during your exile. About everything."

"I know. I’ll tell you. On the trip." She paused. "I should have told you sooner."

"Yes. You should have."

"I’m sorry."

He crossed to her and took her hand. "Don’t be sorry. Just don’t keep any more secrets from me. Whatever it is—whatever you built, whatever you’re involved in—I want to know. I’m your husband. I’m on your side."

"I know." She looked up at him. "That’s why I’m telling you now."

The office was settled around them. Gio had returned to his tablet, giving them the space they needed. Outside the window, the city was bright with afternoon sunlight.

Two weeks. Then Rohan. Then whatever Arianne had been carrying in silence would finally come into the light.

He didn’t know what they would find there. He didn’t know what the Mythos Group was to her, or what obligations she had taken on, or how deep the history ran. He had years of her life to learn, years she had spent building something in a country he had never visited, and she was only beginning to open that door.

He was ready for all of it.

Across the room, Gio set down his tablet and rose. "I’ll send the itinerary tonight," he said. He didn’t look at either of them as he walked out. The door closed behind him with the discretion of someone who had long since learned when to leave a room.

Arianne watched the door, then looked back at Franz.

"Two weeks," she said again. Like a promise.

"Two weeks," he agreed.