Emmeline felt conflicted as she woke up and came to terms with the fact that today was the day Lana was to marry Lex. She was the only one who knew how unsure Lana was about the wedding and her decision on whether or not to end things resting on finding out Clark's secret. Chloe didn't even know about that. But what was she supposed to do? Convince Lana to break off the wedding so she could go after the person she herself had feelings for?

In her opinion, Lana needed to take some time by herself with no romantic attractions whatsoever and figure out for herself what she wanted without any distractions.

And if that wasn't all stressful enough, it had been a week since she'd taken Oliver's phone call. After stating that he would teach her archery, he had told her to give him time to figure out a training space and how he would get her there. She wondered if taking so long in between phone calls was his first test by severely testing her patience. But when she realized that he hadn't actually forgotten about her, she knew that she had no choice but to just wait for the next call.

Emmeline went downstairs to find her father finishing up some pancakes and sausages.

"Your mom was the cook, but at least I can still make breakfast," he smiled.

Emmeline laughed a little as she took a seat at the island and poured syrup on her pancakes. "Thanks, I need this."

"Everything okay?"

"I don't know. A lot of us have conflicted feelings about today."

"Wedding days are usually like that."

"Was it like that for you and Mom?"

"A commitment of this size can be pretty intimidating. And I'll admit, I may have had a few doubts that morning. But…the second I saw your mom walking down the aisle in her wedding dress, I knew that I couldn't bear to spend any more time apart from her."

Emmeline smiled bittersweetly. Both of them felt the loss of her mother every single day, but she was thankful that they could still talk about her because it made them appreciate all of the time they did get to have with her. "I miss her," she said softly.

"Me too."

Emmeline finished up her breakfast and hopped down from the chair. "I have to head over to the Luthor mansion to finish some preparations."

"Of course, you have to do your bridesmaid duties."

"I'll see you when I get home tonight."

"Have fun. And tell Lana I said congratulations."


Chloe and Emmeline walked alongside Lana through the hallways of the mansion, both of them carrying flowers and presents to be delivered to the chapel. "Okay, so you have your final dress fitting at 3:00," Chloe said, listing off the remaining items they still had on the agenda, "the limo's picking you up at 3:30, and you have wedding photos outside the church." She looked at Lana and realized that she wasn't paying attention. "And naked male Jell-O Wrestling at 5:00."

Lana still didn't respond.

"Lana? Look at me."

Lana finally hesitantly turned around.

"You didn't sleep at all last night, did you?"

"There's been a lot of pressure."

Even to herself, that had to sound like a bad lie.

Chloe must've thought the same because she said, "Since this is your big day, we'll pretend that we don't see right through that."

"I think that's a great idea."

"Okay. What else can we do?"

"Well, if you don't mind, I hid Lex's wedding gift in the wine cellar so he wouldn't find it. Can you get that while Em delivers the flowers?"

"I guess 'personal gofer' falls under the umbrella of 'maid of honor'." Chloe handed the flowers in her hands to Emmeline and started making her way to the cellar. "Oh, um, what does it look like?"

"Um, it is behind the Bollinger in the cooler. It's a little blue box with a white bow."

"Okay."

"Thank you."

"Yep!"

"Uh, Em, do you have your phone on you?" Lana asked just before the girl left with the flowers.

"Um…no, I left it in your room. I can go grab it though."

"No, that's okay. The flowers are priority right now."

"Okay."

As Emmeline delivered the flowers to the wedding planner who knew exactly where they were supposed to go to match the others already placed, she couldn't help wondering why Lana thought it was important that she didn't have her cell phone on her. She did still have her burner, but no one could know about that.

As Emmeline headed back to find Lana, not for the first time that day, she wondered what Clark was doing and if he planned on attending the wedding. Though she knew it was selfish of her, a part of her hoped that this wedding would allow Clark to move on and perhaps open up a way for the two of them to be something more.

But that was if Lana even went through with the wedding. She'd seem spaced out and anxious all day, and Emmeline couldn't say for certain if she planned on going through with this.

Well, unless she said something, Emmeline decided to do her duties as a bridesmaid and continue preparing for the ceremony.


Emmeline looked in the mirror at her deep purple bridesmaid dress and her curled brown hair. She knew she was supposed to be happy for her friend, but the whole day had felt off. As much as she wanted for Clark to have a reason to move on, she also didn't want to condemn Lana to a loveless marriage. And it was just a tad disappointing to know that the only person whom she wanted to see her like this either wouldn't be here or would be more focused on someone else if he did.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she nearly jumped out of her skin when the burner phone suddenly began to ring.

Emmeline quickly scrambled for it and flipped it open. "Hello?"

