Lydia POV
The room doesn’t react immediately.
For a moment after Adrian says “No,” the ballroom goes strangely quiet, as if no one is sure they heard him correctly.
Then the noise detonates.
Questions explode across the room. Reporters push forward. Cameras flash in violent bursts that stain my vision white.
“Mr. Cole, did you just confirm the marriage is real?”
“Mrs. Cole, was the contract ever legitimate?”
“Are you announcing the Cole heir tonight?”
Adrian’s hand tightens around mine.
Not painfully.
Just firmly enough to remind me I’m not walking through this chaos alone.
Security moves instantly, sliding between us and the press like a practiced wall. Someone is already guiding us toward the exit corridor behind the stage.
But the reporters keep shouting.
The word No is alr
