Chapter 70 Honeymoon

Chapter 70 Honeymoon
The next morning, sunlight slipped through the windows of the bedroom, slowly spreading across the walls and large bed.

Adeline slowly opened her eyes, blinking a few times as she adjusted to the brightness in the room. For a moment, she simply stared blankly at the ceiling while trying to fully wake up. Then the memories of yesterday returned all at once. The wedding ceremony, the reception, the dance with her father, Lucas confronting her, and eventually returning here with Julian. Her body still felt tired from everything, but it was not an unpleasant kind of exhaustion.

She shifted slightly under the blankets before finally turning her head toward the man sleeping beside her. The second her eyes landed on Julian, she completely forgot about moving again.

He was still asleep, lying on his side facing her. One arm rested lazily across the mattress near her waist, while his dark hair looked slightly messy from sleep. Without his usual composed expression and attitude, he looked softer somehow and younger too. There was something oddly peaceful about him when he slept, something that made him look less like the cold businessman everyone feared and more like an ordinary man simply resting beside his wife.

Adeline found herself staring longer than she intended.

Honestly, it irritated her how attractive he was. Even asleep, he somehow looked unfairly handsome. His jaw looked sharp enough to cut glass, his lashes were ridiculously long for a man, and the slight stubble on his face somehow made him look even better. She hated how naturally good looking he was because it almost felt offensive.

She was so distracted by staring at him that she failed to notice the exact moment his eyes slowly opened.

Julian blinked once before his sleepy gaze landed directly on her face. For a few seconds, he simply looked at her quietly, clearly realizing that she had been staring at him for a while. Then a slow, amused smile spread across his lips.

“Well,” Julian murmured in a rough, sleepy voice, “good morning to you too.”

Adeline blinked quickly after realizing she had been caught, but instead of pretending otherwise, she simply continued staring at him like she did not care.

Julian let out a quiet laugh before shifting slightly closer to her. “Was I really that interesting to look at?” he asked teasingly. “Or were you trying to count my pores or something?”

Adeline rolled her eyes lightly before responding in a calm voice. “You’re annoyingly good-looking," she admitted honestly. “I was trying to figure out whether it was natural or if someone personally handcrafted your face just to irritate me.”

Julian raised an eyebrow at her words, clearly amused. “Wow,” he responded with a grin. “That almost sounded like a compliment.”

“It was a compliment,” Adeline replied casually. “I hate the fact that you’re so good-looking as much as I love it.”

The second the words left her mouth, Julian visibly froze.

For a moment, he simply stared at her in silence like he genuinely did not know how to respond to what she had just said. Adeline immediately noticed the faint surprise on his face, and the realization amused her almost instantly.

“Oh my God,” she said with a soft laugh as she pushed herself up slightly against the pillows. “Are you actually flustered right now?”

Julian scoffed quickly before looking away for a second. “I’m not flustered,” he responded immediately, though the faint redness near his ears betrayed him completely.

“You definitely are,” Adeline replied smugly. “You didn’t expect me to say I loved your face.”

“That’s because you usually sound like you can't stand me,” Julian muttered under his breath.

Adeline laughed softly before finally sitting up properly in bed. The blanket slid slightly down her body as she moved, exposing part of her bare skin before she lazily pulled it back up again. Her hair was messy from sleep, and Julian found himself staring at her now, completely distracted.

Adeline noticed immediately. “Now who’s staring?” she asked with a satisfied smirk on her face.

Julian shook his head lightly before responding honestly. “You look really good in my bed.”

Adeline rolled her eyes at his words, though the corner of her lips twitched slightly. “Don’t start being cheesy this early in the morning,” she complained lightly.

“I’m serious,” Julian replied while still looking at her. “You actually look like you belong here.”

“That sounds suspiciously emotional,” Adeline responded dryly.

Julian chuckled softly before finally sitting up beside her. The blanket dropped lower around his waist, exposing his chest completely, and unfortunately for Adeline, her eyes immediately drifted toward him again before she quickly forced herself to look away.

This man was honestly exhausting to look at.

Trying to distract herself, she stretched her arms slightly before leaning comfortably against the headboard. “So,” she began after a moment of silence, “what exactly are we supposed to do today?”

Julian looked at her with mild confusion. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“I mean,” Adeline explained with a dramatic sigh, “I unfortunately cannot go to work today, which means I’m stuck inside this house doing absolutely nothing all day, and honestly, that sounds terrible.”

Julian stared at her for a second before laughing softly. “You say that like resting is some kind of crime,” he responded.

“For me, it practically is,” Adeline replied seriously.

“You seriously need help,” Julian muttered while shaking his head.

Adeline ignored the comment completely. “I genuinely don’t know what people do after weddings,” she admitted. “Am I supposed to sit around staring at my wedding ring while smiling at walls all day?”

