Sweet Love 2x: Miss Ruthless CEO for our Superstar Uncle-Chapter 117: Senior Year

Julian opened the door after Franz knocked, as if he had been standing on the other side waiting for the sound.

The twins stepped in first, already familiar with the layout. Lily went toward the kitchen without hesitation. Leo headed down the hallway toward the study at the far end, moving with quiet purpose.

The apartment had not changed. The floors were dark, the bookshelves uneven, the large windows reflecting the river lights across the water. Nothing felt arranged for guests. It felt lived in.

Arianne removed her gloves as she crossed the threshold. Franz took her coat before she asked, his hand resting briefly at her elbow when she stepped aside to let Leo pass. The contact lasted only a moment longer than necessary.

Gilbert noticed. He did not comment. He merely shifted his weight against the counter and lifted his glass.

"You’re on time," Julian said as he shut the door.

"We didn’t account for traffic," Arianne replied.

Leo had already disappeared into the study.

Julian did not follow immediately. He knew where Leo was going.

Franz followed a few seconds later.

The wooden hull sat at the center of the study table beneath a narrow lamp. The clamps from the previous week had been removed. The seam looked clean, though not perfect.

Leo ran his fingers along the edge, feeling for unevenness. He placed it flat against the table. It tilted slightly.

Julian stepped into the doorway and leaned his shoulder against the frame. "Does it sit level?"

Leo adjusted the brace underneath. Tried again. It still leaned.

Franz knelt beside him but did not reach for the wood. He waited.

Leo examined the underside more carefully this time, sliding a thin piece inward. The hull steadied.

Julian nodded once. "Better."

The scrape of sandpaper resumed, softer than before. Leo pressed lightly, slower now. Franz watched the rhythm of his hands instead of the surface.

"Alex hated sanding," Julian said, almost absently.

Franz could see it without trying. His brother standing at a table like this, impatient, already thinking about the next step.

"He said it wasted time," Franz replied.

"That sounds right," Julian said.

From the kitchen, Gilbert’s voice carried down the hallway. "Senior year, he tried to skip finishing entirely."

Julian’s mouth curved faintly. "He said judges wouldn’t notice."

"They noticed," Arianne said from behind them.

Franz looked up.

She stood at the study doorway, one hand resting against the frame. Her posture was different here than at the office. There was no tension in her shoulders—no measured stillness.

"You nearly got everyone disqualified," Gilbert called.

"They changed the rules halfway through," Arianne answered evenly.

"You walked out," Julian said.

"I came back."

Franz remembered the sound of a door closing once. He had been young enough that the staircase railing reached his shoulder. He had not understood the words, only the sharpness of them. A few minutes later, he heard another door open. Footsteps outside. Alexander’s voice lower this time, steady. He had not been allowed to follow.

Leo paused when the sandpaper caught on a rough patch. Franz steadied the hull with two fingers. Their hands brushed briefly. Leo adjusted without looking up.

Julian shifted the lamp closer to the seam.

"Senior year was when you made it official," Nate said from the kitchen.

Gilbert gave a short laugh. "He insisted we call it something."

"It sounded ridiculous," Julian added.

"He wrote it down anyway," Arianne said.

Franz imagined his brother at a cluttered table, pen in hand, deciding that if something existed, it deserved a name.

"He thought if it had a name, we’d stop fighting," Gilbert continued.

"You still fought," Nate replied.

There was no bitterness in it. Only recognition of what they had been.

Franz remembered lying on the living room floor once with a book open in front of him, listening to them argue about something he could not follow. Wires. Budget. Deadlines. He had understood none of it—only the intensity. Only Alex stayed until everyone else stopped talking.

"You argued louder then," Gilbert said to Arianne.

She did not deny it. "I didn’t wait."

"You never did," Julian said.

"She still doesn’t," Nate added lightly.

Arianne glanced toward Franz. The look was brief, steady. Not defensive. Not questioning. Just present.

Franz remembered being told to go upstairs once when voices had grown sharp. He had gone, slowly, pausing on each step to listen until the sounds blurred into something softer.

"Franz used to sit on the stairs," Julian said. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Franz met his gaze. "I remember the noise more than the words."

Gilbert’s mouth curved slightly. "You weren’t part of it."

"No."

The answer felt simple now.

Nate set a bowl down on the counter. "You are."

No one treated it like a ceremony. No one elaborated.

Leo finished sanding and carried the hull back to the kitchen carefully. Franz followed, making sure he didn’t bump the hallway wall.

Lily was perched on a stool beside Nate, watching him turn a steak in the pan.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Steak," he said. "Nothing complicated."

She nodded as if complexity were something to be wary of.

They gathered around the counter without assigning seats. Leo started toward Arianne, then changed direction and sat beside Franz. Lily dragged her chair closer toward the middle.

Leo typed something on his phone and turned the screen toward her.

CENTER.

She nodded once, serious.

Gilbert noticed. His gaze moved from the phone to Franz and Arianne, then back to his plate.

The conversation drifted back to senior year.

"Alex followed you every time you walked out," Gilbert said.

Arianne’s fork paused briefly before she continued eating. "He preferred resolution."

"He preferred control," Julian corrected quietly.

"Or he preferred quiet," Nate said.

Franz watched Arianne’s hand adjust the edge of her sleeve. The movement was small, controlled.

"People misunderstood it," Gilbert added. "They thought you and he were—"

"They were wrong," Arianne said. Not sharp. Just firm.

Silence settled for a moment, not heavy, only reflective.

Franz did not feel the need to speak. He had never been confused about that part.

Nate poured more water into his glass. "The article didn’t make it worse."

"No," Arianne agreed. "It didn’t."

Gilbert glanced at Franz briefly. "You’re not bothered by it?"

Franz shook his head. "No."

He had known there would be talk. There was always talk.

The room quieted, but not uncomfortably.

After a moment, Gilbert stood. "Aria, a minute."

She rose without protest and followed him toward the terrace.

Franz remained at the counter with Julian and Nate.

"You said nothing wrong," Nate said, before Franz could ask.

Julian leaned back against the cabinet. "You just said it plainly."

Franz nodded once. He did not need further explanation.

Through the glass, he could see Arianne and Gilbert speaking in low voices. Gilbert gestured once. Arianne answered with a slight tilt of her head.

Leo finished eating first and carried the hull back toward the study again. Franz followed the boy shortly.

They set it on the table. This time, Leo adjusted the brace more carefully, angling it before pressing.

"Slowly," Franz said.

Leo nodded faintly and tried again. The wood settled into place.

"Don’t rush," Julian said from behind them.

Franz thought of his brother trying to assemble something in a single night, pieces snapping under too much pressure. He had laughed then and called it efficient.

Leo pressed lightly instead.

When they returned to the living area, Arianne reached for the bowl near the edge of the counter at the same time Franz moved to steady it. Her fingers rested briefly over his knuckles.

Neither withdrew immediately.

Julian noticed. He turned toward the sink as if to rinse a glass.

Nate noticed Julian turning.

Gilbert leaned back in his chair, watching the room without focusing on any one person.

Later, coats were gathered.

"The twins looked happier tonight," Julian said to Franz.

Franz nodded.

Julian’s gaze shifted briefly toward Arianne before returning to him. "So do you."

Arianne fastened her watch more securely around her wrist before stepping toward the door.

Cold air entered the apartment for a moment as Franz opened it.

Inside, the unfinished hull rested on the low table under the lamp. The wood would need time before the next layer could be added.

Franz glanced back once.

Years ago, he had listened from outside a room like this.

Tonight, he left from within it.