Chapter 57 The Dilemma
There was only one week left until the wedding, and Adeline was already regretting agreeing to have an actual ceremony instead of dragging Julian to a courthouse and signing papers quietly. Unfortunately for her, marrying Julian Hale had somehow become the biggest topic in the country, and every single day there seemed to be a new article, a new rumor, or another stupid discussion online about what their wedding was going to look like.
At first, she had ignored most of it because she genuinely did not care. As far as she was concerned, the wedding itself was only a formality. The marriage mattered more than the ceremony, and even the marriage itself was still partly strategic no matter how much she and Julian had started acting like an actual couple in public, but now that the wedding date was close, people had become completely obsessed with every little detail, especially what she was going to wear.
Adeline sat behind her desk in her office with one leg crossed over the other, her phone resting in her hand while she stared at yet another article discussing her wedding. The title alone was enough to irritate her.
‘Will Adeline Carter Finally Wear A Wedding Dress?’
She rolled her eyes so hard it almost gave her a headache before tossing the phone on her desk. It landed beside a pile of documents she had not touched because for the past few days, everybody around her seemed more concerned about her wedding than actual business.
It annoyed her even more because she already knew what she wanted to wear. She had decided weeks ago that she would simply wear another pantsuit, white, elegant, and tailored perfectly to fit her body. It was simple, comfortable, and most importantly, not a wedding dress.
The problem was that the entire world suddenly seemed obsessed with the idea of seeing her in one.
Fashion blogs kept posting about it daily. Media houses would not stop talking about how grand the wedding was expected to be. There were articles comparing her upcoming wedding with her first marriage to Patrick Sterling, and somehow people had turned it into some sort of competition.
Apparently, since her first wedding had been huge and luxurious, everyone expected this one to be even more extravagant.
The thought alone exhausted her. Left to herself, she would never have had a massive wedding in the first place. If it were truly her choice back then, she would have married Patrick quietly in a courthouse, signed the documents, and gone home, but Jonathan Carter had never missed an opportunity to remind the world how rich and powerful he was, so naturally, her first wedding had been ridiculous.
Huge ballroom, hundreds of guests, endless flowers, and expensive decorations. A wedding so grand that it had been all over magazines for weeks, and despite all that money and glamour, the marriage itself had been dead from the very beginning.
Now, people expected her to somehow top that disaster.
She leaned back in her chair with a tired sigh and rubbed lightly at her forehead. Even worse, people online had started debating whether or not she would wear a blazer again for this wedding. Some people supported it, calling it her signature style. Others said Julian deserved to see his bride in an actual dress.
The moment she had seen those headlines earlier that morning, she had immediately called Julian, and she still remembered the exact conversation.
“Did you put those stupid headlines out there?” She had asked the second he answered the phone.
Julian had sounded confused. “What headlines?”
“The ones trying to pressure me into wearing a dress.”
There had been silence for a second before he laughed softly. “You really think I have that much time on my hands?”
“I wouldn’t put it past you,” she had muttered.
Julian had sighed after that, sounding almost amused. “Adeline, I promise I had nothing to do with it. Honestly, I no longer care what you wear at this point.”
She had narrowed her eyes slightly even though he could not see her. “Really?”
“Yes,” he had replied calmly. “As long as you show up, I’ll survive. My biggest fear right now is getting stranded at the altar because you changed your mind at the last second.”
Despite herself, she had rolled her eyes at that. “Don’t be dramatic.”
“You’re unpredictable,” he had responded immediately.
That had been the end of the conversation, but strangely enough, him saying he no longer cared had somehow made her feel even more pressured. Now she was sitting in her office feeling irritated because for the first time in her life, she genuinely did not know what she wanted to wear, and she hated not knowing.
The sound of someone clearing their throat lightly pulled her from her thoughts. She looked up to find Yuna standing in front of her desk holding a tablet.
Yuna had clearly been standing there for a while waiting for Adeline to notice her.
