Welcome to part 2/2 of the wedding weekend :)
I figured we all needed a little happy and heart-stopping (the good kind) stuff with today's race. Man, the Monaco curse is working really hard this weekend.
Enjoy!
*****
August 08, 2026 - France
I'm not perfect. I drink coffee like it's water. I have a temper and I'm not one who's known for keeping my mouth shut. I am obsessed with working, so obsessed it has become a coping mechanism for when I want to distract myself from any complicated thing happening in my life.
Charles isn't perfect either. Just like me, he's obsessed with getting good outcomes from his races. He has such a strong sweet tooth to the point where we always have a stock of dark chocolate in the fridge since it's the only type of sugar Andrea would let him eat all the time. His temper is as bad as mine, but he gets this cold and dark look instead of my stoic facial expression.
Neither of us is perfect.
But today? I'm tempted to think otherwise.
I could see almost everyone out there as I peeked through one of the windows of the chateau. Most of the guests were seated under the shade of trees that acted like a big umbrella for everyone. I couldn't see Charles though, which was probably for the best since I feel like I'll bawl my eyes out as soon as my eyes land on him. We slept in separate rooms last night per Pascale and Mrs. Yilmaz's orders and the lack of his warm body sleeping next to mine felt different. It wasn't like when he went off to races where I knew sleeping beside him was impossible. It was the fact that we were on opposite sides of the chateau, only a few footsteps away from one another.
"Alright, it's almost time!" Gabby cheered as she entered the room, holding a bouquet that was a smaller version of mine. She was dressed in a dusty blue fabric that was cinched at the waist and flowed until her ankles. She looked like a mermaid because of how the dress fell onto her body and how her light blonde hair was curled behind her shoulders. "You'll walk the first half alone before you meet Mrs. Yilmaz who'd be standing by the last row. From there, she'll walk you to Charles. Sounds good?"
I shook my head and a frown appeared on Gabby's face. "I need you there."
"What do you mean?"
"I need you to walk with me and Mrs. Yilmaz." I said and Gabby's lips parted as I noticed her eyes begin to water. "I need the two people who were with me that day because if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be where I am right now."
"I hate you, Nadia Kaplan. Only you would make me cry right when we're about to face those people." Gabby sniffed as she dabbed a tissue under her eyes, checking if her makeup got messed up. "I thought we were already done with the waterworks when you were getting ready."
It's a miracle that Gabby managed to lose the puffiness in her eyes from earlier. When the hair and makeup artist finished their job, Gabby helped me get into the dress. The two of us were careful, holding the fabric with care even though I was stepping into it instead of letting it go over my head.
The white off-shoulder dress fit me perfectly as the fabric clung to my upper body. The slight on my left leg allowed me to move freely which was one of my wishes so that I wouldn't be uncomfortable during the ceremony. We decided it was best to put my hair up and then get rid of the bobby pins later on for the reception.
I was fixing a few strands of my hair that had gone loose when Gabby entered with a blue box.
"What's that?" I asked, moving over to where she was as she opened it.
"This is your something old, something new." She smiled, pulling out a thin white veil that I recognized. "Mrs. Yilmaz found it when she was clearing up the house and sent it to me a few months ago. I had a few words stitched at the bottom for the something new." She lifted my mother's veil and I grabbed her hand to give it a hard squeeze upon seeing the words.
Wherever you are, I am with you. Wherever I am, you are with me.
"You're going to mess up my eyeliner." I said, slapping her arm as Gabby laughed at me, but I could see her eyes growing emotional as well.
She placed down the veil before grabbing a small box. "Now, here are my favorite earrings for the something borrowed, and I got this clip for your veil." The clip she showed was covered in sapphires which I assumed would be the something blue.
I sat down on the vanity chair as Gabby attached the veil to my hair while I put on the earrings. When she was done, she placed her hands on my shoulders and the two of us smiled at each other.
Gabby gave me one last smile before the doors opened and I could hear the music playing. The guests stood up as Gabby walked out of the chateau and stopped right where Mrs. Yilmaz was standing.
Love Is A Choice by Kris Bowers began playing as soon as I came into view. I could see everyone's faces— from Adeline who stood beside Lewis to Isa who was leaning her head against Carlos' shoulder as she flashed me a thumbs-up and a smile.
I never thought I'd be able to find a love that I've only witnessed from my parents. In my line of work, I've seen hundreds of people do crazy things, making me think that maybe love wasn't for humanity, but the love I saw in the eyes of my parents prevailed.
Now, I find myself walking down the aisle toward the man who has shown me humanity wasn't hopeless when it came to love. I remember the first time we met where I never expected we'd find ourselves in this position. I had no plans of having a relationship let alone getting married because I was too focused on my work and trying to make a change. He had no plans as well, but only because he's seen so much heartbreak in his life that he didn't want to experience it and make someone feel the pain that love brings.
