Sweet Love 2x: Miss Ruthless CEO for our Superstar Uncle-Chapter 103: No Injuries

The estate was quieter than usual for that time. Everything was where it should be. The sitting room lights were on, and the hallway sconces cast a steady glow on the walls. The fire burned low, for heat. Dinner was late. No one explained it. The table was not set. The television was turned off.

Lily sat up straight on the edge of the sofa. Her hands were in her lap, showing she was patient but not comfortable. Leo stood by the window with his tablet against his chest. Then he moved to sit cross-legged on the rug, leaving the tablet off. Neither spoke. They listened.

Aunt Estella glanced at them, but didn’t offer anyone any assurance to console them.

Arianne stood for a while, one hand resting on the back of a chair. Her phone lay on the table next to her, face down after the last message from Monica confirmed what she already knew. The drive back was quicker. Traffic had eased. Franz returned to the set without looking back. She watched until the side entrance closed behind him, then told the driver to take her home.

They heard the sound before they saw the headlights. A car turned into the drive and slowed down on the gravel. Lily stood up right away. Leo didn’t move, but he sat up straight.

Franz opened the front door and walked inside. Cold air and dust clung to his coat. He took off his coat in one smooth motion and gave it to the staff member who came over. Then, he stepped into the light. No one asked him to confirm anything. They were already watching.

He looked as he always did. He had no brace or stiffness. A scrape on his knuckles was darker now, showing up more clearly under the hallway light. His hair was wind-tossed and beginning to settle.

Lily quickly walked across the room and then slowed down as she got closer to him, stopping just short of him as if she remembered something. Leo stood up more slowly, focusing on his shoulder instead of his face.

"You’re okay," Lily said, sounding unsure.

"I’m fine," Franz replied.

He slowly rotated his right arm once. The movement was smooth. No pause. He lowered it again without comment.

Leo lifted his tablet and typed without looking down. LIKE BEFORE?

The words appeared slowly. He held the screen toward Franz.

Franz read it and did not look away from Leo as he answered. "No. Not like that."

He didn’t explain further or offer comfort.

Arianne stood back, watching the twins focus on Franz without moving closer. Franz let them look.

Lily nodded once, as if accepting news. "They mentioned a shoulder on TV," she added.

"I heard," he replied. "That wasn’t my shoulder."

Leo studied the line of his shoulder.

After a few seconds, Lily stepped closer and briefly hugged Franz around his waist, careful not to startle him. It was brief. Careful. He placed his hand lightly on the back of her head for a moment before she let go.

Leo did not hug him. Instead, he reached out and touched the fabric of Franz’s sleeve with two fingers, then pulled back.

Dinner was prepared quickly and quietly by the staff. They served what had been kept warm. No one talked about the news, and the television stayed off.

Franz sat at the head of the table, as usual. Arianne sat across from him. The twins were between them: Lily sat closer to Franz, and Leo faced Arianne at a slight angle.

For several minutes, the only sounds were the clinking of cutlery against plates and the sound of water being poured. Franz explained the pause in production: the lighting arm had loosened due to wind, triggering inspection protocols.

Filming was halted until structural checks were completed. Daryll had already scheduled a review for the next morning. Insurance representatives would arrive before sunrise.

Arianne asked one question about the inspection timeline. She kept her tone steady and did not criticize; she focused on providing structure.

Leo set down his fork and typed again. HOLD HANDS.

He did not look up after placing the tablet between them on the table.

Lily glanced at the screen and nodded, her agreement serious.

Franz glanced at Arianne without asking for permission or questioning her direction. He reached his hand across the table in a steady motion.

Arianne placed her hand in his.

Their palms met flat on the table between the plates. Franz continued to explain that the production team decided to replace the old rigging rather than reinforce it. Arianne briefly suggested better oversight of the contractors. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

The twins watched their joined hands.

After a few minutes, Franz let go of her hand to grab his glass. No one commented. Leo went back to eating. Lily did not smile, but her shoulders relaxed a little.

After dinner, everyone went back to their usual activities. The twins took their plates to the kitchen with help, then returned to start their evening routine. They brushed their teeth, plugged in their tablets, and put on their pajamas without any fuss.

Franz stopped at the twins’ door before the lights went out. Leo was standing by his bed, holding a tablet.

"Wind can’t knock a car," Leo typed after a moment. He waited without blinking.

Franz read this line twice.

"Cars have other dangers."

Leo thought about this and then put the tablet on his desk without typing again.

Lily asked if the hospital building was real or pretend. Franz told her it looked real, but it wasn’t meant for real patients. She accepted this and lay down without asking more questions.

Downstairs, the house settled into its usual shape. The kitchen lights dimmed, and the hallway grew quieter.

Franz took off his shirt in the hallway outside their rooms and went downstairs. He folded it once and hung it over the back of a chair. A thin line marked his knuckles.

"You should clean that," Arianne said from the doorway.

"It’s just a scratch."

She went to the cabinet and came back with antiseptic and gauze. She did not argue. She took his hand and carefully applied the solution, using just the right amount of pressure with the cotton pad. The smell was sharp and clean. She didn’t rush the process.

He kept his hand still. He did not comment on how thorough she was. The silence stayed practical.

"You didn’t have to come. I would have called you as soon as I could," he said after a moment.

"I know," she replied.

The words stayed where they were.

She finished using the cotton pad and threw it away. Then she looked at the scrape again before putting the antiseptic aside. The light above cast a narrow shadow on his wrist.

"The twins were scared," she said.

"I expected that."

Franz didn’t change his expression.

"You have to be more careful.."

He nodded once.

His phone vibrated on the table in the hall. He checked it. Three missed calls from an unknown number. One message was from a media contact asking for a comment. Another message was from a production assistant confirming the revised schedule for tomorrow.

He silenced the notifications and set the phone down again, face down. The screen went dark under his thumb.

Franz leaned against the wall, then straightened. "They’ll release a statement in the morning," he said.

"That’s appropriate." Arianne agreed.

She reached for her phone and scrolled through messages without expression. After a few seconds, she pressed the side button and darkened the screen.

From upstairs, there was the faint sound of Lily turning in their bed. The house responded with a soft shift of air through the vents.

Arianne walked to the window at the end of the hallway and pulled the curtain back a little. Outside, the estate grounds were quiet. The gravel caught the porch light. The wind had calmed. She let the curtain fall back into place.

Behind her, Franz picked up his folded shirt and carried it toward his bedroom.

He didn’t limp or favor one side.

The hallway light remained on for a moment longer than usual, casting its steady glow across the floorboards and the closed doors of the twins’ rooms. Then she reached up and switched it off.

The house looked normal again.