The Marriage Trap
Chapter 1.
Lena Pov
Life was gray, literally, the buildings, the streets, the snow now slush was a dull melted gray. Her heels "CLICKED" against the sidewalk as she made her way back to her building. Her feet gripped down on the pads of four inch heels, trying to maintain her balance amid the sleek frozen pathway. She was not allowed to fall. Luthors didn't slip up, not publicly. She reached the front of her building and gratefully stepped onto the coarse mat before the revolving doors. The doorman tipped his hat as he hurried to buzz the elevator down. People coming and going from the building stopped and looked as she calmly strolled through the entrance. She tried not to look at them or appear conscious of the fact that everyone was staring. This too was something she had learned to accept along with her last name and recent family history.
Her heels "CLICKED" louder against the naked marble floors. She passed a row of steel elevators to the very end where a uniformed man stood waiting for her. The elevator attendant gave her a slight nod as she stepped inside. She could sense the unease in her employees as they tiptoed around her. It was as if they were waiting for her to drop the other shoe; for her to hold a press conference, to politically lobby for influence, to declare war on the world. When she first came to National City to take over her family's company she had been an outsider, a leper by name. And life was so- so- gray, until she made a friend.
The elevator "DINGED" open and she walked passed the rows of symmetrical desks towards her corner office. She stepped into her office and was captivated by the sweeping view of the city, it was the kind of view that made a person question their existence in the world. Jess, her personal assistant stood waiting by her desk with a package in her hands. Lena took the box from her assistant and walked around her white office desk, then reached into the top drawer for a letter opener.
Without looking at Jess, she tore through the seams of the tape. "Have you heard from Kara?"
Jess checked her iPhone. "She's confirmed, 7p.m. Garlic."
"Fabulous." She murmured as she pulled apart the cardboard.
Inside there was a smaller box concealed in layers of tape and bubble wrap. She stabbed the letter opener through the tape, crushing the air out of the package. Then began tearing off strips of tape until she worked the box free. She peeled back one of the sides and lifted out a smaller black velvet box.
She held up the black box marveling at it's lightness in her palm. She snapped it open.
Jess shuttered unable to hold back her excitement. "She's going to love it."
"You don't think it's too big?" Lena asked, though she knew it was too big and gaudy as hell
Jess's eyes widened and she quickly shook her head. "It's absolutely gorgeous," She said breathlessly.
Lena grinned, smoothing out a strand of her already perfect hair. "It belonged to my Nana Luthor. She knew her diamonds well." She closed the box and slipped it into her jacket pocket.
"Do I have any meetings this afternoon?"
"Yes," Jess quickly checked her IPhone. "You have a 4p.m. Marketing meeting, Alien Detectors."
Lena frowned, recalling the device she used to win Kara over, "Oh yes, that…"
She looked up from her desk, "cancel my four o'clock… " She tapped her immaculately manicured nails on the desk as she considered it. "Actually, no, cancel the whole thing."
Jess looked up from her IPhone, "the marketing account?"
"No, the Alien Detectors in general, I'm over it." She checked her phone, "that should clear up the day, right?"
Jess nodded.
"Good," Lena glanced at the time on the wall and began gathering her things. "I guess… I'm done."
The primary reason for her bumped up timeline was something she called, the A.L.S which stood for: Alien Loser Scum. Her anagram for the one known as Mon-EL. She hated him since the L-CORP fundraiser; when he invited himself and had the audacity to dance SLOWLY with Kara in front of her face. Drinking, partying, banging, the more Mon-EL did these things the harder it was for Lena to get Kara's attention. Her darling girl couldn't leave Mon EL alone while he was in self-destruct mode. But at last she was a Luthor, natural enemy number one and damn good at piquing anyone's interest. She developed an Alien detector.
In the beginning, the device had been a garage clicker with some lights. But the more Kara flew around attempting to get Mon-EL to act like a hero. The more funding she threw at the project until one day, BAM... L-Corp scientist actually figured out how to detect Aliens. Lena relished the horrified expression on Kara's face as she politely explained the xenophobic nature of Alien detection. They did a lot talking after that day. They talked over dinners and lunches in her office, at L-Corp fundraisers, and during L-Word binges. Eventually, Lena changed her LinkedIN status to, "In a Relationship" and then surprisingly, Kara did as well. It was a good fucking plan. She got the girl and was on the verge of making it forever.
