Lock me up with joy and kisses

Lock me up with love

Chain me to your heart's desire

I don't want you to stop

~*~*~*~*~*~

Saturday, September 15, 2021.

Nerves and excitement warred within me, fighting for the upper hand. Today was the big day, and I couldn't be more excited to become Mrs. Henry Cavill in a few hours. But no matter how excited I was, I still couldn't quite still my anxiety. I'd known that would happen beforehand, though.

I worried about Henry potentially getting cold feet, but the fear wasn't too pressing. What worried me more was that I might trip on the hem of my dress, tear the skirt off like in a bad comedy, and sprawl all over the aisle.

"You're not gonna trip, Jules."

I looked up at my best friend. I was in a car with Hanna, Ella, Klarissa, Cynthia and Shaye, driving to the venue I'd be getting married at.

"How the hell did you know I was thinking about that?"

Hanna grinned. "You didn't pick me to be your Maid of Honor for nothing, Julie," she teased. "I know you. But you're not gonna trip. Honestly, how many premieres have you been to now? You were wearing floor length dresses for most of them, and you never tripped once. You're not gonna start now. You've been wearing your heels pretty much all the time to get used to them, and they're lower than what you usually wear to premieres, so you'll be fine."

I smiled at her. "I know. I'm just nervous, I guess."

"You have nothing to be worried about, hon," Klarissa told me. "Not today. All you have to do today is enjoy yourself and be incredibly in love with Henry. If any problems arise, we'll take care of them before you can notice them, and I'm sure Henry's groomsmen will do the same, though I can't promise they'll be as efficient as us."

I laughed. "Thank you. Seriously, though, thank you all so much for being here and being my bridesmaids, and Ella, thank you for fighting me when I told you I wanted you to be a guest and just enjoy yourself, and insist on doing my hair and makeup anyway."

"There's nowhere else we'd rather be," Cynthia assured me.

"And do you honestly think I would let anyone do your hair and makeup for your special day but me?" Ella asked with a grin.

"I guess not," I said with a laugh.

"So don't worry about any unnecessary shit, okay?" Shaye said. "Just enjoy yourself today."

I smiled. "I will."

I stared out of the window, watching as the Jersey landscape whizzed by. Henry and I had arrived a week ago, and the journey here had been hell, but well worth it so far. First we flew from Los Angeles to London Heathrow for ten and a half hours, taking off from LAX at five p.m., and landing in London at eleven thirty a.m. local time. Then we'd had a five hour layover in London before our one hour flight to Jersey. Our flight from LAX had landed at Heathrow, but our flight to Jersey departed from Gatwick Airport, so two hours of our layover were spent on our transfer there, one hour was spent getting a bite to eat at the Nando's inside the airport, and the rest of it waiting.

Henry initially couldn't believe I'd never eaten at a Nando's before. He nearly went out of his mind when I admitted that to him, and practically dragged me over to the restaurant. He made me try something with chicken wings that was some sort of Russian roulette type of thing. Some wings were reasonably spicy, and some were extremely very spicy. Joke was on him, though, because I could handle the spiciness better than him. Other than that, the food at Nando's had been really good, so being dragged by my arm all over the airport had been well worth it.

From the moment we left our house in Los Angeles, to the moment we stepped foot in our hotel room in Jersey, more than twenty hours had passed. Because I could never sleep whenever I traveled, I had not slept a single wink in those twenty plus hours. I was absolutely exhausted by the time we got to our hotel, so the moment my head had touched the pillow, I had fallen right asleep. I hadn't even showered, which was an abnormality for me, and a testament to how tired I'd been. I always felt incredibly gross after flying, especially for that long, so I always, always showered afterwards. I'd been so tired that I had slept for fifteen hours straight. Lucky for me, that meant I woke up at ten in the morning, so jet lag didn't bother me, unlike Henry, who had slept on the flight and, as a result, couldn't sleep right away when we reached Jersey.

Our first full day in Jersey had been spent in our hotel room, just lying around like the lazy bums we were, enjoying each other's company and the realization that we were getting married in a week. The rest of the week, Henry had shown me the sights on his home island, and we'd gone over the final details of our wedding. We'd also eaten at his parents' house more than once—his father turned out to be an amazing cook.

I'd met Henry's parents and the rest of his brothers a few months ago, shortly after getting engaged. I'd been incredibly nervous, more so than when it was just Ethan, Emma and Willow. But despite my worries, I'd gotten along great with Henry's relatives, especially once they realized just how in love Henry and I are.

"We're here," Hanna said, pulling me out of my reminiscing.

I stopped staring mindlessly and looked out of the window, up to the castle sprawling out on the hill. Henry and I would be getting married in Mont Orgeuil Castle, and I couldn't be happier about it. The location was amazing and beautiful, and who doesn't dream of getting married in a castle?