“I put together some designs,” Yuna said carefully as she handed the tablet over. “Mostly pantsuits that I think would suit your taste. I’m also still looking into designers just in case none of these work for you.”
Adeline took the tablet and immediately started scrolling through the designs. At first glance, they all looked beautiful. The tailoring was nice, the fabrics looked expensive, and some of them even had dramatic details that made them look more bridal without actually being dresses, but the longer she looked, the more irritated she became.
None of them felt right.
The worst part was that she could not even explain properly what exactly she was looking for. She just knew she had hundreds of pantsuits already, and nothing she was seeing felt different enough for a wedding this massive.
She scrolled again and again. Then finally let out a long groan before dropping the tablet on her desk.
“Terrible,” she muttered.
Yuna blinked in surprise. “All of them?”
“Yes.”
Adeline leaned back heavily into her chair and crossed her arms. “None of them feel special enough. They all just look like clothes I already own.”
Yuna hesitated slightly before speaking carefully. “Maybe because… they’re still pantsuits?”
Adeline narrowed her eyes immediately. Yuna noticed too late that she might have stepped into dangerous territory, but it was already too late to back out.
Trying to stay calm, she continued carefully, “I just mean… maybe nothing feels different because you already wear pantsuits all the time. Maybe that’s why you’re struggling to find one that feels important enough for a wedding.”
Adeline stared at her silently.
Yuna swallowed nervously but kept going anyway. “Why don’t you just wear a dress instead?”
The atmosphere in the office changed instantly. Adeline’s expression darkened so fast it almost made Yuna take a physical step backward. The look she got in return was so cold that it could have frozen the entire room.
Adeline slowly uncrossed her arms before leaning forward slightly in her chair. “Are you tired of your job?” she asked flatly.
Yuna’s eyes widened immediately. “Miss Carter, I didn’t mean…”
“No,” Adeline cut her off sharply. “Because you must be very tired of working here if you suddenly feel bold enough to suggest something like that to me.”
Yuna looked horrified now. “I was only trying to help.”
“Well, don’t.”
The office went silent after that. Adeline looked away first, jaw tight, irritation burning inside her chest again. The moment Yuna mentioned a dress, all the tension she had barely managed to suppress returned instantly, and her fingers curled slightly against the armrest of her chair.
She hated this. Hated how merely hearing the word "dress" in relation to her wedding was enough to put her in a bad mood.
Yuna stood there awkwardly for a few seconds before speaking again, much more carefully this time. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Adeline stayed quiet for a moment before finally exhaling heavily. “I know,” she muttered.
The truth was, she knew Yuna had not meant anything bad by it. Most people would have made the same suggestion. To everybody else, the obvious solution was simple. Just wear a dress, but for Adeline, it had never been simple.
She looked back at the tablet again, frustration building in her chest. Nothing felt right anymore, not the suits, not the wedding, and not the expectations surrounding all of it. For the first time since agreeing to marry Julian, she started feeling genuinely overwhelmed by the reality of how huge this wedding had become.
Another long sigh left her lips.
Yuna watched her carefully before speaking in a softer voice. “Do you want me to keep looking?”
Adeline closed her eyes briefly before nodding once. “Yes.”
“And… no dresses?”
Adeline opened her eyes slowly and fixed Yuna with another look.
Yuna immediately raised both hands slightly. “Right, no dresses.”
That finally made Adeline let out the faintest huff of amusement despite herself. “Good,” she muttered before leaning back again. “Because if I see another wedding dress suggestion today, I might actually lose my mind.”
Yuna nodded quickly and picked the tablet back up. “I’ll find better options.”
“You better,” Adeline replied tiredly.
Yuna gave her one last careful look before quietly leaving the office, clearly deciding it was safer not to push the topic any further.
The moment the door closed behind her, silence filled the room again. Adeline leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling for a long moment. Then slowly, she reached for her phone again.
Without even thinking much about it, she opened her messages and stared at Julian’s name. Her thumb hovered over it for a second. Then finally, she typed.
‘I hate weddings.’
She stared at the message for a second before hitting send.