Chapter 61 The Wedding Chaos
It was the morning of Adeline and Julian’s wedding day, and even as Adeline sat in front of the large mirror inside the bridal suite, she still could not fully believe that this was really happening. The room around her was busy and noisy in the craziest way possible. Makeup artists moved around with brushes, powders, sprays, and palettes spread across the long table in front of her, while hairstylists whispered to each other quietly behind her chair as they adjusted the final details of her hairstyle.
Adeline sat completely still in the middle of all the activity, staring at her reflection with an unreadable look on her face while one of the makeup artists carefully blended something underneath her eyes. Normally, she hated when too many people touched her face at once, but today she was forcing herself to tolerate it because everything needed to be perfect. Every single detail had to go smoothly. She could not afford mistakes today, especially not with the amount of attention their wedding was getting.
At the same time, while the makeup artists continued working on her face, she was also busy speaking to Yuna, who stood nearby with a tablet in her hands, going over the wedding schedule for what felt like the hundredth time that morning.
“And the church security?” Adeline asked seriously while keeping her eyes fixed on the mirror. “Everything is handled properly?”
“Yes, Miss Carter,” Yuna responded immediately. “Everything is under control.”
“And the reporters?”
“We already selected the reporters personally,” Yuna assured her calmly. “Only the people approved by you and Mr. Hale were invited into the church ceremony itself.”
Adeline gave a small nod but still did not fully relax.
Contrary to what the public had expected from a Carter and Hale wedding, she and Julian had both agreed that they were not going to turn their wedding into some giant circus just because the media wanted entertainment. The thought alone exhausted Adeline mentally. She already knew that pretending to be the happiest woman alive for several hours straight was going to drain her enough. The last thing she needed was thousands of guests, endless cameras, and random strangers crowding around her all day.
Honestly, just imagining it made her head hurt.
That was why she and Julian had decided to keep the church wedding relatively small despite their status. Only family members, close business associates, important guests, and a handful of carefully selected reporters had been invited. In total, there would only be around a hundred people present during the church ceremony itself.
The reception, however, was a completely different story.
Once they started making the guest list for the reception, things became far more complicated than either of them expected. There were business partners, politicians, extended family members, investors, socialites, company executives, and too many people whose absence would apparently create unnecessary drama.
By the end of it all, the reception list had reached well over three hundred names, and once reporters and media teams were included, the final number rose to nearly three hundred and fifty guests.
Adeline already hated the thought of it. She let out a slow breath while another makeup artist dusted powder lightly across her cheeks.
“Yuna,” she said again after a moment. “Are you absolutely sure everything is still going according to schedule?”
Yuna glanced down at her tablet before nodding confidently. “Yes, Miss Carter. Everything is going smoothly. Both Mr. Hale’s assistant and I are overseeing the arrangements personally.” She paused briefly before adding, “The guests have already started arriving at the church.”
Adeline’s stomach tightened slightly.
Yuna continued calmly. “At this point, it won’t be long before you’re required to walk down the aisle.”
Immediately, Adeline felt panic crawl into her chest. “What?” she asked quickly, sitting up straighter in her chair. “Already?”
One of the makeup artists immediately groaned softly. “Please don’t move, Miss Carter.”
Adeline ignored her completely. “How much time do I have left?” she asked Yuna.
“Not much,” Yuna admitted carefully. “We’re still within schedule, but we need to speed things up now.”
Adeline stared at herself in the mirror with growing anxiety. She was not even dressed yet. The makeup artists were still working on her face, and her wedding outfit had not even been brought out properly yet. Suddenly, everything felt rushed and chaotic all over again.
“Can everyone please move faster?” she asked sharply while looking at the team around her. “Seriously, we’re running out of time.”
The room immediately became even busier after that. Brushes moved faster. Someone started fixing her hair more quickly, and another assistant hurried toward the garment bags nearby. The entire atmosphere inside the room shifted instantly into something more urgent.
Adeline pressed her lips together tightly while trying to keep herself calm. She genuinely did not expect to feel this nervous.
This was not even her first wedding.
Technically, she had already gone through all this once before when she married Patrick Sterling. She already knew what church weddings looked like. She already knew how ceremonies worked. She already knew how fake smiles, endless cameras, and public appearances felt.
So why was she this nervous now? The thought alone frustrated her.
Maybe it was because this wedding felt bigger somehow despite having fewer guests at the ceremony, or maybe it was because this marriage involved Julian, and everything involving Julian somehow became more emotionally exhausting than necessary, or maybe it was because too many people were waiting for her to fail.
That thought alone made her chest tighten. Her father was waiting for her to regret this marriage, Nathan was waiting for her to regret it too. Even Edward Hale clearly believed she and Julian would eventually destroy each other. Almost everyone around them was simply waiting for disaster.
Adeline stared at herself in the mirror again while trying to ignore the uncomfortable pressure sitting heavily on her shoulders. She absolutely refused to let anyone see her fall apart, especially not today.
One of the stylists adjusted the side of her hair carefully before stepping back to admire her work. Meanwhile, another makeup artist leaned closer again to apply something lightly near the corner of Adeline’s eyes.
“You look beautiful already, Miss Carter,” the woman said politely.
Adeline barely reacted. Right now, beauty was the least of her concerns. Her mind kept drifting elsewhere, specifically, toward her family, or rather, the lack of communication from them.
The thought immediately soured her mood further.
She already knew that Jonathan Carter would show up to the wedding. He cared far too much about public image not to attend. Beatrice would obviously come too because she followed Jonathan everywhere like a shadow.
Those two attending had never really been in question, but her brothers were a different matter entirely. Nathan hated her almost as much as she hated him, so honestly, she expected absolutely nothing from him. If anything, she would have been more shocked if he suddenly acted supportive.
Still, the others hurt more than she wanted to admit. Lucas had not called her, and Micheal and Mitchell had not called either. Not one message or congratulations, and that bothered her far more deeply than she wanted to admit out loud.
Lucas was her older brother. Even if they were not especially close, she still expected something from him. As for the twins, Mike and Mitch had always been easier for her to deal with than the others growing up. They were younger than her, less cruel, less involved in the endless family politics that poisoned everything inside the Carter household.
So the silence from them stung badly.
Adeline hated how much it bothered her. She hated even more that despite everything Jonathan had put her through over the years, despite all the resentment she carried toward her family, a part of her still wanted them to care enough to show up for her.
Even just once.
The realization annoyed her deeply. She looked away from the mirror briefly while trying to force the emotions back down where they belonged.
Yuna seemed to notice the change in her mood immediately. “Miss Carter?” she asked carefully.
Adeline quickly straightened her posture again. “I’m fine,” she responded immediately.
Yuna did not look fully convinced, but thankfully she did not push further. The room remained busy around them while preparations continued quickly. Somewhere nearby, phones kept vibrating nonstop with updates about arriving guests, security confirmations, photographers, transportation schedules, and church arrangements.
Everything was moving forward whether Adeline was emotionally prepared or not. In less than an hour, she would officially become Julian Hale’s wife, and the thought still felt unreal.
A makeup artist finally stepped back with a relieved smile. “Done.”
Another stylist quickly moved forward to adjust the final pieces of Adeline’s hair before nodding in satisfaction as well.
Yuna glanced at the time on her tablet again before exhaling. “We really need to get you dressed now.”
Immediately, several assistants rushed toward the garment bags nearby. Adeline stayed seated for another brief moment while staring silently at her reflection.
Her makeup looked flawless, and her hair looked perfect. Outwardly, she looked calm, elegant, and completely in control. Meanwhile inside, her nerves were a complete disaster.