We got out of the car and carried our dresses and all the makeup and hair stuff into the castle. The woman who worked at the castle and had been assisting us throughout the planning of our wedding led us to a private dressing room with more than enough room for all of us. There was cold champagne waiting for us, along with a variety of other drinks and snacks.

The castle employee left us alone again, and I was practically forced into a chair by Ella. She grabbed a primer and started pumping a bit onto her fingertips. "Hanna, why don't you polish her nails, then I'll start on her makeup."

"Yes, ma'am," Hanna said, digging around in her bag for a nail file and a bottle of nude nail polish. "Cynthia, Shaye, you two go check if everything in the venue is in order, like the flowers and the table settings and everything. Klarissa, you call Scott and check if the boys have everything in order. I love all of them, but I don't trust them for shit. Once you've made sure the boys aren't busy sleeping late or dying in a ditch somewhere, or experiencing some kind of The Hangover shit, I want you to help Cynthia and Shaye."

Klarissa, Cynthia and Shaye nodded and started on their appointed tasks. I couldn't help but smile as Hanna took hold of my left hand and started filing my nails to equal lengths. She was extremely good at being my Maid of Honor, but I had a feeling she just liked bossing people around. But other than doing that, she really had taken care of a lot for me. All I really needed to do was just make the decisions, and then she'd enforce them like it was law.

Time passed by incredibly quickly as we got ready together, blasting music and drinking champagne. Hanna—of all people—made sure we didn't drink too much of it, which I was grateful for. I didn't have the best track record when it came to drinking too much, and it was actually nice to not have to be the mom of the group for once. But before I knew it, I had my makeup and hair all done, and it was time to put on my wedding dress. I let my hand slide over the garment bag that held the dress, memories of the day I picked it washing over me.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"That dress... is so super beautiful," Hanna said as we exited the wedding parlor. I'd just 'said yes to my dress,' and I couldn't be happier with it. It looked amazing on my figure, making me look almost regal. I was 99,9 percent sure that Henry was going to love it.

I couldn't fight a smile. "I know. I'm in love with it. I kind of didn't want to take it off. I want to sleep in it. Hell, I even want to shower in it. It's so amazing."

"Henry is going to cry buckets when he sees you in it for the first time."

"I guess we'll see."

"Oh, trust me on this," Klarissa said. "He's gonna fucking bawl."

"Yeah, well, what about you and Keegs?" I asked, pointing to the new diamond on her left ring finger. Keegan had finally, after nearly four and a half years of dating, gotten the hell over himself and proposed to her, like we all knew he eventually would. "When are you going to shop for a wedding dress?"

Klarissa turned red a little. "Oh, I don't know... We just got engaged a week ago. We haven't even set a date yet."

"You can't be too early on shopping for a wedding dress," Shaye pointed out wisely. "What if your dress needs alterations? They take a while, you know."

"True enough. I guess it just hasn't sunken in yet, you know? I guess I'm just waiting for that."

"Riss, trust me," I said. "It takes a while for it to sink in. Actually, going dress shopping makes it feel more real." I grinned. "I'm speaking from experience."

Cynthia nudged me. "Your fiancé is waiting right over there," she said, pointing across the street.

I looked to where she was pointing and found a grinning Henry. He waved at me, his grin growing even more, almost impossibly so.

I couldn't stop an equally as big smile from taking over my face. Even just seeing him from a distance, I felt my heart beat a little faster in my chest. "Yeah, I'm meeting him for coffee. But hey, guys, thank you so much for coming with me." I gave each of them a tight hug. "Dress shopping wouldn't have been the same without you, and I really do value all of your opinions."

"And we really did enjoy playing dress-up with you, even though you were the only one dressing up," Hanna said with a smile. "Now go get your man."

I smiled, hugging them all one last time before jogging to the other side of the street. Once I got there, Henry scooped me up in his arms in a tight hug, and placed his lips on mine. I kissed him back eagerly, not caring that we were in public, not even caring that there could be paparazzi around, snapping pics of our blatant public display of affection. I giggled as he lifted me up and swung me around, never breaking his lips away from mine.

When he set me back down and finally broke the kiss, he was smiling. "Hey, beautiful. Did you have fun?"

I nodded, looping my arm through his as we started walking. "Yeah, I did. I already have my dress."

"That's amazing! What does it look like?"

I snorted. "Nice try, Cavill, but you know I'm not going to tell you. You'll just have to wait until the wedding day."

He groaned. "You know I'm terrible at waiting. Can you at least give me a hint?"

"Nope. I'm not telling you a single thing. And don't you dare try and finagle it out of my bridesmaids, because they're not dishing, either. They wouldn't do me like that."

Henry laughed. "Well, no matter which dress you've picked, I'm sure you'll look absolutely stunning in it, even if it's pure black. Actually, you do look extremely good in black."

