Page 205 of Arrow

As the doors slid closed, I caught a final glimpse of him—tall and imposing in the doorway, watching me leave with an intensity that made my heart stutter in my chest. The last thing I saw before the doors shut completely was his smile—not his usual predatory grin, but something softer and more vulnerable.

And in that moment, I knew with absolute certainty that I was walking toward my future. Not running away, not being dragged, but walking with purpose toward something I’d chosen for myself.

43

FORTY-THREE

HARLOWE

“Are you okay?” Luna’s hand touched my arm.

“Better than I’ve been in a long time,” I admitted as the elevator descended.

Her smile was knowing. “Welcome to the dark side. The view is much better from here.”

We rode in comfortable silence to Atlas’s penthouse. As we entered the expansive space, I noticed subtle differences from Arrow’s home—warmer colors, more personal touches. Signs of a life being built together rather than just a space to exist in.

“Make yourself at home,” Luna said, kicking off her shoes with a grateful sigh. “I’ve set up the guest room for you. There’s a new nightgown on the bed—my wedding gift to you.”

“Thank you,” I said, genuinely touched by her thoughtfulness. “For everything.”

She waved away my gratitude, moving toward the kitchen. “I’m going to open that champagne. You change into something comfortable.”

The guest room was elegant but cozy, decorated in shades of cream and gold. On the bed lay a box wrapped in silver paper with a black ribbon. I set down my overnight bag and opened it, finding a delicate silk nightgown in blood red—Arrow’s favorite color on me. The note inside read simply:

“For your first night as Mrs. Romanov.”

I changed quickly, the silk cool against my skin. When I returned to the living room, Frank was sitting at the kitchen counter, scrolling through his phone and drinking a whiskey.

“Frank,” I said in surprise.

Frank looked up from his phone, offering me a warm smile. “I’m on bride duty tonight.”

Luna handed me a glass of champagne, bubbles fizzing to the surface like my own nerves. “Security is doubled everywhere. Between Atlas and your husband-to-be, you and I are well-protected.”

“More importantly,” Frank said with a grin, “I’m on champagne duty.” He nodded toward the bottle chilling in an ice bucket. “Atlas’s orders were explicit—keep you ladies well-supplied and safe.”

I laughed, settling on the plush sofa. “So this is what normal people do before weddings? Drink champagne and have sleepovers?”

“Nothing about our lives is normal,” Luna said, easing herself onto the couch beside me, one hand cradling her belly. “But we can pretend for one night.”

Frank moved to the corner of the room, maintaining a respectful distance while still keeping us in his sightline. His presence was oddly comforting—a reminder that even here, in this moment of strange normalcy, the world we inhabited remained dangerous.

“Are you nervous?” Luna asked, studying my face over the rim of her glass.

I considered the question, swirling the champagne in my glass. “Not in the way I should be,” I admitted. “I’m not afraid of marrying Arrow. I’m afraid of what comes after.”

“The politics,” she nodded, understanding immediately. “The expectations. The target it puts on both your backs.”

“Exactly.” I took a long sip of champagne, letting the bubbles dance on my tongue. “Everyone will be watching, waiting for us to fail. My father thinks I’ll betray Arrow. Arrow’s family thinks I’ll destroy him from within. And somewhere in the middle of all that . . .”

“You found something real,” Luna finished for me, her eyes gentle. “Something neither of you expected.”

I stared into my glass, watching the bubbles rise and burst. “Is it real?” I whispered, the question hanging between us like smoke. “Or are we just clinging to each other because we’re both drowning?”

Luna studied me for a long moment, her eyes soft with understanding. “Does it matter? If you’re both drowning and you save each other, isn’t that real enough?”

I took another sip of champagne, letting her words sink in. “I never planned this. Any of it.”