Chapter 238: Finally Home
Franz didn’t sleep.
He lay in bed for most of the night. Staring at the ceiling. Listening to the house settle. The wind tapped branches against the window. At some point he stopped trying.
He got up at 5 AM. Made coffee in the kitchen. The pot was half full from yesterday. He dumped it out and made a fresh one. Watched the coffee drip into the glass pot. The sound was the only thing in the house.
He took the mug and walked upstairs to his study in the west wing.
The study was dark when he opened the door. He didn’t turn on the light. He sat at his desk and watched the sun come up through the window.
The sky went from black to gray. Then gray to pale blue. Then pale blue to pink at the edges. The trees outside were bare. Their branches looked like lines drawn on the sky.
He didn’t notice any of it.
He was looking at his phone.
The headlines were worse than he expected.
He scrolled through the stories. They were everywhere. Every news site. Every gossip blog. Every social media feed.
"Noah Hart’s Secret Girlfriend?"
"Arianne Summers Caught Leaving Private Terminal."
"Rochefort Group CEO Linked to Actor."
"Who Is Arianne Summers?"
He tapped into the comments on one of the articles. That was a mistake.
Some people were defending her. Saying she didn’t ask for any of this. Saying the press should leave her alone. Saying she had a right to privacy like anyone else.
But others were digging.
Someone found the old engagement announcement. The one from years ago. The one with Dominic Blackwood’s name on it. The photo was still there. Arianne smiling. Dominic’s arm around her waist. Her hair was longer then. Past her shoulders. She looked younger. Happier. Franz wondered if she was actually happy or if she just looked that way for the camera.
The headline said "Power Couple: Summers Corporation Heiress Engaged to Blackwood Heir."
The comments under it were cruel.
Damaged goods.
Using Noah Hart to get back at her ex.
She probably still loves Dominic.
Can’t be trusted.
Franz’s jaw tightened. His hand gripped the phone.
Someone else found old photos from the engagement party. The one where everything fell apart. The comments speculated about what really happened. Why did she leave? What did she do? Someone said she ran away because she got caught doing something. Someone else said she was fired from her own company. Someone else said Dominic was the one who ended it and she couldn’t handle it.
None of it was true.
She didn’t run away. She was pushed.
She didn’t do anything wrong. She was betrayed.
Dominic didn’t end it. He destroyed it.
But the comments didn’t care about the truth. They just wanted a story. They just wanted to pick apart someone they’d never met. Someone who didn’t ask for any of this.
Franz set his phone down on the desk.
He put his head in his hands.
The coffee was getting cold. He didn’t drink it.
The sun was higher now. The room was lighter. Dust floated in the air. He watched it for a while. Didn’t move.
Then he heard a door open.
Across the second floor. In the east wing. Her door.
He stood up. Walked out of his study. Stepped into the upstairs hallway.
The hallway ran the length of the house. Hardwood floors. White walls. A few framed photos he’d never really looked at. The carpet runner was dark blue. It muffled his footsteps.
East wing on one side. West wing on the other.
He walked past the staircase. The stairs curved down to the foyer. He could see the front door from here. Closed. Locked.
He walked past the bathroom. The door was open. The light was off.
He walked past the linen closet. The door was closed.
He walked toward the east wing.
His feet felt heavy. He didn’t want to do this. But he had to.
She was in the east wing hallway.
Still in yesterday’s clothes. The black long sleeve blouse was wrinkled. The fabric had creases across the stomach from sitting on the plane. The beige skirt had a small stain near the hem. Something dark. Coffee maybe. Or something from the airport.
Her hair was messy. Shorter than before, but messy. It stuck up on one side where she’d slept on it. The ends curled in different directions.
No makeup. Her face was bare. Her skin was pale from too many hours inside planes and hotels. Dark circles under her eyes. Deep ones. The kind that don’t go away after one night of sleep.
She saw him coming. Stopped walking. She had been heading toward the twins’ room. Her hand was reaching for the doorknob. She pulled it back.
She waited.
He stopped a few feet away from her. Close enough to see that her eyes were red.
"Aria," he said. "I need to apologize."
She looked at him. Didn’t say anything. Just waited.
The house was quiet. No one else was awake. The twins’ door was still closed. They didn’t know she was home yet.
He took a breath.
"I should have told you. Before I made the calls. Before I talked to the press. I should have waited until you could decide."
She didn’t respond right away. Her eyes stayed on his face. Reading him. Looking for something.
Then she spoke.
"You didn’t wait."
Her voice was flat. Not angry. Just tired. Just stating a fact.
"No," he said. "I didn’t."
Silence.
