— “Get on with it, Father, before someone else interrupts!”
Isabella stood there with her mouth open. Her nuclear bomb had turned into a celebratory firework for her enemy. Julian turned to Arthur.
— “Arthur, escort Ms. Thorne out. And give the press that folder we discussed.”
Arthur nodded grimly. He approached Isabella, pulling out a thick envelope—evidence of the poisoning scandal from three years ago. Isabella saw the envelope, realized what was inside, and went white. She didn’t need to be escorted. She turned and ran down the aisle. The click of her heels now sounded like defeat. Half the journalists followed her, smelling a new scandal.
Julian turned to Eleanor. His eyes were shining.
— “Where were we?”
Eleanor smiled, tears finally rolling down her cheeks.
— “I think we were about to get married.”
The priest cleared his throat, looking a bit frazzled but relieved.
— “Ahem, yes. Do you, Julian Sterling, take this woman?..”
The rest of the ceremony was a blur of happiness. As they walked back down the aisle as husband and wife, the ovation was deafening and sincere. Eleanor caught Leo’s eye. He gave her a thumbs-up, openly crying with joy.
They reached the heavy oak doors of the cathedral. Before stepping out into the flashbulbs, Julian pulled her into an alcove for a second of privacy.
— “We did it,” he breathed against her forehead.
— “Yes,” Eleanor said. She felt lighter than air. “So, Mr. Sterling, what’s our first official act as a real married couple?”
Julian smirked with that same cocky, charming grin that had started it all at The Obsidian Room.
— “Well, Mrs. Sterling,” he said, opening the doors to the roaring city. “I think I owe you a very long honeymoon. And after that, I’m buying you an opera house.”
And that was how a spilled glass of wine led to the wedding of the century. Eleanor didn’t just get the billionaire—she got her voice back, saved her brother, and proved that sometimes the biggest risks lead to the most beautiful rewards. Isabella Thorne’s reputation never recovered, but Eleanor Sterling became a legend. Not just for her voice, but for the heart that powered it.
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