I laughed, nudging him with my elbow. "You know as well as anyone that I'm not getting married in black, idiot."

"Ha!" he exclaimed. "Looks like you spilled something after all."

I groaned, just as we entered the coffee shop. "Oh, come on! Just because you know it's not black, doesn't mean I really spilled anything about the dress."

"A detail is still a detail," he teased, a grin pulling up the corners of his mouth. He looked so adorable, wearing that toothy grin, that I couldn't stay annoyed for long. "Anyway, what do you want?"

I grinned. "I want the biggest caramel macchiato they've got."

This time, it was Henry's turn to groan. "Oh, no... This means you're going to be hopped up on caffeine all afternoon. You do realize that you're gonna crash extremely hard later tonight, right?"

"I know, but right now I could use the caffeine. I'm feeling so inspired right now, and I just want to continue planning the rest of our wedding."

"I guess I can't complain in that case," Henry said with a smile. "Speaking of the wedding details, have you already decided on what flavor cake you want Cynthia to use in our wedding cake?"

I smiled. Shortly after my birthday dinner, I'd asked Cynthia to make the cake for the wedding. She'd agreed enthusiastically, by way of screaming really loudly and attracting the attention of all the guests at the party. As if I'd choose anyone else to make my wedding cake. It was kind of an unspoken agreement between my friends and me that whenever there was a special occasion that required a cake, Cynthia would bake it. "I was actually thinking about—"

"Henry? Hey! Oh my God, I thought it was you!"

I turned around, a little annoyed about being interrupted in the middle of my sentence, but I froze once I realized whom the melodious voice belonged to. None other than international supermodel Alyssa Jeanes had just stepped into the coffee shop, a big smile on her beautiful face. After Henry and I had finally gotten together, Henry had hardly seen Alyssa. For as far as I knew, they'd still texted for a bit, but that had dwindled too. I had almost forgotten all about Henry's ex-girlfriend, but now that she was standing right in front of me, it was kind of hard to stop the flood of memories. Thinking they had gotten back together, thinking I had helped Henry cheat on her, all the memories of feeling both helpless and worthless... It all came flooding back.

"Hey, Alyssa," Henry said, sounding a little helpless himself as he hugged her back. She'd flung herself around Henry's neck, and I remembered him telling me that Alyssa was physical with everyone. "You're in L.A.?" Henry asked when he'd managed to extricate himself from Alyssa's embrace.

"Yeah, just for a few days. For a job, you know."

"Right."

Only then did Alyssa's eyes fall on me. She brightened once she realized who I was. "Oh my God, you're Juliette!" she exclaimed, wasting zero time in hugging me tight. "I'm so glad to finally meet you! Henry's told me so much about you that I practically feel like I know you through and through."

"Has he now?" I asked. I had no idea how else to respond. It was like I was nailed to the floor, paralyzed. This was one of those moments where my social skills were put to the ultimate test.

"He totally did. God, I'm so glad the two of you are finally together, because I just couldn't handle his moping. I felt so bad for him."

"I was not moping," Henry protested.

Alyssa smiled. "You kind of were, though. But that doesn't matter now, especially not now that you're engaged. Congrats on that, by the way!"

Henry smiled a little more genuinely now. "Thanks, Lyss."

"Can I see the ring?" Alyssa asked me, smiling kindly. I held up my left hand, still not entirely sure how to feel. "Huh. It's smaller than I expected it to be." Alyssa grinned. "Let me guess, Henry held himself back because he knew you wouldn't like an extremely big rock?"

I couldn't help but laugh. "Yup. He's considerate like that."

Alyssa snorted. "True. Sometimes his common sense does rise above his intense need to give. Anyway, I wish you two all the best and all the happiness and all the love. I'm really happy for the both of you," she said, and the crazy thing was, I could tell that she was actually being genuine. "I'll let you two lovebirds be now."

"Thank you, Alyssa. It was nice to have met you," I told her, and I found I myself was being genuine too.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Dude, are you gonna keep staring at the garment bag, or are you actually going to get your dress out of it?" Hanna asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I shook my head, chasing the last of the memory away. "Yeah, no. Sorry." I zipped open the garment bag and felt that same awe I felt the first time I saw the dress hanging from the rack in the parlor's dressing room. The girls helped me put it on, because there was no way I could fasten all the buttons on the back by myself. When I had the dress on, I turned to the mirror and nearly got emotional all over again.

The dress was a satin princess wedding dress in a pearly white, with a sweetheart neckline. It had a sheer lace, off shoulder over-bodice with three quarter sleeves. There were small buttons running down my back, stopping where the princess skirt started. The dress even had pockets. It was a beautiful, timeless wedding gown, and I was still so incredibly happy with my choice.

"You look so fucking beautiful," Hanna told me, and I could hear from her voice that she was close to choking up, bringing me even closer to tears as well.