The hallway was long. The windows at the end of it were letting in gray light. The carpet runner was dark blue. The walls were white. Everything was very still.
Before she could say anything else, a door opened.
The twins’ room. The one door at the end of the east wing hallway. The door swung inward. Small feet on the hardwood floor.
Lily appeared first.
She was wearing her dinosaur pajamas. The ones with the green T-rex on the shirt. The pants were too long. They bunched up around her ankles. Her hair was a mess. Tangled. Sticking up on one side. She was rubbing her eyes with both fists.
She looked half asleep.
Then she saw Arianne.
She froze. Her hands stopped rubbing her eyes. Her mouth opened. Her eyes went wide.
For a second, nothing happened.
Then: "AUNT ARIA!"
She ran. Her bare feet slapped against the hardwood floor. She crashed into Arianne’s legs. Wrapped her arms around her waist. Pressed her face into Arianne’s stomach. Her whole body pressed against her. Like she was trying to climb inside.
Arianne’s hand went to Lily’s head. Her fingers combed through the tangled hair. Stroked. Soothed.
"I’m here," Arianne said. Quiet. "I’m here."
Leo appeared behind Lily.
Slower. Always slower. He was still in his pajamas too. Gray pants. A blue shirt that was too big. It hung off one shoulder.
The whale was in his hand. Held against his chest. His fingers were wrapped around it. Tight. His knuckles were white.
He stopped a few feet away. Didn’t run. Didn’t crash into her. Just stood there. Looking at her.
His eyes were wet.
Not crying yet. But close. The tears were there. Pooling. Ready to fall.
Arianne saw him. Her hand stopped moving in Lily’s hair.
She knelt down. The skirt made it hard. The mermaid style was tight around her knees. She had to shift her weight. But she got down. Got to his level.
She opened her arms.
Leo walked into them. Slow. Careful. Each step measured. Like he was afraid she might disappear if he moved too fast.
The whale pressed between them. Its fabric body squished against Arianne’s chest. Leo’s face pressed against her shoulder. His small body was stiff at first. Tense. Holding back.
Then it went soft.
He leaned into her. His arms came up. Wrapped around her neck. His fingers gripped the back of her blouse. Holding on.
The whale was still in his hand. Still pressed between them. Arianne didn’t try to move it. She just held him.
Lily was still wrapped around Arianne’s waist. Her face pressed into Arianne’s shoulder. She was talking now. Words muffled by fabric.
"You were gone so long. I finished the lion. Well I didn’t finish it but I drew more of it. And we got a new puzzle. It’s a castle. Uncle Franz couldn’t do the corners. I had to do them. And Leo found a dinosaur at Kyle’s house. It’s green. He brought it home. It’s on our bed. You can see it later."
She kept going. Words spilled out of her. Fast. Like she was afraid she’d forget something if she didn’t say it all right now.
Arianne nodded. Made small sounds. Mm. Okay. I’ll see it later. That sounds nice.
Her cheek was pressed against Leo’s head. Her hand was still in Lily’s hair.
She didn’t look at Franz.
He was still standing in the east wing hallway. A few feet away. Watching.
She didn’t look at him.
She was full.
The twins had taken all of her. Every bit of attention. Every bit of energy. Every bit of space in her head and her heart. There was no room for him. Not right now.
He understood.
It didn’t make it hurt less. But he understood.
Lily kept talking. Leo kept holding on. Arianne stayed on her knees on the hardwood floor. Her skirt bunched up around her knees. Her bare legs were pale against the dark blue carpet.
Franz watched for another moment.
Then he turned.
He walked back down the east wing hallway. Past the twins’ door. The door was still open. He could see their bed inside. The covers thrown back. Two small pillows. A green dinosaur on one of them.
He walked past the bathroom. The light was still off.
He walked past the linen closet. The door was still closed.
He walked past the staircase. The foyer was still dark.
He walked into the west wing.
His study was at the end of the hallway. He opened the door. Went inside. Closed it behind him.
The room was quiet.
His coffee was still on the desk. Cold now. A skin had formed on top. He didn’t drink it.
He sat down. Stared at the wall.
Through the door, he could hear Lily’s voice. Not clearly. The west wing was far from the east wing. The house was big. But it was quiet enough that sound carried.
High and happy. Lily was still talking. Still telling Arianne about everything she missed.
Arianne was home.
That was what mattered.
Even if she wasn’t speaking to him. Even if she didn’t look at him. Even if she was on her knees in the east wing hallway with her arms full of twins and no room for him.
She was home.
The twins had her.
That was enough.
He sat at his desk. Stared at the wall. Listened to the faint sound of Lily’s voice through the door.
The sun was fully up now. Dust floated in the air.
He didn’t notice.