Julian chuckled before moving slightly closer to her on the bed. “Well,” he began slowly, “we are newly married. We could always spend the entire day having great sex and lounging around.”

Adeline immediately burst into laughter at how casually he said it. “Julian,” she said while laughing softly, “you say the most ridiculous things so confidently.”

“I’m not being ridiculous,” Julian replied with an innocent expression. “I’m being direct.”

Adeline shook her head while still laughing lightly. “Honestly, it’s not even a terrible idea,” she admitted. “But we cannot possibly have sex every second of the day.”

“Why not?” Julian asked dramatically.

“Because eventually one of us would die from exhaustion,” Adeline responded dryly.

Julian sighed heavily before leaning back against the headboard beside her. “Wow,” he muttered. “You really know how to destroy dreams.”

Adeline snorted softly at his behavior before pulling her knees slightly closer under the blanket.

Julian glanced at her quietly for a moment before suddenly speaking again. “I actually do have an idea though,” he admitted.

Adeline looked at him curiously. “An idea for what?” she asked.

“For what we can do today,” Julian clarified.

Adeline narrowed her eyes suspiciously almost immediately. “Why do I suddenly feel like I’m about to regret asking that question?” she muttered.

Julian smiled faintly before turning toward her properly. “Just hear me out first,” he told her.

“That sentence alone already doesn't sound reassuring,” Adeline muttered suspiciously.

Julian ignored the comment completely. “How about we go on a honeymoon like any normal couple?” he suggested calmly.

Adeline blinked slowly at him. “A honeymoon?” she repeated carefully.

“Yeah,” Julian responded casually.

She stared at him for several long seconds like she genuinely thought he had lost his mind overnight. “Julian,” she finally said carefully, “we literally just got married yesterday.”

“Exactly,” Julian replied simply. “And now is usually when honeymoons happen.”

Adeline sighed tiredly before rubbing her forehead lightly. “You know what I mean,” she muttered.

Julian nodded slightly before responding more seriously this time. “Look, it would honestly look strange if we didn’t go on one,” he explained. “People are obsessed with this marriage already. The media is watching every little thing we do. If we disappear together somewhere romantic for a week, it only helps sell the story that we’re hopelessly in love.”

Adeline frowned slightly because unfortunately, his reasoning made sense.

Julian continued speaking before she could interrupt him. “And honestly,” he added more quietly, “forget the media for a second. We both need a break. The last few weeks have been exhausting. Between the wedding planning, our families acting insane, reporters constantly harassing us, and work, neither of us has actually had time to breathe properly.”

“That’s true,” Adeline admitted reluctantly.

“So let’s leave for a week,” Julian suggested calmly. “Anywhere you want. Somewhere peaceful where nobody bothers us. We’ll relax, eat good food, annoy each other, and pretend we’re normal people for once.”

Adeline looked uncertain immediately. The idea honestly sounded nice, too nice, and that alone made her uncomfortable.

She was not someone who took spontaneous trips. Almost every trip she had ever taken involved work, meetings, or business. Even vacations somehow ended up turning into work eventually because she genuinely did not know how to relax properly anymore.

The idea of disappearing somewhere with Julian for an entire week felt strangely intimate.

“What?” Julian asked softly after noticing her expression.

Adeline hesitated briefly before answering honestly. “I don’t know,” she admitted quietly.

“You don’t know because you don’t want to go,” Julian guessed calmly, “or because you’re overthinking everything already?”

Adeline sighed softly before looking away from him. “Probably both,” she admitted.

Julian smiled knowingly. “Definitely both,” he corrected her.

Adeline stayed quiet for a moment before speaking again. “I’m not really the spontaneous type,” she admitted quietly.

“I know that,” Julian responded with a soft chuckle.

“And I don’t usually take random trips either,” Adeline continued.

“You also barely sleep, barely rest, and treat work like it’s oxygen,” Julian pointed out calmly.

“That’s because work actually matters,” Adeline responded defensively.

Julian stared at her quietly for a moment before speaking in a softer voice. “You matter too, Adeline,” he told her gently.

The words caught her completely off guard.

Julian moved slightly closer before continuing calmly. “Just trust me for once,” he said. “I promise I’ll make sure you have the best week of your life. The best honeymoon ever.”

Adeline gave him an extremely skeptical look almost immediately. “That sounds suspiciously overconfident,” she muttered.

“It should,” Julian replied smugly. “I’m amazing company.”

“You’re unbearable company,” Adeline corrected him instantly.

Julian laughed at her response before reaching over and gently taking her hand into his. His thumb slowly brushed against her fingers absentmindedly while he looked at her quietly.

“Come with me,” he said softly. “It’s just one week.”

Adeline looked down at their joined hands for a long moment. She really should have said no immediately, but the thought of disappearing somewhere with him for a while didn't sound like such a terrible idea.