The loud bang startled the amorous couple on the bed. The man hurriedly covered himself with a blanket, while the woman turned pale with fright and pulled another blanket to cover herself.

"Who are you? Some beggar from the streets?" Easton froze when he saw Severin in tattered clothes.

"You said you'd wait ten years for me, but it's only been five years and you're already..." Severin clenched his fists so tightly that there was a crackling sound from his joints. The blood that surged up to his brain due to anger made his forehead veins throb, and he looked exceedingly ferocious right then.

"Severin?!" Lucy exclaimed in disbelief after getting a good look at him. "You're back? How?!"

Severin felt his heart convulse violently as a faint self-mocking grin appeared on his lips. "You ended up with this b*stard, now? Of all the people you could have chosen to be with, did it have to be him?"

Easton's confidence returned a bit more after seeing that the intruder was Severin. While putting on his clothes and pants, he said, "You got a problem with that? Are you saying that I'm not good enough for her? I've got money and power, so isn't it obvious that I'm better than some loser in hobo's clothes?"

Severin ignored Easton completely. Instead, his bloodshot eyes were staring firmly at Lucy. "Hahaha, isn't it funny? I came back to you as soon as I've reached 'that level' because my plan was to give my whole world to you. I wanted to make you the happiest woman in the world, but here you are, sleeping with the man who forced himself on you all those years ago!" Severin then paused for a moment and continued, "I wouldn't blame you if you decided not to wait for me, but did you really have to be with someone like him?"

Severin's telling-off led Lucy to put on a nightgown and stand up. She then remarked proudly to him, "You're the funny one here, Severin. Did I hear you right when you said that you were going to give your whole world to me? What do you have to offer when you're dirt poor? You can never reach the standards of rich young men like Easton. He can buy me bags that cost several thousand on a whim. Can you do that?"

After ending her rant, Lucy sat on the head of the bed and crossed her legs. She took a cigarette, lit it, and smoked it as she continued, "I'll spend my entire life having to suffer if I get married to a loser like you. With Easton, I can enjoy a whole lifetime's worth of riches and glory. So, the choice is pretty clear, even to an idiot."

"Hahaha, did you hear that? Even idiots wouldn't choose you!" Easton went up to Severin with a smug expression and said, "Hehe, let me give it to you straight. She and I hooked up barely half a year into your imprisonment. It still surprises me that your girlfriend of three years in college chose to get together with me! Tsk, tsk!"

Severin slapped Easton with the back of his hand, resulting in some bleeding at the corner of Easton's lips in addition to two fallen teeth.

"Are you nuts, Severin? Do you wanna go to back to prison?"

Lucy was startled by what happened and rushed over in a hurry. She turned to Easton and asked, "Are you alright, Easton?"

Her reaction left Severin with overwhelming sense of disgust. It hardly crossed his mind that the person he wanted to give his world to was actually nothing more than a gold digger.

He gritted his teeth, pointed to the door, and said, "Get out! Both of you!"

Lucy stood up, and retorted with a snicker, "Fat chance, Severin. You're the one who should be getting out of here! This house belongs to Easton now. Did you think you could just go to prison without paying any compensation for the injuries you caused when you injured him? Then again, if you like the house so much and you have money, I can always sell it back to you. I won't be staying here for long anyway. I'll move into Easton's villa after we get married!" After a pause, Lucy looked at Severin with disdain and added, "But judging from how shabby-looking you are, I don't think you'll be able to afford it even if I slash the price by half."

Severin clenched his fists and said coldly, "No thanks. I couldn't bear to live in such a disgusting place."

"How dare you…" Lucy, in her anger, clenched her fist and raised it as she took a step forward. It looked as though she wanted to hit Severin.

However, she stepped back in fear after Severin shot her a glance. He was an impulsive person who did things without considering the consequences, and she did not dare to bet her life on it. After all, she was the one who would stand to lose if Severin had killed her in anger.

"Where are my parents?" Severin asked coldly.

