The Contract Bride of Mr. Reid-Chapter 232: The fight

The words hung heavily in the air, crashing down around Bella as she stood frozen, trying to process the impossible truth he had just revealed. ’I am a Walton!’ she mumbled to herself. She staggered, the world around her blurring.

"Bella!" Philip stretched his hand toward her to support her.

Bella held out a hand and stopped him.

Philip hesitated, knowing the emotional storm going on inside her. But he approached her, gathering his confidence. "I wanted to explain that day, but I couldn’t. I was..."

Bella shot him a stern glare, making him pause in mid-sentence. "I don’t need your explanation," she hissed. Stepping further back. "Stay away." She turned to leave, but Philip rushed over and blocked her path.

"I know you are upset with the Waltons," he said, desperation etching in his voice. "And you should. But there were some misunderstandings in the past. Dad had never abandoned you and your mom. Things weren’t easy for Dad..."

"Stop," she yelled, tears gathering in her eyes. "Stop it right away."

Philip gasped and closed his mouth, helpless.

"I don’t want to hear anything," Bella barked. "I have nothing to do with you and your father. Step aside."

"You can’t deny the blood connection, no matter how furious you are," Philip countered. "Just listen to me. I’ll tell you everything that had happened in the past."

"I don’t care...I am Bella Dawn, not related to the Waltons. Move."

"Bella, please." He stretched his hand to hold hers, but Zack stepped up and slapped his hand away.

"She made her decision," he hissed. "She is not a Walton. Now stop troubling her."

His words ignited a fresh spark of anger in Philip.

"Who do you think you are to order me?" Philip swung his fist again at Zack. But this time, Zack blocked his attack and punched him back.

Both men then engaged in a fierce battle, raining kicks and punches on one another. No one was willing to give up.

Bella gasped as she watched the terrifying scene unfolding before her. She shouted and pleaded with them to stop fighting, but the two men didn’t listen. They kept hitting each other, their groans and the sickening thuds of fists connecting the flesh pierced the air. Their clothes were soiled, hair messy, and faces marred with bruises, yet no one backed down.

Helpless, Belle rushed back to the company building and found two guards stationed outside the entrance. She pleaded with them to help her.

"Please stop them. Or they will hurt each other badly."

The guards readily agreed to help her and hurried to stop the fight. They pulled the two men away.

"I’ll kill you," Philip snarled, struggling against the hold of the guard.

Bella stepped up and delivered him a resounding slap.

Philip froze, shocked.

"Enough," Bella hissed. "I don’t want you to cause any trouble in my life. Tell your father that we don’t need him."

She turned and walked away.

"Bella, wait." Philip broke free from the guard’s grasp and chased her down. "Listen to me. Back then, Dad had an accident and..."

"I don’t want to hear your excuses," she snapped, silencing him. "He once abandoned us, left us to die. Where was he when we were in trouble? Does he have any idea what we have gone through all those years? Now he suddenly remembered us!" She squared her shoulders and added flatly, "He is dead to us. So don’t bother looking for us."

Her last words landed on Philip like lightning bolts. His heart skipped a beat. Everything turned beak at that moment, and despair hit him like a tidal wave.

It was too late to get their forgiveness. Bella and Selena wouldn’t forgive the Waltons. This time, Philip didn’t go after her. He stood there, numb, watching her hopping into a taxi and leaving.

The two guards looked at them disdainfully. "If you want to fight, go somewhere else," one of them said. "Don’t make a ruckus here."

They turned and walked away, leaving Zack and Philip alone.

Zack wiped the blood stain from the corners of his lips with the back of his hand, glaring at Philip. "Are you still thinking of taking her away?" he scoffed. "Bella hates her biological father. She will die rather than going to the Waltons."

"And you think you can claim her!" Philip growled, his face darkening. "I, her brother, will not let that happen. You once hurt Rose, but you can’t harm Bella. If you dare to get close to her, I’ll kill you."

"I didn’t hurt Rose," Zack snapped desperately. "I loved her."

"Love?" Philip sneered; his heart full of bitterness. "You cheated on her. Don’t you feel ashamed of lying?"

"I never cheated on her," Zack shouted to the top of his lungs, pain radiating in his eyes. "It was all Ivy’s doing. She drugged me."

His hands trembled as he recalled the night that had destroyed everything. At their engagement party, Ivy drugged him and slept with him. Rose had caught them together in bed. She fled the banquet hall, furious and heartbroken, but was killed in an accident.

Since that incident, the Waltons had become their enemy and had done everything to destroy his family. Zack had no one but the Hills to save him and his family. So he engaged with Ivy and came to this city to start a new life, leaving his hometown. But he had never thought that he would encounter Bella, Rose’s twin sister.

"I never liked Ivy," Zack added. "I was with her to take revenge on her. I punished her, took over the Hill’s assets – avenged Rose."

"Avenge Rose!" Philip sneered disdainfully. "You are trying to show yourself as a hero! It’s not going to work. I know you so well. You are a greedy, ambitious, and cunning man. You trapped Rose to get the Walton’s property. Because of you, she died. Now you want to use Bella to get access to the Waltons! I won’t let that happen."

"I don’t need anything from the Waltons," Zack snapped back. "All I want is Bella. Listen, I made mistakes in the past. I regret it. But I’ll never hurt Bella. I’ll take care of her and give her the happiness she deserves."

"Of course, she deserves happiness," Philip said, cutting him short. "And I’ll do anything to secure her future. She doesn’t need you. Stay fucking away from her. Or else, I’ll destroy you."

Zack was furious too. He had told him everything that had happened back then, but Philip, instead of understanding him, still blamed him for Rose’s death. He didn’t want to explain more. All those years, he had been living to avenge Rose. Now that he had succeeded in his plan, he wanted a peaceful life with Bella.

"I’m not afraid of you," he said defiantly. "I’ll make Bella mine soon, and you can’t do anything. She hates her biological father for abandoning her and her mother. She will never go back to the Walton family."

Philip clenched his fists, his temper rising. "She now hates us, but she will forgive us once she learns the truth. And you..." He pointed a finger at him in a challenging way. "You will never have a chance to get close to her."

With that, he hopped into his car and drove off.

Zack stood there, his fists clenched at the sides, watching the car’s taillights disappearing into the distance. "Bella will be mine, and no one will stop that."

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At Theodore’s office...

Skyler entered with urgency written on his face. "I found a shocking truth about Claudia," he said in a hushed tone and put a folder in front of Theodore.

Theodore could sense his seriousness and grew intrigued to know what Skyler had discovered this time. With curiosity, he took the folder and opened it. The first thing he saw was some photographs of Claudia with an elderly man. He narrowed his eyes at the photos. He had never seen this man before.

"Who is he?" The question came out of his mouth almost immediately.

"Her father."

Theodore tore his eyes from the photos and lifted them up to Skyler, stunned at the revelation. "Her father? Didn’t she say she has no one in her family, except a distant relative, Keith?"

Everyone in the Reid family knew that Keith was the only close one Claudia had, but they had never known about the existence of her father. How many secrets did she have?