"Thanks," I managed.

"Now, now, dearie, save those waterworks for when you walk down the aisle," Ella said. She handed me my Harriet Wilde bridal shoes. The heels were decorated with delicate silver flowers. I had fallen in love with these shoes the moment I'd seen them. Too bad they wouldn't really be visible under my dress. "Put those on, and then I can put on your veil."

I slipped on the heels, standing four inches taller when I stood up again. Ella had done my hair in an elegant up-do, curling my hair beforehand so it had more texture than my usual straight hair. Ella slid the veil into my hair, just above the up-do, with a comb decorated with pearls and diamonds.

"Oh my God..." I whispered when I saw myself in the mirror. "I'm really getting married."

"If it's taken you this long to realize that," a male voice said from the door opening, "then you might really get your brain checked."

"Scott, what the hell are you doing here?" Hanna demanded, marching up to her boyfriend to push him out of the room. "You're not supposed to be here!"

Scott raised his hands in surrender, but he held his ground against his tiny girlfriend trying to push him away. "I know. I know, I'm sorry. But Henry was basically going out of his mind with nerves, so he sent me here to make sure Juliette was okay."

"Why wouldn't I be okay?" I asked, smoothing down the skirt of my dress.

"He was worried that you were getting cold feet."

I laughed. The notion alone was ridiculous. I could never leave Henry at the altar—nor did I want to. "Well, you can go back and tell him that I'm definitely not getting cold feet."

"Will do. I'll also tell him to prepare himself for when you do finally walk down that aisle, because you look stunning."

Smiling, I said, "Thank you, Scott."

"Don't you fucking dare tell him what Juliette's dress looks like," Hanna warned him. Her hands were still on his chest, either by choice or because she just didn't realize.

"I won't," Scott said, taking Hanna's hands in his. "But I will tell you that you look beautiful, because damn." He looked down at her deep purple chiffon dress, the same dress my other bridesmaids were wearing. The dress had an empire waist and ended just above the knee.

Hanna blushed. "Thanks." She reached up to kiss him and then shooed him out of the room. "And don't forget, five minutes until Henry needs to be at the altar. Do not let him be late."

"I'm not as incompetent as you think, dear!" Scott called out before he disappeared down the hallway.

In the final few minutes before I had to walk down the aisle, Ella slid a pair of vintage earrings into my ears and Klarissa handed me my bouquet of white and purple roses.

"Do you have everything?" Cynthia asked. "Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue?"

I smiled. "Got it all. Do you all have your bouquets?"

"Got them," Shaye said, holding up hers. Their bouquets only held white roses.

"I'd better go find my seat," Ella said with an excited smile. "Good luck, dearie. But above all, enjoy it. It's your special day, after all."

I gave her a quick hug. "I will. Thank you for everything, Ella."

"No problem, dearie."

Ella went to open the door just as there was a knock on it. She opened it and let my parents in. She said a quick hello to them before going off to find her seat.

"Oh my God, love," Mom said, tears falling from her eyes the moment she saw me. "You look so beautiful."

To my embarrassment, tears sprung to my own eyes as well. "Thanks, Mom," I managed.

"I just came by to drop your father off here, but I'll go and find my seat now. I love you, and have fun out there."

I smiled, trying to wipe my eyes without messing up my makeup. "I will."

"I mean it, though. Don't get caught up in all the stupid stuff, just enjoy this day that you've been planning for months, and enjoy Henry. I don't want you to look back on your wedding day and realize that you didn't enjoy it as much as you could."

Mom gave me one more hug before she went out to find her seat as well. I turned to my father then, and half laughed, half cried when I realized he was crying too. "Come here, Daddy," I said, holding my arms out for a hug. "I love you."

"I love you, too, sweetheart. I'm so proud of everything you've done and all you've achieved, and I'm so happy for you now that you're taking the next step in you life."

"Thank you, Daddy."

There was a knock on the door then, and Hanna called, "Come in! Unless you're Henry! In that case, get your ass over to the altar!"

The door opened and Ryan poked his head into the room. Henry had chosen our director for If You Love Someone, who also happened to be a very good friend of ours, as one of his groomsmen. He was dressed like Scott was, in a black suit, white dress shirt and a purple tie. A single white rose was pinned to his lapel. "Henry's at the altar right now," he informed us. "We're ready to go out there now."

I nodded. "Yeah, okay. Cool. I can do this. I can definitely do this," I told myself.

"You're not getting cold feet, are you?" Ryan checked.

"Of course not, idiot," I told him jokingly. We'd come a long way in our friendship. Two years ago, when we were still filming If You Love Someone, I never would've dared to call him an idiot, not even as a joke. "I'm just worried about me tripping my way down the aisle."

"Remember what I told you in the car?" Hanna said. "You're not going to trip. You've walked in high heels and dresses many times before—the only difference now is that it's your wedding, which shouldn't matter. Now let's get out there."

