The wedding celebrations have ended, and the guests have finally gone home. Now, Penelope finds herself alone with Antinous in the royal chambers—her chambers. The room, once a place of peace and solitude, now feels foreign, filled with the presence of the man she had tried to resist for so long. She stands by the window, staring out into the dark, as Antinous approaches her from behind.

Penelope doesn’t turn to look at him. Her gaze remains fixed on the night sky, as if searching for something—or someone—far beyond her reach.

“It was only a matter of time, Penelope. You knew he wasn’t coming back, glad you finally realized it.”

For a moment, Penelope’s composure cracks. She takes a breath, steeling herself, forcing back the sting of his words.

“You can take what you want, Antinous. But you’ll never have all of me. You’ll always be living in the shadow of the man who truly ruled here—the man you could never become.”

A flicker of anger crosses Antinous’s face, but he quickly hides it, letting a smirk settle instead.

“Believe what you want, my queen. But Odysseus is gone, and I am here. In time, you’ll forget he ever mattered.”