"Hi." I said as I stopped in front of him, already teary-eyed.
Charles smiled widely at me as he took my hand and squeezed it. "Hello, my love."
We couldn't take our eyes off of each other the entire time, the words of the officiant not fully registering in our minds.
"Charles, do you take Nadia as your lawful wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"
Charles didn't speak and he was just smiling at me so the officiant called his name. His eyes widened while I tried to hide my laughter by biting my lip.
"Sorry, you just look so captivating right now." He said and our guests gushed, the two of us hearing a few of them say aww. "But I do." He said, looking at the officiant. "I absolutely do."
"Nadia, do you take Charles as your lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"
"With all my heart, I do." I said and I could feel his thumb rubbing small circles on my knuckles as he mouthed the words I love you to me.
From the crowd, I heard someone sniff loudly and I'm tempted to see if it's Gabby who rarely cries, trying to put up a strong exterior which goes away at times like this.
As we exchanged the rings, I couldn't help but let a tear fall when I saw the words we had engraved inside the gold bands.
In all our lifetimes
"I now pronounce you husband and wife." The officiant said and Charles automatically stepped forward without even letting him speak again. When he noticed the officiant hadn't said anything, he turned and raised an eyebrow, hands already holding the end of my veil. "You may now kiss the bride." The officiant grinned.
"Finally." Charles said before lifting my veil, grabbing the back of my neck and pulling me towards him, lips touching mine.
Cheers erupted behind us but I drowned them out as my hands moved to Charles' chest. I could feel my heart bursting with joy at the realization that I just married the most amazing person I've ever met. He wasn't perfect but neither was I. We were two people who found comfort in the other, hands held tight as we overcame every obstacle that came our way.
And the ones that will come in the future.
*****
Charles and I were grinning at one another as we stood inside one of the rooms reserved for us. The ceremony just finished and all the guests were moving to the backyard where the reception was set to happen. I was letting my hair down and touching up my makeup while Charles stood behind me, leaning against the doorframe as he watched me move.
"A penny for your thoughts, Mr. Leclerc?" I smirked, catching the way his smile widened upon hearing my voice.
"Just basking in the joy of being married to you, Mrs. Leclerc." He smirked back, moving to stand behind me. We're both aware that I'd still keep my last name on paper, but it's obvious it's going to be a new nickname from him. I bent my head back and Charles leaned down to give me a kiss on the lips. "I have a request."
"And what would that be?" I asked as he grabbed my hand and pulled me to stand up. We moved to the section of the room where there was more space as Charles intertwined his hand with mine, his finger ghosting over my wedding ring.
"Dance with me." He said, placing one of my hands on his shoulder as he lifted out linked hands into the air.
"Doesn't the program have a first dance on it?"
"Yes, but I want this to be our first." He replied and I smiled, kissing his jaw before placing my arms by his neck as I moved closer to him. "I want to savor the first few minutes of our marriage without anyone else. Just you and me."
I smiled as I leaned my head on his shoulder, his chin settling over my head as we swayed to whatever imaginary song we both have in our heads. For me, it's the same song we danced to back in New York when I asked him why he chose me out of all the people in the world.
Now that I find myself wrapped up in his arms, I realize that I chose him as well. Before all of this even happened, I could've said no to the deal he offered and gone on with my new life in Monaco. I'm sure the fans and media would've gotten off of my back once they realized nothing was going on between us, but I chose not to. Maybe it was the fact that Charles was too persistent. Maybe it was the fact that I thought my life wouldn't go back to being peaceful if I said no.
Or maybe because the excitement I ignored in my bones during every moment I spent with him was something I missed– something that the old Nadia lost before I moved to Monaco.
He was a glimpse of the fiery personality I used to have. He made every part of my body wake up and choose to push through each day that arrived. He showed me that with the strength I once had, it was also alright to see the weaknesses I held. He never told me to stop crying nor said that I had nothing to worry about. He never made me feel bad for breaking down and crying so much that my eyes became so puffy the next day. He never told me that I was taking too long to grieve.
Charles didn't save me. I saved myself.
But I wouldn't have done that if it weren't for him. I haven't had a panic attack in months, but I know that if the day comes that I have one again, I'll have him by my side. I'm more than ready for the life I'll be creating with him. Surely, it will be filled with arguments and banter that we'll most likely have a hundred cold wars between us in the future. I also know that this life of ours would be filled with so much love I never knew we were both capable of, and I will fight for it every day from this moment on.
"What are you thinking right now?" He asked, kissing the side of my head.