We left the dressing room and walked out into the hallway, where all of the groomsmen and flower girls were already waiting in front of the big double doors.

"Oh my gosh, you look so pretty, Aunt Juliette," Willow said, her eyes wide. She, along with Caitlin, were the flower girls. They were both wearing identical dresses, with a white satin top, and a deep purple tulle skirt. The purple in their dresses was the same as the purple in my bridesmaids' dresses.

"Thank you, Willow," I said with a smile.

"You really do look pretty, Julie," Caitlin said, and she must've been telling the truth, because I had never seen her so awed. She had also picked up on Hanna's nickname for me, and hardly called me by my full name anymore.

"Thanks, Caitie. You look beautiful, too. As do you, Willow. I picked good flower girls."

They both beamed at me, but we couldn't stand and chat for long, because Willow and Caitlin had to go out soon. I heard the music playing, and once they got their cue, the double doors opened and Caitlin and Willow walked out with their woven baskets filled with flower petals.

Once the flower girls were going, it was Shaye and Ryan's turn to walk down the aisle. After that, Cynthia and Colin were up, and then Klarissa and Keegan. Just before Hanna and Scott's cue came up, Hanna gave me one last quick hug, and then they were off.

My arm looped through my father's, I waited anxiously for my cue. When I heard it, I took a deep breath and started walking. It helped that the pace was slow, so I didn't have to concentrate too much on walking. Instead, I could look ahead of me and spot Henry for the first time that day.

He looked amazing. Gorgeous. Breathtaking. He had never looked as perfect as at that very moment. He was looking at me like I was the only one in the room, like I was his whole world, like I was the sun and the moon and the stars. He was smiling and fighting off tears at the same time, but he didn't really succeed at that last part, because some tears spilled over.

I couldn't hold them back either after that, and had I not been in public, I probably would've run up to him, wrapped my arms around his neck, buried my face in his chest, and just bawled my eyes out.

I had been so worried about walking, but now I just wanted to run to the altar. The pace was too slow. I just wanted to be with him already, to touch him, make sure that this was really real, really happening. When I finally did reach the altar and Dad kissed my cheek and told me he loved me, I hardly remembered to say it back. I just wanted to be with Henry already.

When finally—finally—I released my father and stepped up to Henry, he took my hand in his, wiping my tears away with his free hand. I laughed a little and returned the favor, wiping his tears away as well.

"I love you," he whispered.

I broke out in a wide smile. "I love you, too," I whispered back.

"Beloved guests, friends, and family, we are gathered here today to celebrate the love that is so very apparent between these two people."

James, one of Henry's brothers, was officiating our wedding. Henry had asked him to as soon as he'd announced our engagement to his family, and James had consented, saying he was gonna work on an amazing speech right away. I hardly heard any of it now, though—which was why it was a good thing we were having our wedding filmed professionally. The footage would be just for ourselves, not the media. We simply wanted a memento of our special day.

All I could focus on now was Henry, and the way he looked so incredibly happy, the way his eyes were still red and teary, and how he could just not stop smiling. I wanted to reach up and kiss him, but knew I had to wait.

When James reached the real part of the ceremony, however, I was able to focus a little better.

"May I have the rings, please?" James asked.

Scott retrieved the ring box from his pocket and handed it over to James. James handed Henry my ring.

"Do you, Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill, take Juliette Morrison as your lawfully wedded wife?"

Henry's smile widened even more, his grip on my hand tightening. "I do," he said, his voice ringing clear through the entire room. My heart soared at those two simple words. He slid the intricate wedding band, designed especially to match my engagement ring, around my finger. As he did, his fingers softly caressed my left hand.

James handed me Henry's ring. "Do you, Juliette Morrison, take Henry William Dalgliesh Cavill as your lawfully wedded husband?"

I smiled, feeling the butterflies in my stomach. "I do," I said, my voice clear and steady. I slid the platinum band around Henry's finger and admired it for a moment. It was the thing that marked him as mine. The ring looked like it belonged on his finger, like it had always been there instead of just for a few seconds. This is what Henry must've felt like when he slid the engagement ring on my finger all those months ago.

"We've reached the part in the ceremony where Juliette and Henry exchange their vows for each other. Henry, do you want to go first?"

Henry nodded and took a deep, nervous breath before he started. "Juliette, I vow to you that, from this day forward, I will choose you. I will choose to love you every second of every hour of every day for the rest of my life. I will choose you when times are easy, and I will choose you when times are hard. I will choose to love you even when everything is working against us, because there is nothing stronger than what we have. I vow to protect you from any harm that may come. I vow to be there for you when you need me, and even when you don't. I vow to you that I will do everything I can to make you feel better when you're feeling down or sick, because I love you, now and forever."

