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

Chapter 418: Of All Places

The family arrived in Rohan as the sun was setting.

The flight had been long: twelve hours in the air, with Lexx sleeping through most of it and the twins taking turns pressing their faces to the window to watch the clouds below. By the time they collected their luggage and found the car that would take them to the hotel, the sky had deepened to a rich velvet blue, and the city was beginning to light up.

Lily and Leo pressed their faces against the windows of the car, then the elevator, then the hotel suite itself, as if they couldn’t get close enough to the glass. Franz didn’t blame them. The view was worth it.

Rohan stretched out below them like a circuit board of light. Skyscrapers rose in glittering towers, their facades alive with scrolling advertisements and neon signs in characters Franz couldn’t read. The streets were rivers of headlights and taillights, endless streams of traffic moving in patterns that seemed chaotic but must have made sense to someone. Restaurants spilled their warmth onto the sidewalks, their signs glowing red and gold. Shops were open, their windows bright, customers browsing even at this hour. People filled every visible corner: walking, talking, eating, living.

In the distance, beyond the forest of towers, the port was visible. Cranes stood silhouetted against the darkening sky, and a cluster of yachts sat in the water, their lights reflecting off the calm surface of the sea.

"It’s so bright," Lily breathed, her breath fogging the glass. "It’s like daytime, but at night. How is it so bright?"

"Because the city never sleeps," Arianne said. She was standing behind them, Lexx cradled in her arms. "There are always people awake here. Always something happening."

"Are those boats? In the water?"

"Yachts. The port is over there. During the day, you can see the cargo ships coming in."

"Can we go see them? The boats?"

"Maybe. We have a few days."

Leo didn’t say anything. He stood at the window, his dark eyes reflecting the city lights, the whale tucked under his arm. He had been silent for most of the journey, taking everything in with the focused attention he brought to all new experiences.

Franz stood a few steps behind them, his own gaze on the city below. This was Rohan. This was where Arianne had lived for five years. He had never been here before, though he’d heard good things from people who had traveled for business or pleasure. He had imagined it, sometimes, during those years when she was gone: tried to picture where she might be, what kind of place she would choose. This was not what he’d expected.

"I wouldn’t have guessed this," he said.

Arianne turned to look at him. "Guessed what?"

"That you’d choose a place like this. Of all places, I thought you’d pick somewhere remote. Somewhere peaceful."

"I found peace here," she said. "Just not the kind you’re thinking of." She looked back at the city. "No one knew me. No one cared who I was. I could walk down any street and be invisible. That was its own kind of peace."

Franz took that in. He was learning this version of her, the woman who had survived exile, who had built something in secret, who had kept parts of herself apart even from him. But they were here now. She was showing him. That was enough.

Aunt Estella had settled into one of the armchairs near the window, her travel bag at her feet. She looked tired but content, the way she always did after a long journey. Arianne crossed to her.

"Are you going to see your friends while we’re here?"

Aunt Estella’s face brightened. "Yes. I called them last weekend, before we left. We’ve arranged a dinner at May’s house. She was our neighbor, in the old manor. She’s been asking about the baby. She wants to meet him."

"She wants to meet Lexx?"

"She wants to meet my grandson." Aunt Estella’s eyes sparkled. "I may have mentioned that I have a grandson now. And that I’m very proud of him."

"What else did you mention?"

"Nothing. Just that I have a grandson." Aunt Estella’s expression turned a little sheepish. "They assumed it was Gio who settled down. I didn’t correct them."

Arianne’s mouth curved. "So they think Gio has a wife and a baby."

"They think Gio has been very busy." Aunt Estella clasped her hands together. "They’re going to be so surprised when you walk in. With Franz. And the baby. And the twins."

"Did you tell them about Franz?"

"I said I’d bring my family. That’s all."

Arianne turned to Franz, who had been listening from near the window. "Aunt Estella’s friends think Gio is the one who had a baby. They have no idea I’m married. Or that Noah Hart is coming to dinner."

Franz raised an eyebrow. "So I’m the surprise."

"You’re part of the surprise."

"Will they be able to keep the secret? The marriage, the baby. We’re not ready for it to be public yet."

"I’ve known these women for years," Aunt Estella said. "They were my neighbors when I had no one else. They won’t tell anyone. But we’ll explain it to them. They’ll understand."

Franz looked at Arianne. "Do you want me to come?"

"It’s up to you. They’re Aunt Estella’s friends. You don’t have to."

"I don’t mind meeting them. If they were important to you while you were here, I’d like to meet them." He paused. "But we’ll need to explain the situation. They have to understand why it can’t leave that room."

"I’ll explain it to them," Aunt Estella said. "They’re good women. They’ve kept secrets before."

Arianne nodded. "Then it’s settled. We’ll go to dinner. All of us."

Aunt Estella clapped her hands together, her fatigue forgotten. "Oh, they’re going to be so surprised. May has been trying to set Gio up with her niece for years. When she finds out it’s Arianne who’s married, and to Noah Hart, she won’t believe it."

"Gio doesn’t know about the niece?"

"He knows. He’s been avoiding May’s calls for three years."

Franz almost laughed. "That sounds like Gio."

"That sounds exactly like Gio," Arianne agreed.

Later, after Aunt Estella had retired to her room and the twins had been coaxed away from the window with promises of room service and cartoons, Franz stood alone at the glass.

The city blazed below him. The lights reflected off the low clouds that had moved in from the sea, painting the sky in shades of amber and gold. In the distance, a ship’s horn sounded, low and mournful. The streets were full, the restaurants open, the city awake in the way it apparently always was.

Arianne came to stand beside him. Lexx was asleep in the portable bassinet near the bed, his tiny chest rising and falling in the rhythm Franz had memorized over the past two months.

"Tomorrow," she said. "I’ll show you around. The places I used to go. The life I had here."

Franz turned to look at her. "I’d like that."

"It might not be what you expected."

"I don’t have expectations. I’m just glad you’re showing me."

She didn’t answer. But she reached out and took his hand, and they stood together at the window, watching the city that never slept.

Tomorrow, she would show him her past. Tomorrow, he would see the life she had built without him.