Kylie Cantrall's Arc

Chapter 49 of 78

The gown was folded and the date was set. Only one problem remained. Someone had to marry them, and that someone could ruin everything. Kylie sat at the piano the next morning and made a list of every person who could officiate. She crossed out each name. A local officiant would talk. A celebrity friend would post. Every choice led back to a camera. "We can't hire anyone," Kylie told Arianna. "The second we ask a stranger, they know where the island is. One photo and the press finds the one place they've never found." Arianna sat on the piano bench. "Then we don't hire a stranger." "There's no one left. My mother handles the label. My assistant sells stories. Malia is gone." Kylie pressed a single key. "Every person I trust is a risk." Arianna went quiet. Then she opened her phone and scrolled. She turned the screen to Kylie. "Not everyone." The screen showed a woman in a bright cape mid-flight, caught above a city. Kara Zor-El. Supergirl. Arianna had met her once, years back, at a signing. She had kept the contact. "She flew a kid out of a fire and never told a reporter," Arianna said. "She doesn't sell photos. She can't be followed. She can carry the paper there herself." Kylie stared. "You want Supergirl to marry us." "I want someone the press can't reach." Arianna's voice stayed steady. "She's the one person on earth who can land on that island and leave without a trail." Kylie almost laughed. Then she stopped. It was true. No taxi. No boat rented. No name in a booking system. A woman who could cross an ocean alone and keep a secret. Arianna made the call on speaker. She explained it plainly. A private island. No press. Two women who wanted one day the world couldn't touch. The voice on the line was warm and low. "I've kept bigger secrets than a wedding," Kara said. "Send me the coordinates. Nobody follows me." Kylie leaned toward the phone. "You understand what you're protecting. If this island gets out, we lose the only place we have." "Then it won't get out," Kara said. "I'll fly the license in myself. No plane. No manifest." A pause. "Wear something you love." Kylie looked at the box on the chair, the red gown inside. "She will," Kylie said. The call ended. Kylie set the phone down and let the quiet settle. The island was safe. No vendor. No booking. No stranger with a lens. Just a woman who flew. "We have someone," Arianna said. "We have everything," Kylie answered. She looked at the calendar. Six days. The gown, the island, and now the person to bind them. Then a new worry rose. Kara would land, but the two of them still had to reach the island unseen. Four hours to the port. A drive no reporter could follow. Kylie picked up the phone again.