"I'm going to have a plane fly you to my location in exactly five days at 6:00 AM," Oliver's clipped voice answered.

"Where's your location?"

"I'm not going to say. If you're not at the airstrip at six o'clock sharp ready to take off, you've missed your chance to meet with me."

"I understand."

And she did. Emmeline was well aware that she was increasing the chances that Oliver and the rest of the team could be compromised on their mission every time she met with him. Extreme precautions were necessary.

"Well, then I look forward to seeing you."

The call disconnected, and Emmeline took a breath as she closed the phone. So this was it. In five days, she was meeting the Green Arrow to learn archery. She just hoped that Oliver didn't change his mind before then.

The door opened, and Emmeline quickly put the phone behind her back when Chloe stepped inside. "Hey," she smiled. "You look great."

"You do too. But we have a problem."

"What is it?"

"…I can't find Lana anywhere."

Emmeline looked at the floor.

"And you don't seem surprised."

"Come on, surely you've noticed how she's been acting all day too. She's looked like she's absolutely dreading the ceremony."

"Did she tell you something?"

"She…confessed to me a few weeks ago that…she might be having doubts, but…"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"You of all people know what it's like to have someone tell you something they don't want anyone else to know."

Chloe sighed. "Well, I guess we have to go break the news to Lex."

Emmeline quickly shoved the burner phone back into her purse then followed Chloe down to the groom's suite. With a heavy sigh, Chloe knocked on the door.

"I'll be right there!" Lex answered from inside. After a couple minutes, he opened the door with a smile. "Is it time?"

"It was," Chloe confessed. "10 minutes ago. Lana's not here, and no one knows where she is."

Lex lost his smile and rubbed his hands over his face. Then he quickly exited the suite and made his way to the chapel. "She didn't tell you anything?" he asked, rushing down the side aisle to the altar.

"No, she just vanished," Chloe confessed. "She won't answer her cell. Sorry, Lex, I don't know what to say, but I'm sure there's an explanation for all this."

Lex took his place at the altar while his father stepped forward, and Chloe and Emmeline stepped to the bride's side.

"Father, did Lana say anything to you?" Lex asked the priest. "Anything that might have indicated…"

"Be patient, Lex," the priest answered calmly. "Give her a little more time. Wedding-day jitters are to be expected."

Lex stared down the aisle at the empty doorway. The guests anxiously chattered amongst themselves, wondering what was taking so long to start the ceremony.

"She's not coming," Lex sighed.

Suddenly, the organ began to play The Wedding March, and Lana appeared at the end of the aisle, looking for all the world like a beautiful bride. Her strapless dress flowed in a short train behind her, and she nervously clutched onto a bouquet of pink orchids as she slowly made her way towards the altar.

She smiled, but Emmeline knew her well enough to know that the smile was forced and Lana looked like she'd rather cross a psychotic meteor-freak than be married.

Chloe and Emmeline shared a somber glance, both of them wary about the state their friend was in and who she was marrying.

Lana reached the end of the aisle, and Chloe took her bouquet from her so she and Lex could ascend the four steps to the priest.

When Lana turned sideways, Emmeline once again questioned why someone who was allegedly several months pregnant still looked as skinny as ever, even with the purple bow around her torso. She didn't think that Lana would lie to them about being pregnant, but what other explanation was there?

"Do you, Alexander Luthor, take Lana Lang to be your wife in the holy state of matrimony?" the priest recited. "Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, and forsaking all others, as long as you both shall live?"

Lex smiled at his bride as she slipped his ring onto his finger. "I do."

"And do you, Lana Lang, take Alexander Luthor to be your husband in the holy state of matrimony? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, and forsaking all others, as long as you both shall live?"

Lana's gaze flickered to the back of the chapel for the briefest of seconds before she looked back at Lex and smiled. "I do."

Lex breathed a sigh of relief and slid her ring onto her finger.

Emmeline glanced back to see what Lana had been looking at and saw Clark standing behind the chairs looking hurt and confused.

In that moment, Emmeline knew that it wouldn't matter if Lex and Lana married. It wouldn't matter if Lana didn't marry him and married someone else. Nothing would ever happen between her and Clark. His heart would always belong to Lana, and anyone else would only be his second choice. And Emmeline knew that she deserved more than being anyone's second choice.

"May I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Luthor!"

Lana and Lex faced the wedding-goers who cheered for the new married couple. Emmeline could see tears in Lana's eyes, and she was fairly certain they weren't tears of joy.

Lex happily kissed his bride. Emmeline didn't know if Lex's feelings for Lana were pure or real, but even she could admit that he looked at her like she was his whole world.

When she once again looked at the back of the chapel, Clark was gone.