Henry couldn't make it through his vows without spilling some tears, and neither could I. Sadly, that meant that my voice was a little pitchy when it was my turn to say my vows. But honestly? I didn't even care that I sounded as choked up as I actually was.

"Henry, from this day forward, I promise to love you for the rest of my life, and beyond. I promise to always be there for you, no matter what hardships are trying to knock us down. I promise to be strong for you, even when I can't be strong for myself, because I know you'll do the same for me. I promise to never doubt you. I promise to always let you be you, just as I know you will always let me be me. Henry, you have one of the purest hearts of anyone I know. You inspire me to be the best version of myself I possibly can be, and for that, I'm so very grateful. I love you."

When I finished my vows, we both turned to James. He was smiling and stalling the very moment everyone was waiting for. When I thought I couldn't handle it anymore, he said, "I now pronounce you husband and wife. Henry, you may kiss your bride. Make it count, brother."

That last statement triggered laughter among the wedding guests, but that laughter quickly turned into loud whoops and cheers when Henry actually followed his brother's advice. He cupped my face in his hands and stepped closer to me so we were pressed flush against each other. I tilted my face up to meet his and he kissed me.

It was a kiss that made my entire head spin and my knees grow weak. He kissed me with so much passion and love, and it was like we were all alone again. It didn't matter that dozens of guests were watching us kiss, nearly bordering on making out. It didn't matter that our parents and grandparents were amongst those guests. All that mattered was that we were in love and we were married. I had missed him all day and had wanted to kiss him from the moment I'd first seen him waiting for me at the altar, just a few minutes ago. I gripped him tight as I kissed him, never wanting to let him go.

Eventually, though, I knew we had to. As the grand finale, Henry dipped me low, triggering even more and louder cheers, and didn't stop kissing me until he'd brought me back up again. He kissed my forehead before whispering, "I love you."

I broke out in my biggest smile yet. "I love you, too."

After the ceremony, it was time for pictures and cocktail hour. After that, it was time for the dinner. The menu had been thought up entirely by Harvey, and he had instructed the chefs on everything, but he wasn't actually cooking himself. That must've killed him, but I hoped he was secretly glad that he didn't have to work and could instead enjoy my wedding, just like I'd intended him to. Ella was sitting next to him, whispering something in his ear that made him laugh. They'd been together for a little over two months now, and I couldn't be happier for them. Maybe if this acting thing didn't work out, I could go into the matchmaking business.

Before we could start eating, however, it was time for the Maid of Honor and Best Man to give their speeches. Hanna went up first.

"I have known Juliette pretty much all my life. For more than twenty five years, she has been my very best friend, the person I can confide anything in, and it could never be weird. I mean, we've showered together more than once, so we don't really have any boundaries," she said, and while the crowd laughed, I covered my face. "But before y'all get any ideas, we haven't showered together in approximately twenty years, but you know, we've still seen each other naked, so..."

"Oh my God..." I muttered.

"But now Juliette's found a new type of best friend, and I couldn't be happier for the both of them—just as long as Henry knows I'm still her best friend, too, and if he ever hurts her, I'll have his balls. But he knows that already, because I already threatened him the moment he started dating Juliette, and I think I made it pretty memorable," she joked, to which Henry nodded, pretending to look terrified. "Also, I can guarantee that it has definitely not been twenty years since Juliette and Henry have showered together, but let's not get into that." The crowd laughed even louder, and I turned bright red. I wanted to rip the microphone out of Hanna's hand. I had no idea of what was still to come, and with Hanna, all bets were off. But the look on her face softened, and I had a feeling we'd approached safer waters now. "Juliette, I just really, really love you a lot, and you know that. No matter what happens, you'll always be my best friend. Henry, I've really come to love you, too. You're a great guy, and I couldn't imagine a better person for Juliette to spend the rest of her life with. Juliette, Henry, I wish you all the love, all the happiness, and all the joy in the world, and I think you both know I mean that from the bottom of my heart. I love you both."

Hanna set the microphone down and walked over to give us both a hug. I hugged her tight, trying hard not to cry again, and said, "I love you, too, Han. So fucking much."

Scott was up next. "Well, I'm most definitely not as eloquent as my amazing, lovely girlfriend, so don't get your hopes up, guys," he said, and I snickered. "Henry, Juliette, I haven't known you as long as Hanna has, but in those two years that I have known you, you both have taken up huge chunks of both my life and my heart. Any fool can see that you two love each other, and I'm so glad you got the hell over yourselves and just confessed that to each other," he said, and Henry and I laughed. "Anyway, because I'm not as well-spoken and hadn't really written a speech or anything, I decided to do something different. I contacted the directors of the movies you did together—one of which is sitting in this very room and is one of the groomsmen, Ryan Zachary—and asked them to send over some behind the scenes footage of these two. I chose my favorite moments and made a fun little montage. So enjoy."

