Chapter 64 Wife

Chapter 64 Wife
The second the limousine doors closed behind them, the loud noise from outside became muffled almost immediately. The shouting reporters, the nonstop camera flashes, and the applause from the guests all faded into the background, leaving behind a strange silence inside the luxurious car. For the first few seconds, neither Julian nor Adeline said anything. They simply sat there side by side, both staring ahead while the limousine slowly pulled away from the church.

Adeline was the first to finally let out a long breath, and it was not even a graceful breath either. It sounded more like someone who had just escaped a life-threatening situation and was finally realizing they survived it. The sound immediately made Julian glance sideways at her before a laugh escaped him.

“You look traumatized,” he said.

Adeline turned her head slowly toward him with a tired expression on her face. “Because I am traumatized.”

That only made him laugh harder. Seeing her like this felt strangely refreshing. Both of them had constantly been surrounded by scandals, reporters, business drama, family tension, and endless planning for the wedding, so seeing Adeline finally look less guarded for the first time in what felt like forever felt rare.

“You survived the first step, which is the ceremony,” Julian said while loosening his tie slightly. “You should be proud of yourself.”

Adeline rolled her eyes immediately. “Please, the ceremony was not even the hard part. The hard part was pretending not to notice my father glaring at your father like he wanted to commit murder in a church.”

Julian snorted quietly at that. “Honestly, I was more worried about my father. Yours at least knows how to behave in public. Mine struggles to control his need for violence.”

Adeline let out a short laugh before leaning her head back against the seat finally. Now that the ceremony was over, exhaustion was slowly starting to settle into her body. She had barely slept the night before because of nerves, and spending hours getting ready this morning had only drained her further.

Still, despite how tired she felt, there was also a strange lightness sitting inside her chest now. She was married, actually married, and the thought still felt bizarre.

Her eyes slowly drifted downward toward the ring sitting on her finger. The diamond caught the light from outside beautifully, making her stare at it for a few extra seconds longer than she intended to.

Julian noticed immediately. “You seem to look shocked every time you look at the ring,” he commented.

Adeline glanced up at him before speaking dryly. “Because I still can’t believe I legally tied myself to Julian Hale.”

“Rude,” he muttered.

“Bite me,” Adeline retorted playfully.

Julian smiled slightly before relaxing further into his seat. For the first time all day, he finally felt himself calming down properly. Standing at the altar earlier had nearly driven him insane with nerves, though he would rather die than admit that out loud to anyone besides maybe Lisa.

The image of Adeline walking down the aisle still replayed inside his head repeatedly. Honestly, he was starting to think that moment might permanently haunt him.

He looked over at her again quietly. The makeup artists had done an incredible job on her face, but somehow she still looked softer now compared to earlier. Maybe it was because the ceremony was finally over, or maybe it was because she no longer looked like she was seconds away from panicking.

“You know,” Julian suddenly said, “for someone who kept insisting she hated weddings, you actually looked pretty happy up there.”

Adeline immediately narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t start.”

“I’m serious.”

“I was performing,” she replied calmly. “That was literally the entire point.”

Julian hummed softly like he did not fully believe her answer. The truth was that Adeline had looked genuinely happy several times during the ceremony, especially during the vows. Julian remembered the exact expression on her face while he read his vows, and the memory alone made something uncomfortable stir inside his chest again.

He quickly ignored it.

Thankfully, before either of them could continue the conversation, Adeline’s phone suddenly started vibrating nonstop inside her small clutch purse. She pulled it out immediately only to freeze slightly after seeing the endless notifications flooding her screen.

Her expression instantly became irritated.

“What?” Julian asked.

Adeline looked up slowly. “The wedding pictures are already everywhere.”

Julian looked completely unsurprised. “Of course they are.”

“No, I mean everywhere,” she stressed while scrolling rapidly. “These people work like demons.”

Headlines were already flooding every major media page online.

‘Billionaire Rivals Finally Unite Through Marriage.’ ‘Adeline Carter Stuns In Unique Bridal Outfit.’ ‘A New Power Couple Is Born.’

Adeline looked physically exhausted just reading them.

Julian, meanwhile, looked amused. “Oh look,” he said while leaning closer to glance at her phone. “This one says I looked at you like a man deeply in love.”

Adeline scoffed loudly. “Well, congratulations; apparently you deserve an award for your acting skills.”

Julian grinned slightly. “Maybe I missed my true calling in life.”

Adeline kept scrolling before suddenly groaning.

“What now?”

“One of the blogs is already comparing my wedding with Patrick to this one,” she muttered irritably. “Apparently this wedding looked more romantic.”

Julian looked genuinely offended. "Well, obviously.”

Adeline turned toward him slowly. “You sound proud.”

“I am proud,” he admitted shamelessly. “Did you see your face during our kiss?”

Adeline immediately looked away toward the window. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Julian’s grin only widened.

The limousine continued driving smoothly through the city while security vehicles followed behind them carefully. Outside, people had already started gathering near the roads after hearing where the wedding was taking place. Several people even lifted phones toward the limousine hoping to catch pictures through the tinted windows.

Adeline noticed it and sighed heavily. “This is exactly why I hate public attention,” she muttered.

Julian looked outside briefly before responding calmly. “You get used to it eventually.”

“I don’t want to get used to it,” she immediately retorted.

Julian chuckled. “That’s unfortunate considering you just married into another billionaire family.”

She gave him an unimpressed look. “Trust me, I already regret enough things today.”

Julian placed one hand dramatically over his chest. “That hurts, wife.”

The word "wife" instantly made Adeline freeze slightly, and Julian noticed immediately too.

For a second, both of them went quiet again because despite all the jokes and sarcasm, hearing him call her his wife suddenly made everything feel dangerously real again.

Julian cleared his throat softly before speaking again, this time sounding calmer. “How are you holding up, honestly?”

Adeline looked surprised by the question. Then she shrugged lightly. “I don’t know yet.”

And honestly, that was the truth. Everything had happened so quickly over the last few weeks that she had barely even processed most of it properly. The scandal with Julian, the divorce from Patrick, the media chaos, her fights with Jonathan and Nathan, planning the wedding, moving into Julian’s house soon… It all felt overwhelming when she thought about it too deeply.

Yet strangely enough, sitting beside Julian felt oddly calm compared to everything else. Maybe because despite all their fighting and complicated history, he somehow understood her better than most people did.

Julian studied her face quietly for a moment before speaking again. “You know,” he said softly, “for what it’s worth, you handled today really well.”

Adeline blinked slightly at the unexpected compliment. Then she looked away again before muttering quietly, “You did too.”

Julian smiled faintly at that. The limousine eventually slowed down slightly as they neared the reception venue, and even from outside, they could already see security, flashing lights, expensive decorations, and more reporters waiting eagerly near the entrance.

Adeline immediately groaned the second she saw it. “Oh God,” she muttered. “Round two.”

Julian laughed quietly beside her. Then without thinking too much about it, he reached over and gently squeezed her hand once.

“Relax,” he said softly. “We survived the church, we’ll survive this too.”

Adeline looked down briefly at his hand around hers before slowly looking back up at him again.