Jules — Chapter 25

At dawn on the wedding day, Jules wakes anxious from a nightmare of a crumbling chapel and senses lingering unease. She notes Will sleeping elsewhere for tradition and admires her dress and lingerie, determined that control and adrenaline will carry her through.

Looking out, Jules spots Olivia barefoot on the rocks, edging dangerously near crashing waves. Unable to reach Olivia from the room, Jules raps the window, then forces herself to refocus when Olivia steps back from the brink.

Preparing to do her own makeup, Jules drops her bag, scattering cosmetics and revealing a soot-marked, folded note. It reads: “Will Slater is not the man you think he is. He’s a cheat and a liar. Don’t marry him.” The shock rekindles her anxiety and the memory of public scrutiny tied to Will’s fame and toxic online comments about their relationship.

Jules reflects that the note was hand-delivered to her Islington home, implying the sender may know them—and might even be among the guests. She recalls initially throwing the note into the log burner, then snatching it out, burning her wrist, and hiding it while the warning haunted her.

Now, Jules tears the note into confetti and flushes it away, imagining it dispersing into the surrounding Atlantic. She decides to banish doubt, pick up her “arsenal” of beauty tools, and commit to making the day—and the marriage—“bloody brilliant.”