Sweet Love 2x: Miss Ruthless CEO for our Superstar Uncle-Chapter 59: Half a Step Behind

The staff allowed the children to remain with their guardians as they entered the aquarium. The crowd funneled through a wide corridor before opening into a large hall dominated by a glass tank that stretched from floor to ceiling along the far wall.

Arianne stopped half a step behind Lily and Leo, positioning herself slightly to their left so she could see both their profiles and the tank.

They pressed their palms to the glass. The surface felt cool beneath their hands.

Blue light moved through the tank and across their faces. It did not remain in one place for long.

Fish passed in loose groups. Some moved together before separating. Others swam alone, passing larger shapes that kept a steadier path through the water.

Lily did not shift. Her eyes remained fixed on the tank.

Leo leaned forward on his toes. When a large silhouette crossed his view, he bounced once, then again. His fingers touched the glass and lifted immediately after.

The glass did not move.

Behind them, Arianne scanned the perimeter of the hall. Visitors moved along the curved walkway that bordered the tank. The lighting remained dim near the base of the glass and brighter toward the center aisle.

Something tugged at her hand. Leo pointed toward a seahorse drifting near a cluster of coral positioned slightly above his eye level. Whatever had happened earlier no longer held his attention.

She crouched to his level and followed his line of sight. "There," she said. "Near the rock formation on the right."

He nodded.

When she straightened, Lily remained in the same position. Leo shifted again as another shape passed through the water.

When she straightened fully, she registered the difference between the twins. Leo’s excitement rose and fell with each passing creature. Lily’s stillness had settled into something steadier.

While Leo tracked a group of fish turning together near the upper section of the tank, Arianne stepped closer to Lily, reducing the distance between them to less than an arm’s length.

"You’re thinking," she said.

Lily did not look away from the glass. "Dad used to bring me to places like this when we had a date."

Her voice remained quiet but controlled.

Arianne kept her gaze on the movement inside the tank.

"I see."

"Daddy said fish don’t blink," Lily added after a moment.

"That’s correct."

Inside the tank, a tight group of fish shifted direction, scattering into wider lines before forming again near the center.

Some absences did not require explanation.

Lily’s fingers curled slightly before sliding into Arianne’s hand. Arianne tightened her grip once—firm, controlled—then kept her hold steady. They remained like that while Leo attempted to mirror the direction of the schooling fish with exaggerated turns of his body.

The crowd shifted as another group entered the hall. Shoes moved across the polished floor. A stroller passed behind them, wheels brushing close to the railing.

Leo crouched near the base of the glass and examined his reflection. He made one face, then another. Lily glanced briefly and then redirected her attention to the water.

Arianne remained where she stood. From that position, she could see the full height of the tank and both children at once. Faces around them blurred slightly under the blue lighting. Visitors stopped briefly, then continued along the path.

A large shape moved overhead. Leo straightened and tracked it until it disappeared beyond the curved section of glass.

Leo pulled out his phone, typed briefly, then showed the screen to his sister.

"It’s big," he said.

Lily nodded. Her attention had shifted lower, to smaller fish moving between the rocks near the base of the tank. She traced their movement once with her finger along the glass, then stopped.

Arianne adjusted her stance, shifting her weight to maintain a clear view of both twins. They no longer leaned into her, but she noted each change in their position.

The sound of circulating water remained constant. After a while, it blended into the background noise of footsteps and quiet voices.

A teacher’s voice cut gently through the dimness.

"Everything alright, Ms. Summers?"

Arianne turned. "Yes."

Ms. Ruiz nodded and continued down the walkway without further question.

Lily eventually released Arianne’s hand and walked ahead to rejoin her brother.

They moved with the rest of the group when Ms. Ruiz signaled from farther down the hall. The twins fell into step without prompting. Leo lagged half a pace behind, distracted by a smaller wall-mounted display positioned at knee height. Lily paused until he caught up.

The next exhibit was darker and narrower. The glass curved inward, narrowing the walkway and drawing visitors closer to the display.

Arianne paused near the entrance, letting the crowd move ahead before going in with the twins.

The moment they stepped inside, the noise dropped on its own. Even Leo edged closer to Lily as the lighting dimmed.

Arianne moved toward the side wall and opened her camera. She angled herself so the twins stood between her and the curved tank.

She lined them up with the glowing water behind them. Leo flashed a quick peace sign at the camera. Lily drifted toward the middle of the frame without seeming to notice.

Arianne took a few photos.

She saved them.

She would send them to Franz later.

—

Franz had just finished a promotional photoshoot for the new medical TV series. The studio assistants cleared equipment while he stepped into the back seat of the car waiting outside. The highway ahead was dense with late-afternoon traffic, vehicles aligned in several unmoving lanes.

His phone vibrated once.

He already knew where they were today.

He opened the message thread.

The first image filled the screen—Leo smiling under the aquarium lighting. Franz’s thumb paused before he swiped to the next.

Lily stood slightly closer to the glass, posture angled inward. He swiped again.

In the next photo, the twins stood together, the tank filling the background.

Then a final image.

Lily had turned the camera outward for a group shot. Leo leaned into the frame. Arianne stood slightly behind them, her attention directed toward the tank instead of the lens.

Franz zoomed in.

She was not looking at the camera.

She was looking at the tank.

He reduced the image and locked the screen.

"There’s heavy traffic ahead," Monica said from the front seat.

The car slowed further.

Franz slid the phone back into his pocket and looked at the line of brake lights stretching across the lanes ahead.

The road did not open.