I pulled away and cupped his cheeks with my hands, smiling when his bright green eyes met mine. "I love you." I said, leaning forward to kiss the tip of his nose. "I love you." I moved on to kiss his right cheek, then his left after saying the words again. "I love you." I whispered against his lips, tilting my head up to kiss him properly.
"That's a lot of I love yous." He smirked when we both pulled away.
"Don't expect them to run out."
When we arrived at the reception, the first thing our guests did was clink their glasses. I knew the first one to do it was either Max or Daniel since the two were showing ear-splitting grins when we passed by them.
After the first dance, everyone sat down for dinner. Charles reassured me that the program would be simple, with only a few speeches from close family and friends after dinner before the real party began. Pierre was the first one to stand up and grab the microphone, the smirk he was sporting a clear warning of what was going to come out of his mouth.
"Charles was unbearable before he met Nadia." Pierre started and Charles glared at him while everyone else laughed. "He became even more unbearable when they got together. Every time Nadia wasn't at the race, he'd talk about her nonstop. There was one time I threatened to gag him with one of Daniel's socks if he didn't shut up."
"Disgusting." Charles scoffed as he took a sip of his drink, but you could see the amused expression in his eyes.
"But this speech of mine isn't about Charles." Pierre said and I raised an eyebrow when he lifted his champagne glass in my direction. "Nadia, thank you for bringing out the best in him. Thank you for also bringing out the worst, but still choosing to stay. You have not only become a part of Charles' life, but ours as well, and I know I speak for everyone in the paddock when I say welcome to the family."
Next up was Gabby, who glared at Charles before speaking into the microphone. "Nadia doesn't know this, but Charles and I had a little talk a few months ago." Charles grinned at her as he gave her a salute. "Of course, I told him that if he ever hurts her, I will not hesitate to kidnap him, steal his boat, and drive so far into the Mediterranean Sea before dropping his body into the water."
"I'll help her!" Someone shouted and I turned around to see Max smiling at us.
"Me, too!" Mick agreed, raising his hand.
"Thanks for the support, guys!" Charles flipped them off, sarcasm laced in his tone.
Gabby blew the two of them a kiss before turning back to us. "But I love Nadia with all my heart, which means I love you by extension as well Charles. I want the two of you to know that despite the very complicated start of this relationship," She trailed off, raising a knowing eyebrow at the two of us. I could see the other guests who weren't aware of the deal look at us confused as Charles and I shared a look. "I have never seen two people love each other the way you do. You gravitate towards one another, always there whether the other was happy, sad, or furious. It's the kind of love where you're always present in each other's lives and I couldn't have asked for a better love story for my best friend."
Pascale and Mrs. Yilmaz each gave their own speeches, the two women ending it in tears. Lorenzo and Max gave a short toast for the two of us as well, and I thought that was the last of it until Charles stood up.
One of the organizers passed him the microphone as his other hand held a champagne glass.
"Hello, everyone." Charles said to the microphone and all the chatter around the guests dissipated. "First of all, I want to thank you all for celebrating with us today. On behalf of me and my wife," Charles paused, a smirk forming on his face. Someone cheered and I shook my head, knowing that a blush had appeared on my cheeks. "we are grateful to be surrounded with so much love on the day dedicated to it." Everyone clapped, including me, as we all expected Charles to end the speech there. "For those of you who don't know, I call her Nova despite the number of times she's told me that wasn't her real name when we first met. Naturally, I didn't listen." I rolled my eyes and pinched his side. "Ow, Nova. I'm trying to make a proper speech, so stop." The smile on his face showed me that he was teasing me as well and I pinched his side again. "See? Even she doesn't listen." The guests laughed at our bickering. They probably assumed that it wouldn't happen on our wedding day, but they're wrong. "I've never actually told anyone where the nickname came from."
I've asked him about it a few times, but he only smiles at me and doesn't offer a reply.
"I call her Nova because, from its origin, Nadia came into my life without any warning. There were no warnings of her stubborn personality. There were no warnings of her unhealthy addiction to coffee. There were no warnings about how much she would change my life. She just burst through the front doors without even a single knock and swept me away. I have never met someone so headstrong and radiant, catching every single eye as soon as she walks into the room. I thought I missed my chance with love and was ready to accept the fact until I met her." My vision had gone blurry during Charles' speech, the emotions within me fighting to get out. He raised his champagne glass as he looked me in the eyes. "To my wife, my love, and my Nova." I saw everyone else raise their champagne glass as I wiped the space beneath my eyes. "You are a star that I will cherish no matter how bright you shine. I love you today, tomorrow, and in all our lifetimes."
*****
better get ready for the upcoming chapters 👀
✧Reese✧