The photos leaked on a Tuesday.
They were grainy, taken through the café window from across the street, showing Arianne at a plastic table with Dominic across from her and the late afternoon light falling between them. The headlines wrote themselves. Arianne Summers Meets with Ex-Fiancé at Hospital Café. Are She and Noah Hart Still Together? Has the Romance Ended?
The fans descended before Franz had even finished his morning coffee.
They flooded the forums, picked apart the pixels, and noticed the distance between the chairs—too far for lovers—and the lack of physical contact, plus Arianne's car visible in the parking lot, which meant she hadn't arrived with him. Within hours, the narrative flipped. Leave sister-in-law alone. She doesn't owe anyone an explanation.
Franz saw the photos and scrolled past the headlines. Then he put his phone down and finished his coffee.
He trusted her. Everything else was noise.
–
The livestream had been scheduled for weeks.
