Sweet Love 2x: Miss Ruthless CEO for our Superstar Uncle-Chapter 101: Not the Same
The television was on because Lily thought cartoons were for mornings and evenings were for "real things." The volume was low; the anchor’s voice ran under everything else. Arianne had accepted this.
The twins played on the rug near the sofa. Leo sat cross-legged with his tablet on his knee, while Lily sorted colored blocks into neat stacks, which she would later say were a city.
Arianne sat at the long end of the table in the sitting room with her laptop open and a folder of documents beside it. The light outside was fading into the evening. Montreal’s winter brightness had faded into a pale grey against the windows.
She had just finished one call about a licensing contract and was halfway through reviewing a revised clause when the television volume suddenly increased, with no one touching the remote. It wasn’t louder. It was sharper.
"...breaking from our earlier segment—an incident during filming this afternoon involving international television star Noah Hart..."
Lily stopped stacking.
Arianne did not look up right away. She was used to seeing the name on broadcasts, so she didn’t feel the need to react. She finished the line she was reading before she lifted her gaze.
The screen displayed the outside of a downtown building designed to look like a hospital. The wind pulled at loose cables, and a metal lighting truss had partially collapsed onto the pavement. Crew members moved carefully around it. A banner on the fence displayed the title of the medical drama that Franz had resumed filming after his recovery. The anchor spoke in a calm voice.
"...production temporarily halted after a structural lighting element gave way. Sources report no confirmed major injuries at this time. Hart, who recently returned to work following a shoulder injury, was reportedly on set when the incident occurred..."
The word accident came up twice. No one on the broadcast sounded alarmed. That didn’t mean anything. Accidents were reported calmly all the time. Calm voices didn’t prevent damage.
Arianne muted the television.
The room didn’t get quieter. It shifted. Lily turned toward her. Leo had already become still.
Arianne reached for her phone on the table and dialed Franz’s number. The call rang once and disconnected. The second attempt went straight to voicemail.
She ended the call without leaving a message and dialed a third time. The third call rang longer. Voicemail again. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
She did not call back right away. Instead, she opened her laptop and looked for live updates. Many entertainment websites had already posted the same video. The headlines changed. The footage didn’t.
Leo’s tablet screen lit briefly as he typed. He turned it toward her.
LIKE BEFORE? Leo didn’t blink when he asked. He was not asking about equipment.
The letters were uneven, pressed harder than usual.
Arianne stood and crossed the room to the television, not to unmute it, but to switch it off entirely. The screen darkened, leaving only the faint reflection of the room in its surface.
"This is not the same," she said, returning to kneel in front of them. "This was equipment."
Lily watched her face with open scrutiny.
"He just got better," she said. It was not an accusation.
It was accounting. His shoulder had been in a brace for weeks after he fell during rehearsal six months ago. The twins changed their movements around him without being asked.
"I know," Arianne replied.
Leo looked down at his tablet again. NOT AGAIN appeared after a few seconds.
The phrase lingered between the twins. Eight months wasn’t enough time for certain words to lose weight. News of Alex and Layla’s accident had come in fragments. After that, the city felt smaller.
Arianne kept her eyes focused.
"This is different," she said. "They said there are no major injuries."
"But you don’t know," Lily insisted.
"No," Arianne replied. "I don’t know yet."
The uncertainty sat plainly between them. It didn’t expand. It didn’t shrink. It just stayed.
She stood up and walked back to the table, dialing another number as she moved. Daryll’s phone rang for a long time but went unanswered. She didn’t leave a message.
Next, she called Monica. The call failed right away, as if there was no signal. Monica always answered. If she couldn’t talk, she texted right away. The lack of response mattered more than the footage.
Monica never missed calls. Not during storms. Not during emergencies.
Arianne sent a brief message to Daryll: Call me immediately.
Another to Monica: Confirm status.
She put the phone down and carefully closed her laptop, neatly stacking the documents in the folder. The clause would still be there later.
Leo stood and came closer, his tablet held against his chest. He typed again.
CALL AGAIN.
She did. Franz’s phone went to voicemail on the first ring.
"I’m going to the set," she said. The decision had already been made. Saying it aloud didn’t change anything. It only moved the next step forward.
Lily straightened. "Is he hurt?"
"I don’t know," Arianne answered. "I’m going to see."
Leo typed, slower this time. WE GO?
"No." The word was gentle but final. "You’ll stay here."
Lily frowned slightly. "What if he needs—"
"There are doctors there," Arianne said. "It’s a hospital show. They have medics on set."
Leo typed again. BRING SCARF. WIND.
He was thinking ahead. She noticed.
She nodded once. "I will."
She went upstairs, got her coat, and wrapped a scarf around her neck without looking in the mirror. She moved slowly and carefully, not in a hurry. Rushing would not shorten the distance.
Before going down the stairs, she checked her phone again. There were no missed calls or new messages.
The hallway felt longer than it had that morning. Nothing in it had changed. The twins were waiting by the door. Lily had put on her own boots without being asked.
"You’re not coming," Arianne repeated softly.
Lily took off the boots, clearly not wanting to.
Leo held up his tablet once more. COME BACK. The words were smaller this time. He didn’t lower the tablet right away.
Arianne met his eyes. "I will."
