The entire hall went completely silent. Guests stepped back, their wide eyes moving from Julian to Arthur. Clara grabbed her father’s arm, her fingers digging tight into the grey fabric of his jacket. She was trembling so hard her knees almost gave out under her heavy white dress. Julian just laughed out loud, a harsh sound that cut through the quiet room like a knife. He took another step closer, reaching out a hand to grab Clara by the wrist to pull her away from her father. He felt entirely safe because his rich family owned half the real estate in the city and had teams of expensive corporate lawyers on call.
Before Julian’s fingers could even touch Clara’s sleeve, Arthur snapped. The gentle father disappeared in a single split second. Arthur stepped forward with unbelievable speed, his face twisted in pure rage. He swung his right leg around in a high, brutal roundhouse kick aimed straight at Julian’s face. The heavy strike landed with a loud, sickening crunch against Julian’s jaw. The impact sent the arrogant groom spinning sideways through the air. Julian fell hard onto the polished white marble floor, his body crashing down like a heavy weight while his drink glass shattered into tiny pieces across the room.
A loud, collective gasp echoed off the high walls of the mansion. Several women screamed in terror, covering their mouths with their hands. Julian lay flat on the floor, groaning in pain as blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth. His royal blue suit was ruined, covered in spilled liquid and dust from the floor. He tried to push himself up on one elbow, looking up at Arthur with total panic in his eyes. He had never been hit in his life, let alone beaten in front of hundreds of rich socialites who were now staring at him in utter shock.
Arthur: Get up on your feet, you coward.
Julian: You're crazy! My father will sue you for everything!
Arthur: Let him try. I have nothing left to lose.
Clara: Dad, stop! His family will ruin us financially!
Arthur did not listen. He turned back to Clara and pulled her tightly into his chest, wrapping his strong arms around her shoulders. He held the back of her head protectively against his heart, burying his face in her hair while keeping his sharp, angry eyes locked on Julian. The young groom scrambled backward across the slick marble floor like a frightened animal, trying to put distance between himself and the enraged father. Arthur lifted his hand and pointed a single finger at the men standing near the exit doors, who turned out to be Julian’s wealthy brothers and business partners.
The mansion guards hurried forward, but they stopped dead in their tracks when they saw the look on Arthur’s face. Nobody dared to take another step. Arthur stroked Clara’s hair, listening to her quiet, ragged sobs as she cried into his shoulder. The fear she had been keeping inside for months was finally spilling out. She had kept the abuse a secret because Julian had threatened to use his family’s massive fortune to take away her trust fund and bankrupt her father’s small manufacturing company. But none of that mattered to Arthur anymore. A father’s love was worth far more than any sum of money or legal threat.
Arthur: We are leaving right now, Clara.
Clara: He said he would take the house, Dad.
Arthur: Let him take the bricks. He can't take us.