Sweet Love 2x: Miss Ruthless CEO for our Superstar Uncle-Chapter 180: Still Practicing

Arianne sat at the end of the sofa, one arm resting along the back without thinking about it. Franz took the space beside her in the same unspoken way he always did, close enough that their shoulders aligned without adjustment. There was no pause before or after. It simply happened.

"The timeline needs to move," Franz said, his voice low, continuing a conversation that had started earlier and never properly ended. He kept his tone directed only toward her, though he wasn’t looking at her directly.

They were discussing matters regarding the Rochefort Group.

Arianne turned slightly, her posture angling toward him.

"That increases visibility," she replied, her tone even, the assessment immediate rather than cautious. She didn’t hesitate on the consequence, only on how to manage it.

"It’s already escalating," Franz said, his gaze moving toward the window before returning to the space in front of him."Delaying it won’t reduce exposure. It just removes control."

The conversation settled there, not resolved but complete enough to leave. Neither of them pushed it further.

They spoke like this now. Not like business partners. Not like strangers sharing a house. But like two people who had learned the rhythm of each other’s thoughts. Arianne noticed it as the words left her mouth—how easily they came, how naturally he received them. She didn’t know when this had happened. She only knew it had.

Across the room, Lily had already made her decision.

"Aunty Sam," she said, stepping closer with a directness that ignored whatever else was happening, "how do you play truth or dare?"

Leo followed half a step behind, tablet already lifted as if he had been waiting for the moment.

Saw before.

Lily nodded, reinforcing it.

"On TV," she added, her tone certain.

Sam looked at them, then briefly past them toward the sofa before returning her attention. The pause was short but intentional. She understood the question, and more than that, its timing.

"You need something first," she said, adjusting in her seat. "Find a bottle. Something that spins."

Lily didn’t ask anything else. She turned immediately, already moving toward the kitchen. Leo followed, quieter but just as committed, opening a cabinet with more focus than force.

"They’re planning something," Nate said from where he stood, not lowering his voice enough to make it private.

"They’re always planning something," Julian replied, his tone neutral, though his attention remained on the twins rather than the conversation.

"You expect less from Alex’s children?" Gilbert commented. "Alex might look calm, but he was a menace when we were younger."

Franz didn’t react. Arianne didn’t either.

The name landed softly, the way it always did now. Alex would have loved this—the twins running the room, the adults pretending they had any control. Arianne felt the ghost of him in the space between one breath and the next, and for once, it didn’t hurt to hold it there.

The twins returned quickly, Lily holding the bottle carefully with both hands as if it might slip if she moved too fast.

"We found one!" she said, stepping into the center of the room.

Leo stopped beside her, turning the tablet.

Ready.

Sam reached forward and took the bottle from her, setting it down on the table and clearing a small space with an efficient motion.

"We spin it," she said, glancing around as if confirming no one would object. "Whoever it points to chooses. Truth or dare."

"We’re doing this now?" Nate asked, though there was no real resistance in his tone.

"It’s harmless," Sam said, already settling into it.

"That’s what you think," Nate replied, but he didn’t move to stop it.

Lily crouched beside the table, her attention fixed.

"Start," she said.

Leo tapped the table once.

Start.

The bottle spun.

The first round moved easily, almost too easily. It landed on Julian, who chose truth without hesitation, and Lily asked a question that sounded like something she had decided in advance rather than something inspired by the game.

"Do you like someone?" she asked, watching him closely.

Leo added beneath it, slower this time.

Right now.

Julian leaned back, considering more out of habit than need.

"No," he said, his tone calm, his expression unchanged.

Lily studied him for a second, then nodded as if the answer had been expected.

The bottle spun again and landed on Sam, who chose truth before Lily could ask. Lily leaned forward, her expression sharpening.

"Do you think my brother is slow?" she asked, glancing toward Gilbert without fully turning.

Leo turned the tablet.

Five years.

Sam let out a short laugh, not trying to hide it.

"Yes," she said, her tone direct. "Very."

Gilbert didn’t react. Audrey didn’t either, though her gaze lingered a fraction longer than necessary before moving away.

The next round moved the same way, light and uneven, the questions not quite structured but consistent enough to keep the rhythm. Nate answered without effort, dismissing Lily’s observation about his posture with a single word that didn’t satisfy her, and she said so, though not with any real expectation that it would change anything.

The room loosened as it continued. People moved, leaning back, adjusting their seats, the edges of conversation overlapping without breaking the flow of the game.

By the fourth spin, Lily had stopped watching the bottle as closely.

"You always sit like that," she said suddenly, her attention fixed on Franz and Arianne instead.

Leo followed her gaze and typed.

Same place.

Franz didn’t react. Arianne didn’t either. The observation passed without acknowledgment, but it didn’t disappear.

The bottle slowed and settled, pointing at Arianne.

Lily straightened, her focus sharpening again.

"Say something about him," she said, not building toward it.

Leo turned the tablet.

About him.

Arianne didn’t pause.

"He has a beautiful face," she said.

Her tone was even, the statement complete as it was. She didn’t elaborate. She didn’t adjust it to match expectation.

Lily stared at her for a second.

"That’s it?" she asked, her voice carrying more confusion than dissatisfaction.

Leo typed, slower this time.

Not enough.

"It’s just looking," Lily said, as if explaining the problem out loud.

Leo added an underline.

Not enough.

The bottle spun again and landed on Franz.

"Now you," Lily said immediately. "Say something about her."

Leo turned the tablet.

Your turn, Uncle!

Franz glanced at Arianne briefly before answering, the motion small enough that it might have gone unnoticed if anyone hadn’t been watching for it.

"She rarely makes mistakes," he said.

The answer was precise, delivered the same way he would state anything else.

Lily leaned back, unimpressed.

