Chapter 69: The Clash

"I want you to leave Bella alone. Stop trying to find her," Reid's voice boomed through the phone, a clear declaration of his intent cutting through the air.

There was a brief pause, the silence covered with tension, before Richard Livingston's voice crackled through the line, sharp and incisive. "Reid, this is not a game. Bella is my daughter. I have every right as she disgraced my name. Do you imagine the media mess that we are in right now? Plus, I had to see in the press that you married her, without even our approval!!! How am I supposed to answer all the coming questions, especially from all our social circle?!"

Richard's words sliced through the air like a knife, each syllable laced with an implicit threat. But Reid was not one to back down, especially when it concerned Bella.

"You're treading on thin ice, Richard," Reid retorted, his tone ice-cold, but an underlying fury simmered beneath the surface.

Richard, not one to shy away from a challenge, fired back, his voice dripping