Scott started the video, and it was displayed on a big screen in the front of the room. The first clip showed us on the set of our second movie together. We were sitting on a bench, and I remember thinking that we were being covert, but we obviously hadn't been. We were laughing together, sneaking kisses here and there. Then the next clip showed one of my favorite bloopers to this day. It was the day we were filming that scene of If You Love Someone with Kal, Hanna and Caitlin in the back and Kal had been sick of sitting still, so he'd ran at Henry and me full force. When Caitlin yelled, "Blooper!" the whole room laughed.

"That's my baby!" Lorene yelled loudly, but no one really paid her any attention as another clip was shown.

It was another favorite of mine. In the second movie, we'd been kissing against a wall, when suddenly the set no longer held and the wall fell down, taking Henry and me down with it. Neither one of us had gotten hurt, and it had been a hilarious moment in the end.

The video showed some more clips of us filming both movies. Some were romantic, and some were hilarious bloopers. All in all, the video was a great gift, and better than any speech could've been.

Time passed by incredibly quickly after that. The dinner passed by in a blur of loud laughter and good food. Before we knew it, it was time for us to cut the cake. It was a beautiful three-tiered cake, and Cynthia had said she'd been inspired by my dress when she'd started designing it. The white fondant looked a little shiny, almost like satin. The fondant on the bottom tier was a little flowy, like a skirt. Here and there, Cynthia had applied some piping made to look like lace appliqué, just like my over-bodice. Over the top two tiers, small buttons ran down the middle, just like the back of my wedding dress. On the edge of the bottom tier she'd placed a fondant bow and a bouquet of edible white roses. There were more roses on top of the cake as well. She'd done an amazing job, and it was almost too beautiful to eat.

After cutting and eating the cake, it was time for our first dance. The room was dim with purple accents all around it. There were purple and white balloons covering the ceiling. That might've looked tacky, but in this castle setting, it actually looked romantic.

"Please clear the floor for Mr. and Mrs. Henry Cavill," Ryley's voice sounded through the speakers. He was standing by the DJ booth, holding a microphone. Normally, a microphone plus Ryley would equal disaster, but I knew he'd hold out on his usual crazy antics for me. "It's time for the lovely newly weds' first dance."

As the floor cleared, Ryley pressed play. When the subject of our first dance had come up, Henry and I knew immediately that we'd want to dance to a song by Ron Pope. The real challenge, though, had been what song to choose. After narrowing it down to seven possibilities, we'd spent hours and hours on listening to them over and over before finally ending up with our final choice: Our Song.

On our first date, I asked you to dance / You turned bright red and started to laugh / I stayed straight-faced until you stopped

I wrapped my arms around Henry's neck, and he placed his hands on my waist. He pulled me closer, so I was pressed flush against him. I released a happy sigh and rested my cheek on his shoulder as we swayed.

Said, 'Won't you take my hand / Take my heart / Promise to never stop dancing once we start / Oh / 'Cause this is our song'

We weren't really dancing as much as swaying, but I couldn't care less. I also didn't care that people were watching, which was strange for me. All that mattered was that I was wrapped in my husband's arms, feeling more loved than I ever had.

Got up my nerve and asked your old man / Said, "Oh, this is love, may I have her hand?" / He smiled and said, "Son, that'll be just fine."

Henry cupped my face with one hand and brought his lips down to mine. He kissed me softly, but all the love in the world was poured into that one simple kiss. I wanted this moment to never, ever end.

And I will bring you the mountains / Or write your name 'cross the sky / Anything that you need I will try to find

I laughed as he spun me around and dipped me low, kissing me again as I was leaning on his arm, his other hand on my waist.

If the stars burn out and no longer shine / I'll still search for heaven right in your eyes / Oh / Oh / 'Cause this is our song

As the song ended, the crowd cheered loudly as Henry kissed me one more time, harder than the previous ones. He had my face cupped in both of his hands, holding me so gently as if I might break. When he pulled away, he gave me a brilliant smile. "I love you, Mrs. Cavill."

I smiled back at him, my heart fluttering at the sound of my new name. "I love you, too."

The music was much faster paced after that, and I happily danced with my friends, glad I'd chosen a wedding dress I could dance in. I danced with every single one of my friends, and I even danced with Caitlin, Willow, and the rest of Henry's nephews and nieces. It was noticeable that Henry had a much bigger family than I had, but that didn't matter, especially not now. We were all a big family now.

"Have you even had time to let it sink in that you're now Henry's wife?" Hanna asked me when I was finally dancing with her.

I shook my head. "No, not really. But every time I catch a glimpse of my wedding band or Henry's, I feel this fluttering in my stomach. It's so surreal and so strange, but it's real. I'm just so happy," I told her.

She smiled. "I'm glad. And I'm so very happy for you, Julie. I love you, hon."