"That sounds like work," she said, the judgment immediate.

Leo tapped once.

Not good.

A quiet laugh moved through the room, not enough to interrupt but enough to register.

"Why are you doing it like that?" Lily asked, leaning forward again, her expression more serious now.

Leo typed.

Wrong way.

"It doesn’t look right," she added.

The game didn’t stop. It continued.

The bottle spun again, but Lily was already moving ahead of it.

"What do you like about Uncle Franz?" she asked, turning back to Arianne.

Leo added.

Reason.

Arianne’s gaze lowered, not in avoidance but in thought.

"He’s reliable," she said.

Lily blinked, then frowned.

"That’s the same," she said.

Leo typed again.

Repeat.

Lily turned immediately.

"What about you, Uncle?" she asked Franz. "What do you like about Aunt Aria?"

Leo turned the tablet.

Her again.

Franz didn’t change his tone.

"She’s consistent," he said.

"That’s also work!" Lily complained.

Leo added.

Still work.

The room was more engaged now, not because of the game itself but because of where it was going. Conversations had faded around the edges, attention narrowing without being directed.

"Do you like Aunt Aria the most?" Lily asked next, the question coming more quickly now.

Leo typed.

Top?

Franz answered without hesitation.

"Yes. I like her the most."

The answer landed differently.

Lily paused, then nodded once, as if something had finally gone right.

"Okay," she said, pleased with her uncle’s answer.

The bottle spun again, though no one was watching it now.

"Do you sit next to her on purpose?" Lily asked, leaning forward.

Leo added.

Intentional?

"Yes," Franz said.

"Why?" Lily asked immediately, not waiting for space.

Leo followed.

Why?

Franz paused a fraction longer this time.

"Because I like it," he said.

Lily frowned again.

"That’s not nice," she said.

Leo added.

Not good.

The bottle spun again.

Lily reached out and stopped it mid-spin.

"No," she said. "Again."

She spun it harder this time, watching more carefully as it slowed.

It landed between Franz and Arianne.

"Both," she said.

Leo turned the tablet.

Both.

Franz didn’t object. Arianne didn’t either.

"Move closer," Lily said, reaching out and pushing at Franz’s arm, just enough to reduce the space between them.

Franz adjusted without comment.

Arianne didn’t move away.

Their knees touched briefly. Neither of them reacted to it.

"Stay like that," Lily said, her tone firm.

Leo added.

Don’t move.

No one interrupted.

The game continued.

"Do you wait for her?" Lily asked Franz.

"Yes."

"For what?"

"So we leave at the same time."

"That’s still work," Lily said.

Leo added.

Work again.

Franz smiled. He didn’t mention the years he waited until Arianne finally chose him.

He could have told them about the waiting. About the decades of watching from a distance, the rings bought years before she ever wore one, the quiet certainty that she might never be his. But Lily didn’t need that story. She needed to see that the waiting had ended. So he just smiled and let the years stay where they belonged.

The bottle spun again.

"Do you miss her when she’s not here?" Lily asked.

Leo typed.

Not here.

Franz paused.

"Of course," he said.

Arianne’s fingers moved against the sofa, the motion small but not absent.

Lily leaned forward again.

"Then why don’t you tell her that?" she asked.

Leo added.

Say it.

Franz didn’t answer.

The bottle spun again.

"When are you going to have a baby?" Lily asked.

The question came without preamble, placed into the space like any other.

She continued before anyone could respond.

"Because it’s just me and Leo," she said. "It’s boring sometimes."

Leo lifted the tablet.

Two only.

Lily nodded, more certain now.

"We need one more," she said.

Leo added.

Additional player.

There was a pause.

Sam broke into laughter first. The laugh came out before she could stop it, warm and unfiltered. She turned away, but it didn’t soften.

Nate followed, quieter but just as clear.

"If Alex were here," he said, shaking his head, "they’d be asking him the same thing."

A small beat.

"Probably worse," Julian added.

The laughter settled, not disappearing entirely but fading enough to leave space.

Lily looked between them, confused.

"What?" she asked.

Leo turned the tablet.

What is it?

Arianne spoke.

"Having a child means you’re ready to give up certain things," she said. Her tone was even, not directed at anyone in particular. "We would need time to prepare for that."

The room stilled. Not visibly, but enough.

Sam’s laughter faded sooner than expected. Nate didn’t move. Julian’s attention sharpened. Gilbert’s gaze moved once, then settled.

No one commented.

Franz didn’t speak. He registered it immediately.

Not the words.

The absence of rejection. That was new.

Arianne didn’t say no. She didn’t close the door. She simply stated the conditions—time, preparation, readiness. Franz heard what lived beneath the words. Not rejection. Not refusal. Just the careful space of someone who might, eventually, be willing to consider. He let the thought settle without reaching for it.

His hand rested closer to hers now, the distance reduced without intention.

He would want a daughter.

The thought came quietly, without weight.

He let it pass. It wasn’t something he would ask of her.

Across from them, Lily tilted her head.

"So... not now?" she asked.

Leo typed.

Later.

Arianne looked at them.

"Not now," she said.

Lily nodded slowly.

"Okay."

Leo added.

Delayed.

The bottle spun again, slower this time.

No one followed it.

Lily leaned closer to Leo, lowering her voice.

"It still feels like they’re practicing being a couple," she said.

Leo typed more slowly than before.

Still practice. Need more time.

Arianne heard them. She wasn’t meant to, but the room had gone quiet enough. She looked at Franz’s hand near hers, at the space between them that kept shrinking without anyone noticing.

Maybe Lily was right. Maybe they were still practicing. But practice, she was learning, could feel a lot like something real.

The bottle turned once more before settling at the center of the table, left pointing nowhere in particular, the room holding around it without changing.