Chapter 62 Breathtaking Bride
The wedding song was going to begin any second now, and Julian could already feel the tension building inside him little by little with every passing moment. He stood at the altar with his hands clasped tightly in front of him, trying to look calm and composed while silently feeling like his entire body was on edge. He honestly had not expected himself to be this nervous. Out of all the things he imagined himself feeling today, nervousness had not been one of them, yet there he was, practically feeling his heartbeat everywhere in his body.
Part of his nervousness had absolutely nothing to do with Adeline herself and everything to do with the fact that both the Hale family and the Carter family were currently trapped together inside the same church. Just from where he stood, Julian could already see the tension hanging heavily in the air between both sides. His father, Edward Hale, looked like he would rather swallow broken glass than sit peacefully in the same room as Jonathan Carter, while Jonathan himself looked no different.
The two older men kept glaring across the church like they were preparing for war instead of attending a wedding.
Even their wives looked irritated.
Beatrice Carter sat stiffly beside Jonathan with a forced smile on her face while Edward’s partner looked equally uncomfortable on the opposite side of the church. The atmosphere between both families was so tense that Julian almost found it ridiculous.
Thankfully, he and Adeline had prepared for this exact situation beforehand.
The seating arrangements had been carefully planned in a way that kept both families as far apart from each other as possible. The Carter family occupied one side of the church while the Hales stayed on the opposite side. Because of the distance between them, the most either family could do was glare angrily from afar.
At least no one could start a scene that way.
Julian let out a slow breath while adjusting the sleeves of his suit slightly. Even now, despite how irritated he usually became around his father, he was grateful that Edward had at least behaved himself enough not to ruin the wedding before it even started.
Still, Julian remained tense.
His eyes moved briefly around the church again. The reporters invited for the ceremony sat quietly in their designated area, cameras ready but restrained enough not to turn the church into a complete media circus. The soft lights inside the church reflected beautifully against the decorations surrounding the altar. Everything had been designed elegantly without becoming overly dramatic, exactly the way Adeline wanted it.
Honestly, if Julian ignored the tension between both families for a second, the church looked beautiful.
Then suddenly, the music began.
The soft wedding song echoed gently through the church, and immediately Julian felt his throat tighten. His eyes lifted toward the entrance instinctively, and just like that, all the noise around him suddenly faded into the background.
For a brief second, it almost felt like time slowed down, and standing at the entrance of the church was Adeline.
The sight of her immediately made something strange twist inside his chest.
Then suddenly, Julian felt a deep sense of déjà vu hit him so hard it almost made him dizzy.
Years ago, back when he and Adeline were still teenagers constantly competing against each other over every little thing, he had developed that ridiculous crush on her that he spent years pretending did not exist. Back then, he had imagined stupid things sometimes. Things he would never admit out loud to another human being.
He had imagined marrying her. He had imagined what she would look like walking toward him in a wedding setting. He had imagined holding her hand while she smiled at him like he was the only man in the world, and even remembering those thoughts now felt embarrassing to him.
At the time, it had all felt completely impossible. Adeline Carter had been untouchable in his eyes back then. Brilliant, stubborn, sharp-tongued, and so ridiculously beautiful that she made him feel irritated just by existing.
Back then, imagining her as his wife had simply been wishful thinking from a stupid teenage boy with a crush. Yet now, years later, she was actually about to become his wife for real.
The irony of it almost made him laugh bitterly, except the circumstances were completely different from what he once imagined. Back then, he imagined marrying the woman he loved, now, he was marrying the woman he planned to destroy.
The thought should have grounded him again. It should have reminded him exactly why this marriage existed in the first place. Instead, as he watched Adeline slowly walk down the aisle toward him, all he could think about was how breathtaking she looked.
She was walking alone, which did not surprise him at all. Julian already knew beforehand that Adeline had absolutely no intention of allowing Jonathan Carter to walk her down the aisle. Knowing Adeline, she would probably rather walk through fire barefoot than pretend to have some loving father-daughter moment with Jonathan in front of cameras.
So she walked alone, and somehow, that only made her look even more beautiful.
Julian’s breath nearly caught in his throat as he stared at her properly.
The outfit made from his mother’s wedding dress looked even more stunning on her than he imagined it would. The floral patterned flare pants hugged her figure perfectly while the sleeveless white top made her look elegant without forcing her into the traditional bridal image she hated so much. She looked powerful, confident, and completely like herself, and somehow, that made her far more beautiful than any wedding gown ever could.
Her hair fell perfectly around her shoulders, soft enough to make her look almost delicate, while her makeup highlighted her sharp features beautifully. The small smile resting on her lips made her look softer than usual too.
For a second, Julian genuinely forgot how to breathe. She looked so beautiful it almost physically hurt to look at her.
His heartbeat became painfully loud inside his chest while he watched her continue walking toward him slowly. The closer she got, the worse it became. He could not even hear the wedding song anymore because all his focus remained fixed entirely on her.
Meanwhile, Adeline kept her smile calm despite the nervousness hidden under it. Walking down the aisle alone felt strange.
The eyes of everyone inside the church were on her, including reporters carefully taking pictures from a distance, but somehow none of that bothered her as much as the fact that Julian was staring at her so intensely.
The second their eyes met properly, she almost lost her composure for a moment because Julian looked good.
Dangerously good.
The black suit fit him perfectly, making him look tall, broad, and unfairly handsome. His dark hair had been styled neatly, though a few loose strands still fell slightly over his forehead. The serious expression on his face made him look almost intimidating, but there was also something softer hidden underneath it today.
Something nervous, and strangely enough, realizing that Julian Hale was nervous because of her almost made Adeline smile wider.
Her heels clicked against the church floor while she continued approaching the altar slowly. She could feel people watching her from every direction, but somehow Julian’s gaze remained the only one she truly noticed.
It made her stomach flip in a very annoying way. By the time she finally reached the altar, Julian still looked completely frozen, staring at her.
Adeline almost wanted to laugh.
She stopped directly in front of him, and Julian immediately reached for her hand without hesitation. His fingers wrapped around hers carefully before helping her step fully beside him near the altar.
The moment their hands touched, Adeline felt another strange flutter inside her chest.
Julian stared at her for another long second before finally speaking quietly enough that only she could hear him.
“You look so beautiful.”
The words came out almost breathlessly, and honestly, Julian immediately felt embarrassed afterward because he sounded ridiculously sappy. If anyone had told him months ago that he would stand at an altar staring at Adeline Carter like some lovestruck idiot, he would have laughed directly in their face, but it was true.
She really did look beautiful. There was absolutely no point denying it.
Adeline’s smile widened immediately after hearing him say it, and for the first time that entire morning, she genuinely looked less tense. She suddenly grinned at him in a way that made her look younger, softer, and almost like a schoolgirl for a brief second.
“Well,” she replied lightly, “you don’t look too bad yourself.”