Page 19 of Julian

After being given the rehab ultimatum, he’d known that Duncan would have had all the alcohol removed from his room. What the man didn’t know, however, was that Julian had always kept a private stash, just in case something like that happened.

He opened the large, locked chest in his walk-in closet, where he’d hidden a plentiful supply of his favorite whiskey, and pulled out a bottle. Just holding the bottle helped ease a little of the anxiety his conversation with Kiara had caused.

Though he’d planned to just have one drink, in the end, he consumed enough to help him pass right out.

And over the next three days, he had to drink more each night in order to quiet his mind enough to sleep.

Having Angela back should have been the happiest time in his life, but it had made the memories that had haunted him over the years become even more vivid. Which was no doubt why his alcohol intake had increased the way it had. Every time he closed his eyes to sleep, memories flooded in from that horrible time.

And now, he was faced with losing the one thing that had helped him cope. He was dreading rehab even more than he was the upcoming wedding.

But in order to secure the future he wanted for himself, he had to deal with both.

“You can do it,” he murmured as he struggled to fasten his cufflinks.

Though he had the money to strike out on his own, he wouldn’t be able to have the impact he had leading Burke NeuroTech. He enjoyed working alongside people whose passions and intellect allowed them to create truly innovative things to help people in the future.

A knock on the door had him glancing over at it. “Come in.”

The door opened to reveal Anthony. “I was told to come check on you.”

“Making sure I haven’t escaped out a window?” Julian asked as he turned his attention back to the cufflink.

“Something like that.” Anthony approached him. “Here. Let me help.”

When Duncan had told Julian that he’d need to choose someone to stand up with him, he’d initially thought about asking one of the guys he’d stayed in contact with after college. However, he wasn’t sure any of them would understand what was happening.

Instead, he’d chosen the man who had been with him nearly every day, protecting him and making sure he got where he needed to go safely. Anthony was probably a better friend to him than any of those guys were, if he was honest.

“Thanks,” Julian said when the cufflinks were in place. “Is everything a go?”

“Kiara hasn’t backed out, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Julian nodded. “I guess it’s time then.”

There would be no guests aside from family present. And once the ceremony was over, he’d be leaving on a plane for the rehab center his dad had chosen for him.

There was a pit in Julian’s stomach as he and Anthony walked down the hallway to the stairs. The civil ceremony was going to take place in the solarium, where just four days earlier, he and Kiara had decided to take this step.

Or rather, Kiara had decided to take this step. He hadn’t had a choice.

What was happening began to really sink in as he and Anthony walked down the stairs together. Julian gripped the banister, grateful for something solid to anchor him as he felt like his world tilted on its axis.

The whiskey from the night before had left him with a dull ache behind his eyes, but it wasn't enough to drown out the surreal nature of what was about to happen.

In less than an hour, he'd be married to a woman he barely knew, who carried the child that he couldn't even remember creating.

"You doing okay?" Anthony's voice cut through his spiraling thoughts.

Julian forced his shoulders back, straightening his spine the way his father had taught him years ago. He smoothed his tie, the silk feeling like a noose around his neck. "Just peachy."

The sarcasm felt familiar on his tongue, a shield he'd perfected over the years.

As they approached the solarium, Julian could see through the glass doors that Duncan and Elizabeth were already there, along with Annie, Benjamin, Angela, and Jude. A man he didn'trecognize—presumably the officiant—stood near the windows with a small leather portfolio in his hands.

And then there was Kiara.

She stood beside Angela, wearing a cream-colored dress with a full skirt that didn’t quite reach her ankles. In her hands was a small colorful bouquet.