The Villainess Needs a Hug (Ivy Windsor) novel Chapter 1006

Katrina smiled. "Thank you..."

Julian sat down nearby, waiting with her in utter patience.

Once her hair was done, she stood up, and the stylist smoothed out the train of her wedding dress. When they finally announced that the look was complete, the reality truly sank in for Katrina—she was a bride. She was actually getting married!

Her pulse suddenly raced. She stared at herself in the mirror. She looked beautiful, yes, but she felt entirely hollow inside, devoid of any soul.

Julian stood up and walked over to her, standing by her side as they both looked at their reflections. "Katrina, we're getting married."

"The bride and groom are such a perfect match! How wonderful!"

"Shouldn't the bride and groom share a kiss to warm things up?"

Everyone cheered and laughed. Katrina blushed instantly, pressing her lips together without saying a word.

Having just returned from abroad, Julian was naturally a bit more open about these things, especially on such a special day.

He pushed up his glasses, flashed the room a refined, elegant smile, and gently gripped Katrina's arms, turning her to face him.

Their eyes met. Julian's intentions couldn't have been more obvious.

Katrina didn't know how to refuse.

But as he lowered his head and leaned in for a kiss, she instinctively pulled back and warned, "I have lipstick on. It'll be a hassle if it smudges..."

Julian was inches from her lips when he stopped. Ultimately, he chose to respect her boundaries and pressed a kiss to her cheek instead.

Katrina's face burned even hotter, her entire body going stiff with awkwardness.

A strange tickle lingered right where he had kissed her. She desperately wanted to reach up and rub it away, but fearing it would make her look repulsed, she forced herself to endure it.

Cassandra walked in, beaming with joy, and immediately pulled out her phone. "Come on, Katrina, let me take a few photos of you to send to your mom. She's asked me about it several times already."

Before she even finished speaking, Cassandra already had her camera pointed right at them.

Katrina had no choice but to force a smile, cooperating as they snapped several photos—some of just her, and some with Julian.

"So lovely. I never dreamed Katrina would become my daughter-in-law... hahaha, I am truly blessed," Cassandra said. She seemed genuinely thrilled with her new daughter-in-law, her words overflowing with praise. This only made Katrina feel more self-conscious, leaving her with no choice but to keep up an apologetic smile.

Originally, the plan had been to keep the wedding simple.

But during the guest reception, Katrina realized Julian's family actually had an incredibly wide network back home.

And not just domestically, either—several of their relatives who had immigrated overseas had actually sent representatives flying all the way back just to attend.

Katrina felt a spike of panic.

She hadn't wanted to get married in the first place, and now, having to fake a sweet, loving relationship in front of all these guests was agonizing.

Looking at the lavish wedding setup, Naylor couldn't even describe what he was feeling, just that it was incredibly complicated—disdain, contempt, anger, jealousy, and even a little bit of... envy.

Why couldn't he be the groom?

Every single trait of his, pulled out and compared side by side, completely overshadowed the groom's.

Soon enough, Katrina emerged in her main wedding gown, ready for the ceremony to begin.

Because Cassandra was religious, even though the wedding wasn't being held in a church, she had still managed to invite Reverend Vance to officiate the vows.

Under the expectant gaze of countless guests, the reverend lifted his microphone, repeating the classic marital vows...

"Mr. Julian Sterling, do you take the woman standing before you to be your lawfully wedded wife? To love her, to be faithful to her, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to have and to hold, from this day forward, until death do you part?"

Holding Katrina's hand, Julian waited for the reverend to finish before turning to the woman beside him and saying without a shred of hesitation, "I do."

Katrina's fingers trembled, as if the sheer weight of that promise was too much to bear.

From among the guests, Naylor—who was silently watching it all unfold—clenched his fists tightly, his entire body radiating rage and sheer unwillingness to accept this outcome.

He showed up today with a clear purpose. The only reason he hadn't made a move yet was because he wanted to see if Katrina would regret it—if she would call off the wedding at the very last second.

He still couldn't believe Katrina would be foolish enough to go through with this.