"Dare to take my daughter's na again, and I will make sure you regret it."
Idris couldn't control himself. His hands flew through the air, striking Ryan hard across his cheeks. He wasn't entirely sure what shattered his patience —whether it was Ryan's unapologetic way of ntioning Arwen's na or the thought of how much his daughter endured in his hands. All he knew was that he couldn't accept it.
For a mont, Ryan was too stunned to react. The blow ca so fast that he was hardly able to see it. The sharp sting on his cheek was nothing compared to the disbelief that flooded his senses. More than him, it was Catrin who appeared the most shocked. "Idris!" she gasped, her hand flying to her mouth in horror.
But Idris paid no attention to her. His piercing gaze remained fixed on Ryan, sharp and unyielding, carrying a promise of retribution. One slap didn't feel enough. The weight of Arwen's suffering demanded more.
Ryan slowly lifted his hand to touch his reddened cheek, his expression darkening, registering what had happened to him just now. His eyes turned cold, betraying the simring anger he struggled to suppress inside. But knowing who was the man standing in front of him, he swallowed his pride.
"Uncle Idris," Ryan said, his voice tense but restrained. "what's the aning of this?"
Idris's brows furrowed deeply, and his tone carried an edge of pure hostility."I didn't think I stuttered, did I?" he replied coldly. "I ant exactly what I said —dare not take Arwen's na again. You don't deserve it."
Ryan's jaws tightened, his fists clenching at his sides. "I have every right to speak her na," he said, his words coming through the grit of his teeth, laced with complete defiance. "We were engaged. She is my fiancée"
"Fra your sentence grammatically right, young man," Idris warned, stepping a step closer. His towering fra radiated the nacing energy that was coming from pure fatherly instinct. "She was your fiancée. Now, she is not."
That reality was too bitter for Ryan's taste. He couldn't bring himself to swallow it. "Uncle —"
But before he could speak another word, Idris's scoff interrupted him, sharply. "Fiancée?" his voice dripped with pure mockery. "The sa fiancée whom you left to die on the street when she t with an accident? Are you sure you want to claim your rights here?"
Ryan faltered. He might have treated Arwen in a way she didn't deserve, but he wasn't cruel enough to leave her to die. Still, he knew no explanation could justify his actions. He had been wrong to leave her there, wrong to trust Delyth's words over his own instincts.
If only he could walk back in ti and erase that dark day, things could be reverted. But he knew that was sothing that could never happen. Ti can't be reversed, no matter how much he wished otherwise.
"I—I know I was wrong, but for that one mistake, you can't erase our history together."
"History?" Idris's voice dropped, low and nacing. "Believe , for that one mistake I want to erase the whole of your existence if I can. But, regretfully, I can't and that's the reason why you are still standing here. However, I can and will surely erase all the ties that Arwen once had with you. That I will do without any hesitation."
Catrin stepped in, gently placing her hand on Idris's arms, caressing it to calm him. Idris might seem calm, composed and harmless on the surface, but Catrin knew the truth that if soone touched his bottom line, he would beco unstoppable. And Arwen was his bottom line.
"Idris, Ryan was wrong," she said, casting an understanding gaze at Ryan, who refused to acknowledge it. "But he has realized his mistake."
Idris turned to her, his gaze as sharp as ever. "Do you think I care about his realization, Catrin?" He then turned to Ryan and continued, "I don't care about him at all. All I care about is my daughter, Arwen. And he is the last man who deserves her and now that I know that, I will go to hell just to stop him from disturbing her life."
Catrin wanted to retort it. But she knew that her words would only make it go terrible. So, she remained silent and said, "Still Idris, he is Beca's son. You can't slap him like that. He is s grown man and no grown man will take—"
"I no longer care whose son he is, and I no longer care to continue any relationship that connects us to him, so it doesn't matter." Saying that, he pried his arm from her grasp. "But that is what I have decided. I can't force you for the sa because we have never been on the sa page. So, you are free to decide on your own, Catrin. He is your guest here. Treat him as you feel appropriate. But make sure he stays away from my daughter. I don't want to see her getting in trouble because of him anymore. Or else, even Beca and Gareth wouldn't be able to stop ."
Catrin frowned at his indifferent attitude. Ever since the last ti Arwen appeared, he has been like this. He would rarely talk to her and when he does, he would sound aloof as though distancing himself from her.
"Idris, I —"
"I will co later to discuss work with you," Idris interrupted her, shifting his gaze to Ryan. He said no more and turned to leave.
Ryan's brows tugged in a deep frown as he stared at Idris's retreating figure. His fingers that were in fists tightened more and no longer able to hold back anymore, he asked, "So, are you saying that you are ready to choose that old man over ? You agree to accept what Arwen has chosen for her —no matter how wrong she is?" His voice ca laced with challenge as if seeking an opportunity to make his stance more reasonable. "Arwen has married a man who is probably even older than you. You know that, right, Uncle Idris? You still support her decision?"
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