Chapter 229: Three More Days
Five days since Arianne left.
Franz stood in the hallway and listened to the sounds coming from the playroom. Lily was talking. Something about a drawing. Something about colors. Something about how Kyle wasn’t using the right shade of blue.
Kyle was with her. Julian’s son. Three years old. Still shy. Still quiet around people he didn’t know well. But Lily had decided he was their friend now, and Leo didn’t seem to mind.
Leo was on the floor with his puzzle. The click of pieces fitting together was steady and calm. He worked slow, the way he always did. Finding the edges first. Then the corners. Then filling in the middle.
The whale was next to him on the floor. Not in his hands. Just nearby.
No one was standing outside Arianne’s closed door. No one was refusing to eat. Lily wasn’t crying.
Franz watched them through the doorway for a moment. Then he walked to his study.
He sat at his desk and turned on the TV out of habit. The silence in the house was fine, but sometimes he needed noise.
Entertainment news.
His face was on the screen. Noah Hart. With Miranda Kline.
The image was from yesterday’s awarding ceremony. They had been on the same stage. Different categories. Different tables. But someone had taken a photo of them standing near each other. Not touching. Not even looking at each other.
The headline across the bottom read: Noah Hart and Miranda Kline — What’s Really Going On?
Another photo appeared. Older. From two years ago, when they had worked on that project together. They were laughing at something off-camera.
The anchor was talking. Franz wasn’t listening.
He turned off the TV.
The doorbell rang mid-morning.
Franz answered it himself. Aunt Estella was with the twins. She could have gotten the door, but Franz was already on his feet.
Daryll stood on the front step. His coat was buttoned up to his chin. His cheeks were red from the cold. He looked annoyed.
"We need to talk."
Franz stepped aside and let him in.
Daryll didn’t waste time. He never did.
"The news about you and Miranda. It wasn’t an accident."
Franz waited.
"Her camp started it. They leaked the photos. They fed the story to the outlets." Daryll’s voice was flat.
"Every single one of them."
Franz nodded. He wasn’t surprised.
"Has she tried to contact you?"
"She messages me."
Daryll’s eyebrows went up. "And?"
"I don’t answer."
"Ever?"
"Never."
Daryll studied him for a moment. Then he nodded. "She’s trying to use you. The Second Cut is getting good numbers. People are talking about you again. She wants some of that attention."
Franz didn’t say anything.
"If you don’t answer, she’ll keep trying. Or she’ll leak more photos. Older ones. From when you worked together."
Franz’s jaw tightened. But he wasn’t worried.
"She can leak whatever she wants. There’s nothing there. We worked together. The project ended. That’s it."
Daryll nodded. "I know that. You know that. But the public doesn’t."
"The public doesn’t matter."
Daryll stared at him. "Since when?"
Franz didn’t answer right away. He thought about the question. Since Arianne came back. Since the twins started calling him Uncle Franz like it meant something. Since he stopped being just Noah Hart.
"Since I stopped caring what they think," he said.
Daryll leaned forward. His chair creaked. "You’re sure about this? About going public with whoever you’re seeing?"
Franz met his eyes. Daryll didn’t know about the marriage. No one outside the family did.
"I’m sure."
"Because once we do this, there’s no going back. The rumors about Miranda will stop. But new ones will start. About you and her. About your relationship. They’ll dig into her past. They’ll dig into yours."
"I know."
Daryll studied him for a long moment. Then he sat back. "She’s okay with this?"
Franz thought of Arianne. The way she had looked at him before she left. The way she had said later like it was a promise.
"She gave the go-signal."
Daryll blinked. "Just like that?"
"Just like that."
Daryll finally took off his coat. He draped it over the back of the chair. He looked less annoyed now.
"You want everyone to know Noah Hart is seeing someone."
"Yes."
"Not engaged. Not married. Just seeing."
Franz didn’t correct him. "Just seeing."
Daryll nodded. He rubbed his face with both hands. His stubble scratched against his palms.
"The signing ceremony for the second season of The Second Cut is in two weeks. Media will be there. Cameras. Reporters. It’s going to be a circus."
"I know."
"You can do it there. Bring her. Stand next to her. Let them take photos. You don’t have to say anything. Just let them see."
Franz thought about it. Arianne would be back by then.
"She might not want to attend a signing ceremony."
"Then bring her to the after-party. Or pick her up from somewhere public. I don’t care how you do it. Just make sure the cameras see you together. One photo. That’s all it takes."
Franz nodded. "I’ll talk to her when she gets back."
Daryll stood up and picked up his coat. He didn’t put it on. Just held it over his arm.
"One more thing. Miranda. If she keeps messaging you, don’t block her."
Franz frowned. "Why not?"
"Because if she crosses a line, we’ll have proof. Screenshots. Timestamps. If she tries anything stupid—anything at all—we go public with everything."
Franz didn’t like it. But he understood the logic.
"Fine."
Daryll walked to the door. His hand was on the handle when he stopped.
"You’re really not worried?"
Franz stood up from his desk.
"No."
"Why not?"
Franz thought about Arianne. About the way she had looked at him before she left. About the twins in the playroom, drawing and puzzling, being fine because they knew she was coming back.
"Because I know who I’m going home to."
Daryll stared at him for a moment. Then he shook his head. "You’ve changed."
"I know."
Daryll left. Franz watched him walk down the hallway. His footsteps echoed until the front door opened and closed.
Later, Franz walked to the playroom.
Lily was at the low table with her coloring book. She was using an orange crayon on a lion’s mane, pressing hard. Kyle sat next to her, watching her color. He didn’t talk much. Still shy. But he seemed happy just to be there.
Leo was on the floor with his puzzle. The pieces spread out in front of him. Mountains and sky. He worked slow and methodical.
The whale was next to him. Not in his hands. Just nearby.
Franz leaned against the doorframe.
Lily looked up. "Uncle Franz. When is Aunt Aria coming back?"
"Three more days."
She frowned. Her crayon stopped moving. "That’s too long."
"I know."
Leo looked at Franz. Then back at his puzzle.
Kyle picked up a crayon from the box. Green. He started drawing on the edge of Lily’s paper. A small shape. Maybe a flower. Maybe a blob.
"Hey!" Lily pulled the paper away. "Ask first!"
Kyle looked at her. Then at the crayon in his hand. His bottom lip trembled.
"Sorry," he whispered.
Lily huffed. Her shoulders went up and down. Then she put the paper back down.
"Fine. But only the corner."
Kyle nodded. He leaned forward and started drawing again. Smaller this time. Staying in the corner.
Franz watched them. Kyle had stopped apologizing and started drawing. It had taken about thirty seconds. Lily’s correction, her relenting, the corner he’d been given—and now he was just there, making his small shape, trusting it would be allowed to stay. Franz thought about Julian sitting on a floor somewhere tonight, trying to figure out the same thing.
He thought about the signing ceremony. About the cameras. About standing next to Arianne and letting everyone see. But not everything. Just enough.
He thought about her answer. She gave the go-signal.
His mouth curved. Just a little.
His phone buzzed. He looked down.
Arianne. A single line.
I saw the news. Handle it.
And then, a few seconds later:
Three more days.
He read it twice. His throat tightened. Something he hadn’t expected—hadn’t let himself expect—right there in two words. She was thinking about him. She had looked up from whatever she was doing, seen his name on a screen, and thought to reach back.
He typed back: Handled.
Then he set the phone face-down on his knee and looked at the ceiling for a long moment.
Three more days.
He said it to himself like a prayer. Then she would walk through the door. The house would feel full again. He would pull her into his arms and press his face into her hair and breathe.
Three more days.
He could wait.