An Heir Or Nothing
Adrian Cole hated ultimatums.
Unfortunately, his father loved them.
“You have one year.”
The words sat heavily in the air, cold and unyielding.
Adrian didn’t react immediately. He simply leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled, eyes fixed on the older man standing across from him.
“One year to do what exactly?” he asked calmly.
His father, Richard Cole, didn’t blink.
“To get married,” he said. “And give this family an heir.”
Adrian let out a quiet, humorless chuckle.
“You’re joking.”
“I’ve never been more serious.”
Silence followed.
The office—large, sleek, and overlooking the entire city—suddenly felt smaller.
Adrian stood up slowly, adjusting the cuff of his tailored suit.
“With all due respect,” he began, his tone controlled, “my personal life has nothing to do with the company.”
“It has everything to do with it,” his father snapped.
That got Adrian’s attention.
“For years,” Richard continued, “I have built this company into what it is today. And I will not hand it over to someone who has no sense of legacy.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“Legacy?” he repeated. “I’ve doubled the company’s profits in three years.”
“And yet,” his father cut in, “you have nothing to show for your life outside of work.”
Adrian’s eyes darkened slightly.
“This is not about performance. This is about family.”
Adrian walked closer, his presence commanding.
“Say what you actually mean.”
His father didn’t hesitate.
“No wife. No child. No company.”
The words landed like a final verdict.
For the first time, Adrian’s composure cracked—just slightly.
“You’re serious.”
“I am.”
A pause.
Then—
“I’ve already informed the board.”
That did it.
Adrian laughed, but there was no humor in it.
“So this is blackmail now?”
“This is responsibility,” his father replied.
Adrian ran a hand through his hair, pacing once before stopping.
“And if I refuse?”
“Then the company goes to someone who understands what it means to build a family, not just an empire.”
The implication was clear.
Adrian’s cousin.
Incompetent. Careless. A disaster waiting to happen.
Adrian exhaled sharply.
“You’re asking me to marry a stranger and have a child within a year.”
“I’m telling you to do what every man in this family has done.”
“I’m not every man.”
His father’s gaze hardened.
“No,” he said. “You’re worse. You think you can control everything—except the one thing that matters.”
Adrian said nothing.
“Find a wife,” his father continued. “Bring her home. And within a year, I want a grandchild.”
He turned toward the door, then paused.
“Or forget about becoming CEO.”
And just like that, he walked out.
Leaving Adrian alone.
Adrian stood still for a long time.
Processing.
Calculating.
Marriage?
Ridiculous.
Love?
Irrelevant.
A child?
Complicated.
He didn’t have time for emotions. For attachments. For responsibilities that couldn’t be controlled or negotiated.
And yet…
The company.
Everything he had worked for.
Everything he had built.
Gone—because of something as irrational as marriage.
Adrian clenched his jaw.
“There has to be another way,” he muttered.
But deep down, he already knew—
There wasn’t.
