The car pulled away from the curb in silence.
Neither Samantha nor the twins uttered a word as they left the villa where Arianne was staying.
City light slid past in a blur. Samantha kept her eyes on the road, one hand on the wheel, the other resting near the gearshift. In the rearview mirror, she caught a glimpse of the twins sitting side by side in the backseat.
They were quieter than usual.
When Lily called to ask her to bring them to et Arianne, Samantha never imagined they would make such an outrageous proposal. It never occurred to her that the twins had been harboring such ideas for the past few days.
Leo erased sothing on his board, then wrote it again, only to erase it once more. His sister sat with her hands folded neatly in her lap, her gaze fixed on the darkening sky.
Samantha didn’t speak right away, but she sensed what the twins were thinking.
She waited until the car stopped at a red light before asking. "Do you think your Aunt Aria was angry?"
Lily shook her head, answering at once. "No."
Leo scribbled on his board and raised it. "She listened!"
"That’s true," Samantha said. "She did."
To be honest, she thought Arianne would turn down the twins’ proposal at once. After the fallout Arianne experienced five years ago, Samantha doubted her friend would want to enter another romantic relationship anyti soon.
However, she was certain of one thing. Franz had no idea what Lily and Leo were up to.
The light turned green, and the car moved forward again.
"Aunt Aria didn’t say yes," Lily said after a mont. "But she didn’t say no either."
Samantha glanced at the mirror. "And what do you think that ans?"
Lily frowned slightly, as if running through possibilities in her head.
"It ans she’s thinking whether to accept or not."
"Thinking is good," Samantha said. "One shouldn’t enter into marriage without thinking a hundred tis."
Leo looked up and raised his board that said. "That’s too much."
Samantha chuckled.
"Well, your Aunt Aria can’t just marry anyone. Your Daddy’s words."
Samantha smiled at the mory. It seed that Alex had long been aware of Franz’s feelings for Arianne and had been trying to fend off potential suitors until his little brother was ready.
"But Aunt Aria looked tired." Lily pointed out.
The hold Samantha had on the wheel tightened for a mont before she relaxed again.
"She’s been tired for a long ti," she said quietly. She didn’t ntion that Alex and Layla’s sudden death made it worse.
The car fell silent again, each of them lost in their own thoughts.
After passing a few blocks, Lily spoke again.
"Aunt Sam, does Uncle Franz like Aunt Aria?"
The question was direct and without hesitation.
"Yes," Samantha knew it wasn’t her place to reveal Franz’s feelings, but it was hard watching him for years, pining and yearning for Arianne in silence.
At one point, Samantha started calling him a ’professional yearner’ because of it.
"Yes, he does," she reaffird.
Lily blinked. She wasn’t surprised. It only confird what she’d suspected.
Wasn’t that one of the reasons why she was confident to present the marriage proposal to their Aunt Arianne?
"Then why didn’t he tell her?" she asked.
Samantha smiled faintly.
"You know your Aunt Aria was in a relationship with another man for seven years, right? How could your Uncle Franz confess?"
She then sighed, thinking about how stubborn Franz had been before. He pretended he was alright when Arianne announced her engagent to Dominic, but he almost lost his mind when he heard how Dominic hurt and humiliated her five years ago.
It took her and Gilbert a long ti to calm down the Rochefort Brothers. All they wanted was to retaliate viciously against the man who ruined Arianne.
It was only because Arianne pleaded with them not to do anything. Only then was a bloodbath in Montclair avoided.
Alex and Franz were overprotective of Arianne in their own ways.
"So people don’t say things because they don’t want to make soone else’s life harder," she added.
"Does it hurt?" Lily tilted her head.
Samantha smiled faintly.
"It must be," she replied.
To love soone in silence and never profess it—yes, it must have been painful for Franz.
Lily’s brows knitted together. She couldn’t understand the adults sotis.
"Then why wait? Why remain silent when it’s hurting you?"
"Because caring about soone doesn’t an taking what you want," Samantha explained. "Your uncle has always known that."
She slowed the car slightly as traffic thickened ahead.
"He noticed every little thing about her," she continued. "He worried about her when no one else did. And he stayed quiet, because he thought that was the safest thing for her. Your Uncle Franz wants her to be happy more than anything else."
"Even if he isn’t with her?" Lily asked.
"Yes," Samantha nodded, "Sotis seeing the one you love happy is enough."
Lily looked down at her hands.
Noticing Lily’s worried look, Samantha tapped her fingers on the wheel as she thought about it.
"You weren’t wrong to want everyone together, Lily. I’m sure your Aunt Aria knows that too."
Leo scribbled on his board and held it up.
Did we make it worse?
Samantha glanced at the board through the mirror.
"I’m not sure. We’ll see," she answered.
She was curious how Franz would respond when he learned what the twins had done. She also wondered what Arianne’s decision would be.
Lily crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back in the seat.
"Adults lie and hide too much," she muttered.
Samantha laughed softly. "That’s true."
They turned onto a quieter road as they entered an exclusive subdivision. The buildings were now replaced by rows of grand villas and townhouses, their tall gates set back from the street. Franz’s residence lood ahead, light glowing faintly through the windows.
He wasn’t ho yet.
The house looked larger in the dark.
As Samantha parked, Lily unbuckled her seatbelt and then helped her brother. They didn’t open the door right away and waited for Samantha instead.
"Aunt Sam, if Aunt Aria doesn’t choose us, will Uncle be sad?"
Samantha turned in her seat to face them fully.
"He might be," she said honestly, "but I’m sure he would understand and respect her decision."
Leo nodded slowly in understanding.
"And if she does choose us?"
Samantha paused, considering the future.
"Then things would change for everyone," she answered, though she wasn’t certain if it’s for the better or worse.
Lily considered that, then opened the door.
The twins stepped out into the cool evening air. The house was eerily quiet as they walked inside.
Samantha stayed behind for a mont.
She thought of Franz’s forced smiles.
Of Arianne’s unreadable eyes.
Of two children who sought stability in a world that kept changing around them.
The twins weren’t wrong to want everyone together.
Whether the world would allow it was another matter entirely.
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