Chapter 13 I Rejected the Bride

"What happened?"

"Did the power go out?"

A few seconds later, the massive LED screen on the stage flickered to life.

Every eye in the ballroom instinctively turned toward it.

At first, the screen was completely black.

Then...

A photograph appeared.

It showed two familiar faces. The bride and a man who, unfortunately, wasn't today's groom.

Billy Anderson.

That's right, Revan's cousin and Teressa.

The first photo showed them embracing intimately in a hotel.

Silence instantly settled over the entire ballroom. Then another photo appeared, Billy was kissing Teressa on the cheek.

Then another. The two of them were holding hands as they walked into a hotel room.

Another image followed, even more intimate than the last.

Someone in the crowd drew a sharp breath.

"That's..."

"Isn't that..."

"The bride?"

Teressa's face turned deathly pale.

Billy froze where he stood.

Vivian stared at the screen with wide eyes. "No..."

Before they could recover from their shock, another photograph appeared.

This time, the entire ballroom erupted into chaos.

Then the ballroom doors slowly swung open.

Every head that had been staring at the giant screen turned toward the entrance.

Calm footsteps echoed through the room, which had suddenly fallen silent. Revan walked in wearing a black long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

No wedding suit. No tie. Nothing about him resembled a man who was about to get married.

Behind him, Aston followed calmly with a tablet in his hands.

For a moment, the entire ballroom seemed frozen.

"That's... Mr. Sterling."

"He finally came."

"Why is he only arriving now?"

Whispers spread throughout the room.

Billy clenched his jaw.

Vivian glanced briefly at her son before hurriedly looking away.

Meanwhile, Teressa's parents had both gone pale.

Teressa, who had been on the verge of panic, suddenly looked as though she had found a glimmer of hope. "Revan!" She hurried toward him. Tears welled up in her eyes. "Thank goodness... you finally came."

Revan merely looked at her with an indifferent expression.

Teressa quickly grabbed his arm. "Revan, you have to believe me."

"Believe you about what?"

Her eyes began to tremble. "Those photos are fake."

Revan said nothing.

"They have to be AI-generated," Teressa blurted out. "Technology is so advanced now. Anyone's face can be edited into a picture."

Several guests exchanged uneasy glances, whispering quietly among themselves without daring to speak openly.

Teressa tightened her grip on Revan's arm. "I swear... I've never betrayed you."

Billy stepped forward. "Revan, someone is obviously trying to destroy this wedding."

Revan remained perfectly still, offering no response.

Teressa looked at him with tear-filled eyes. "You know how I feel about you, don't you? I've only ever loved you. Don't believe something like this."

Teressa's mother stepped forward as well. "Revan, we don't know who did this either. If there's a misunderstanding, let's sit down and talk about it."

Teressa's father nodded. "That's right. Today is an important day. Don't let someone else drive a wedge between our families."

Vivian finally spoke. "Revan... I'm certain someone deliberately wanted to humiliate the Sterling family."

Billy immediately picked up where she left off. "The most important thing right now is to go through with the wedding. Once the vows are exchanged, all these rumors will disappear on their own."

Standing behind Revan, Aston struggled to suppress a smile.

To him, everyone in the ballroom was trying to cover the sun with the palm of their hand.

Revan slowly removed Teressa's hand from his arm. The movement was calm. Yet it made Teressa's heart pound even harder.

"Are you finished?" Revan asked flatly.

The entire ballroom fell silent. Everyone could sense that today's spectacle was far from over.

Teressa gave a slow nod. "Yes. I've explained everything."

Revan studied her face for several seconds. Then the corner of his mouth lifted into a faint smile. "In that case... my turn."

"Revan..." Teressa's voice weakened. "You really don't believe me?"

"I heard what you said."

"Then..."

"But I don't believe it."

The color instantly drained from Teressa's face.

Revan turned toward the guests filling the ballroom. "Everyone, listen carefully. Starting today... I am ending my engagement to Teressa Gringer."

The words fell calmly from his lips. Yet they struck the room like a bolt of lightning.

"What?"

"He's calling off the wedding?"

"Wait... seriously?"

The guests immediately erupted into an uproar.

"Revan!" Teressa's mother shouted. "You can't do this!"

Her father stepped forward as well. "Think this through. All the guests are already here."

Billy quickly joined in, his face grave. "Revan, don't make a decision out of anger."

Revan didn't even spare them a glance. His eyes remained fixed on his former fiancée.

Teressa bit her lip, her fists clenched tightly. "You're... calling it off because of a few pictures?"

"No."

"Then why?"

For the first time, a faint smile appeared on Revan's lips. "I simply don't like accepting secondhand goods."

Teressa froze.

Revan continued in the same calm tone. "Besides. The position of Mrs. Sterling isn't a place for a woman like you."

Silence swept across the ballroom.

Teressa's face flushed a deep crimson. Her body trembled with humiliation and rage. "You..." She gritted her teeth. "You're insulting me?"

"I'm only stating the truth."

Those words became the final spark.

Every trace of Teressa's pretense collapsed at that very moment. "Fine!" she shouted. "If that's what you want, then call off the wedding!"

She glared at Revan with undisguised hatred. "You think I care? Do you really think this is the end?"

Billy, who had been about to calm her down, chose to remain silent instead.

Teressa let out a mocking laugh. "Revan... have you really forgotten? Billy and I already control fifty-five percent of Sterling Group's shares."

Her eyes shone with triumph. "Starting today, we're the majority shareholders. You can cancel the wedding if you want. But taking your position as President and CEO will be effortless."

The guests were stunned once again. Several of them looked at Revan with sympathy.

Yet instead of panicking, Revan smiled.

A calm smile.

The kind of smile that suddenly filled Billy with a terrible sense of foreboding.

Without another word, Revan turned around. He walked out of the ballroom, with Aston following close behind.

Their footsteps echoed until the ballroom doors slowly closed once again.

They left behind a room full of people wearing very different expressions.

And Revan's smile seemed to say only one thing.

The real game...

Had only just begun.