"I love you, too, Han," I told her, smiling back at her. I'd smiled so much today already that my cheeks hurt, but I couldn't stop. I really was just too happy. "So," I started with a mischievous smile. "When is Scott finally going to pop the question to you, huh?"

Like magic, Hanna immediately turned bright red. "I don't know. We've never really talked about it."

"You've been together longer than Henry and I have been, though, so you never know. He might have bought a ring already."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "Do you know something that I don't?"

I laughed. "No, I definitely don't. He's Henry's best friend, remember? Not mine. But I do think that he loves you insanely much."

Hanna smiled, still blushing. "I know. And I love him so incredibly much, too. But anyway, this is your day. Speaking of, I think your husband wants to dance with you now," she said, pointing behind me.

I turned around and spotted Henry standing there with two champagne glasses. I gave Hanna a quick hug before approaching Henry. "Hello, husband," I said with a wide smile.

"Hello, wife," he said, copying my smile. "Here, I brought you some champagne."

I laughed. "As if I haven't had enough of that yet," I joked, but I accepted the flute anyway. We clinked our glasses together before taking a sip at the same time.

"Can you believe we're actually married?" Henry asked me.

I shook my head. "No, I can't. But I'm actually Mrs. Juliette Cavill right now." I giggled. "That sounds so odd!"

We'd discussed the matter of my name early on in the engagement. Legally, my name now really was Juliette Cavill, but just because it was simpler, I would still be credited as Juliette Morrison in projects.

Henry pulled me close with his free hand. "I wonder if I'll ever get used to it."

"I don't know if I ever will," I admitted, wrapping my arms around his neck. I was careful not to spill any of my champagne over his head.

"I love you," he said, bending his head to kiss me softly.

"I love you, too," I mumbled against his lips.

The party continued well until after midnight, but eventually it really was time for us to leave, otherwise we'd miss our flight. Our honeymoon location would be the Maldives. We'd rented one of those cute houses in the sea, with a glass floor in the middle so you could look down at the water below. I was extremely excited to spend two weeks there, but before we could leave, I had one more thing to do.

"All right then!" Ryley called out through his microphone. "It's time for Henry and Juliette to leave on their honeymoon. What they're going to do there, I have no idea," he joked, much to my embarrassment. I blushed bright red, but Henry just smirked, wiggling his eyebrows, making the crowd laugh. "But first, there's apparently this tradition where Juliette throws some flowers around? I don't know if that's entirely safe, because I'm familiar with Juliette's aim, and it's completely whack, but oh well. So all the unmarried ladies, if you dare, go stand behind Juliette."

I turned around as a crowd of women started gathering in the middle of the dance floor. When it seemed that no one else was going to join, Ryley started his countdown.

"Three... Two... One!"

I threw my bouquet over my head and quickly turned around to see where it would end up. I laughed loudly when I saw Hanna standing there with a bewildered look on her face, my bouquet clutched in her hands. "Oh, God..." she muttered, making me laugh even louder.

"Well, Hanna, you're next," Ryley dead-panned. "Scotty, I think it's time for you to go ring shopping, or get the hell out of dodge. If you do that, though..." he said, his voice turning threatening as he pointed at Scott. "Remember Keegan's brother's swords. We have not forgotten our promise."

Scott laughed good-naturedly, but Hanna was bright red, still clutching my bouquet in her hands. To save my best friend from mortal embarrassment and uneasiness, I quickly diverted the attention back to myself. I walked up to Ryley and pried the microphone out of his hands. "Everyone, thank you so much for coming today," I said sincerely, looking at all the people gathered before me. "It means a lot to Henry and myself that you shared this amazing day with us. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. I love you all."

"What she said," Henry joked, leaning over me to speak into the microphone.

It really was time to leave then. Henry and I hugged all of our guests goodbye, receiving last-minute well-wishes. I didn't think my heart could be this filled with love without bursting, but I was still alive and breathing, so it must've been possible after all. When we'd said goodbye together, Henry took my hand.

"On to the next step of our lives," he said, smiling as he wiped one stray tear off my face.

Feeling choked up, I smiled back at him. "On to the next step," I agreed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

THEY'RE MARRIED! MY BABIES ARE MARRIED! I've been writing towards this moment for a looooooong time, guys.

And you know what that means. This was the last chapter, and I feel so strange because of it. Don't worry, of course there's still the epilogue, but... it's not the same as an actual chapter. I have been working on this story for SO long, much longer than I've simply been posting it, and it's been such a ride. I've fallen in love with these character (and I've possible also fallen in love with Henry a little more), and it's going to be hard to leave them behind. Anyway, thank you all so much for taking this ride with me. It's been so much fun!

And now, for the last time ever... See you guys next week!

The lyrics at the start of the chapter are Lock Me Up by The Cab.

Don't forget to vote⭐️ and comment💬!