Life After Prison

Severin smiled and clinked glasses with them before drinking his glass of red wine.

The Shanahans had just returned home by then. As soon as they got out of the car, Catherine asked Felicia, “Just how much do you know about Severin? How could he rub shoulders with someone like Henry? Henry was being so respectful to him too, and judging from that attitude, he probably holds Severin in very high regard!”

Felicia suddenly smiled awkwardly. “We have no idea either. Diane refused to tell anyone who Selene’s father was, and we didn’t even know that he was the same person who offended Easton five

years ago. It was only today that we found out that Selene’s father is an ex-convict!”

The old lady frowned, looked at Felicia and William. “You’re well aware that the rules are always used against those who are powerless. Since Severin was imprisoned back then, we can be sure that he used to be an ordinary person with neither money nor power. However, having Henry’s protection right now means that there is more to Severin than it appears on the surface. There must be something special about him!”

William seemed to feel that his mother was trying to imply something, so he asked, “What do you mean?”

Catherine pondered for a moment. “The past was the past. It’s been so many years since then. I think you should let Diane and her family move back here. What are three extra mouths to feed? We can still afford to expenses to take care of them.”

William was overjoyed to hear that and immediately sought to confirm what Catherine just said.” Do I understand you correctly, Mom? Are we letting bygones be bygones? Does this mean you’re fine with

Diane, Selene, and Severin moving back here to stay with us in our villa?”

The old lady’s face sank. “Have I not made myself clear enough?”

“Why would you do that, Grandma?” Diane’s elder cousin brother, Stanley, immediately expressed his unhappiness when the old lady offered to have Diane’s family move back. “Diane brought shame to the Shanahans. and her one-night stand is an ex-convict. Won’t it be a slap in our faces if we just let them move back here? You said it yourself back then that she will forever be barred from stepping foot in our home if she gave birth to the b*stard she was carrying.”

His words brought a frown to the old lady. “I only said that in a moment of anger to persuade her into getting an abortion. Her child has grown older, and that incident was all in the past. As much as I don’t want us to face all that shame, the fact is that we already have. What am I supposed to do? Shove the child back into the mother’s womb? Severin might be more capable than we think. We’ll let them move back with us, and then bit by bit we’ll try to get him to open up about his relationship with Henry and why Henry would invite him to a meal!”

William loved his daughter dearly too, but he did not dare to go against his mother’s decision to drive Diane out. That, coupled with Felicia’s temper, deterred him from visiting Diane and Selene. Even so, he did visit them secretly a few times in private and even gave Diane some money.

He was very happy to hear that his mother was planning to welcome Diane’s family back. “Okay.

That’s a wise choice, Mom! Diane suffered a lot in the past few years, and I’m sure she knows that she is wrong!”

Felicia, however, chimed in from one side and said with a cold expression, “I can hardly believe that she’ll know what she had done wrong. If she did, she wouldn’t continue to be with Severin!” At that point, she stepped forward and persuaded the old lady, “Edward’s side contacted us again. him. and

said that he’d give us a dowry of one-and-a-half-million dollars if Diane is willing to marry It’s obvious that he still can’t get over Diane, and that’s what you called true love!”

“Is that so?” Stanley, who was afraid that Diane would one day vie with him for the position of heir to the Shanahans’ assets, immediately agreed. “That’s a good thing! We must bring Diane and Edward together. The Horsfields are a second-tier upper-class family, and they’re much more powerful than we are. It would only be beneficial for our own family’s prospects if Diane marries

them!”

Stanley, however, did not expect that Catherine would be a little displeased. “Have you forgotten. that the situation Diane is in today is precisely because we forced her to marry Edward five years ago? She ran to some bar in a fit of anger, got drunk, and slept with Severin. Since she would rather sleep with a random man than marry Edward, what makes you think anyone can persuade her to marry Edward now?”

Her stern telling-off left Stanley with no choice but to shut his mouth. He was well aware of Diane’s character, and knowing how stubborn she was, there was no way they could persuade her now, when Severin had returned, since their efforts all those years ago proved futile as well. To him, she was nothing more than a blockhead. ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Be that as it may, Felicia still did not give up and could not help but say, “If you think about it, Diane used to be so stubborn because she was pampered young lady. Now that she suffered for five years and experienced the harsh realities of life, I believe she might be inclined to agree if I try to persuade her!”