Garlic was a quaint place with checkerboard tablecloths and fake candles on the tables. Nothing about it screamed authentic Italian, but that was a selling point. It had cheap wine, free bread, and olives on the tables. Everything was going smoothly, minus the singers walking from table-to-table, serenading couples and being a mess about it. Lena, eyed the singers wary as they were not part of her plan.
Kara picked at her dinner roll, littering the plate of olive oil between them with islands of bread crumbs. "Lena, I need to tell you something…" She kept her eyes on the bread crumbs as she spoke
Lena could hear the tremble in Kara's voice and touched her hand. "Yes, dear, what is it?"
Kara sunk deeper into her chair, folding her hands into her lap. "It's been three months and I'm very happy to be with you.'" Her cheeks flushed, "but- I'm- Oh God, this is hard." She took a deep breath and held it longer than humanly possible. "I really like you Lena and I need to be honest with you... So- " She reached her hand up and ripped off her glasses. She put her fist on her hips to look the part, "I'm Supergirl."
Lena glanced passed Kara and saw the waiter approaching with their food. She waited for him to serve them and refilled her glass of wine. Kara sat on edge studying her face for a reaction. Lena held up her glass, swirling the wine. She put her nose to the cup inhaling the bitter Merlot before taking a sip. Kara's face was bright red, she reminded Lena of a cartoon character with steam coming out her ears. She briefly wondered if Kara could actually make steam pour out her ears.
"I know," Lena said calmly. "I figured it out a while ago. Plus, I mean the glasses are quite obvious Kara…"
Kara shook her head slightly dazed, "I should've trusted you." She looked at Lena shocked, "and you..."
Lena crossed her legs and dipped her chin knowingly. "I was waiting for you to tell me..." She clenched her jaw and bit her bottom lip. "I think we're on the same page when I say we both want more in life. And I believe we could possibly have that with each other... Look, Kara, I know we've only been together a short while, but- You once told me that by Kryptonian standards you would be a spinster and I'm not getting any younger…" She feigned embarrassment, "Dear god, that wasn't very romantic was it?" Lena reached across the table and took Kara's hand in hers. Kara shifted squeamishly in her chair, but did not retract her hand. Lena stood up and walked around the table. She got down on one knee in front of Kara then pulled out the velvet box from her jacket pocket.
She flipped open the box, "Kara Danvers…" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Will you marry me?"
Lena looked up, Kara's mouth hung open. The room was deathly still as the patrons became aware of the drama unfolding. Lena stayed there until her knee went numb from lack of blood flow, but she wasn't about to move. She was too horrified to speak so she just dumbly smiled and waited for what felt like years off her life. All while the diners gawked and Kara's mouth hung open. Then like bees to honey, like sharks to blood, an accordion began to play and suddenly Lena was surrounded by singers. The lead singer waved to everyone in the restaurant to join in, and they did. 3,2,1,... The patrons broke out into a sloppy chorus of Dean Martin's classic.
"When the moon hits your eye
Like a big pizza pie,
That's Amore.
When the world seems to shine
Like you had too much wine,
That's Amore."
The room began to spin and for a brief second, Lena wondered if she did have too much wine. Her knee cramped and she looked up, Kara was still staring slack jawed. She physically began to sweat. Her hairline got shiny and she rubbed her hands off on her pant leg.
Kara stared at the little black velvet box.
Lena nodded encouragingly. "Ahem-" She coughed.
Kara's long eyelashes fluttered and she began to ramble on and on...
Lena returned to her penthouse on the fifty-six floor of Luther Tower. She hummed the Dean Martin tune, kicking off her heels and peeling off layers of clothing as she walked into the space. She put on a white V-neck, took off her pants and then padded over to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of champagne.
"POP"
The cork went flying across the room, foam flowed over the top of her hand onto the floor. She took a swig from the bottle and proceeded to dance through the apartment singing, "That's Amore," at random. She laughed as she recalled how Kara had been caught completely off guard by her proposal. The plan was simple. Revenge. She would succeed where her brother had failed. Their parents had called him the genius. They blatantly valued his intellect over hers, yet Lex loved her. Physically, emotionally, it was just the two of them until Superman came along. Her brother could not live in a world with Superman, and she could not live in a world without Lex. There was no harming Kryptonians, she knew this, but when it came to matters of the heart she could certainly destroy.
She sipped her champagne. "God help you, Kara Danvers." She was going to enjoy crushing Superman's only living relative.
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