"Your parents? They're living in the dilapidated old house at the city outskirts! I heard that there's a leak in the roof whenever it rains!" Lucy mocked. She then said contemptuously, "By the way, Easton and I will be holding our wedding banquet at the Richemont Hotel. You don't need to bring any gifts since you don't seem capable of affording it anyway, but you're free to attend the banquet with your parents. That way, the three of you will get the chance to eat some good food. If I hadn't invited you guys over, you and your parents will probably only be able to afford meat twice a month, or three times a month if you're lucky!"

Severin looked indifferently at Lucy one final time. "You'll regret this," he said, before leaving without looking back at her.

Severin made his way to parents' home and soon arrived outside the door. As he looked at the dilapidated old house, there was an aching twinge deep inside his heart. He initially thought that Lucy would wait for him even if he went to prison, and he believed that his parents would not have to get by too terribly. After all, he had already bought a house for Lucy and himself to stay after marriage, and Lucy's family might also be able to help his parents out.

However, if Lucy had turned into such a vile person in barely half a year of his incarceration, he wondered how his parents' lives were in the years that he was gone.

"Mom, Dad…I've been a terrible son. I'm sorry to make you both live like this." Severin clenched his fists tightly as he looked at the dilapidated old wooden door in front of him. He could not just let everything slide just like that.

At that moment, he saw a woman parking her electric bicycle just outside the gate. She was wearing a helmet, and appeared to be a food delivery person. After the woman entered the yard, she placed something near the door and knocked the door several times before running out quickly and speeding off on her electric bicycle.

Severin frowned and watched from afar as the woman left. Her shoulder-length hair fluttered rather beautifully in the wind.

The door finally creaked open, and a silver-haired woman with an abundance of wrinkles on her face walked out. After glancing around in all directions, she picked up what seemed to be an envelope from the ground.

Severin walked into the yard in disbelief as he looked at the woman in front of him. His eyes turned red instantly, and his nose began to tingle as he called out in a trembling voice. "Mom..."

Upon hearing that familiar voice, the woman stepped forward and stretched out her trembling hands to caress Severin's cheek. "Severin, is that you? I…I'm not dreaming, am I? Is it really you, Severin? You've…returned?"

Men seldom cry unless they were facing a moment of true grief, and so the same could be said of Severin. His mother had so many wrinkles on her face that it looked as though she had aged 20 years in five years, and seeing that that led Severin to burst into tears. He knelt down at once and said, "Yes, Mom. It's me. I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry that Dad and you had to suffer these five years!"

"I'm so glad that you're back. You have the chance to start a new life in the future, get a job, and start everything afresh."

His mother—whose name was Judith Feuillet—helped him up and hugged him tightly, for she was afraid that it was all but a dream.

"Don't worry, Mom. Now that I've been released ahead of schedule, no one will dare to push you and Dad around anymore!" Severin wiped away his tears and tried his best to put a smile on his face.

At that moment, a man with a scar on his face kicked open the rickety gate and brought in a few thugs with him as shouted, "Did you prepare the money yet, you old hag? Don't blame us for going rough on you if you've prepared less than seven hundred this time!"

As soon as Severin heard that, he clenched his fists tightly as a cold light flickered in his eyes. He had given his mother's enough burdens, and it seemed that she had been roughed about a lot too. Severin would have none of that now that he had returned.

Judith was taken aback by the sudden appearance of those six men, and she hurriedly said to them, "Okay, okay. Wait right here. I'll go in right away to get the money." Judith immediately ran into the home and came out soon after with a somewhat aged plastic bag in her hand.

She opened it to reveal money consisting of one, two, and five dollars, along with a whole bunch of quarters. As for dollar bills in bigger denominations, there are only seven or eight of them.

"F*cking change? Again?!" The scar-faced man became impatient and said to a guy next to him, "Count them!"

"It's going to take ages to count seven hundred bucks' worth of change." The underling was a little unhappy, but he walked over here anyhow.

"Hold it! When did my mother owe you money?" Severin shielded Judith after seeing the entire situation and asked with a sullen expression.

"Well, I'll be damned! I thought you were some beggar who came here to ask for food. I wouldn't have recognized you if you hadn't defended your mother. Aren't you that loser who hit Mister Easton with a beer bottle five years ago?"

The scar-faced man took one step forward and looked carefully at Severin. He then scratched his head with a smirk and said tauntingly, "You've been released? Well, I have to admit that I do admire your courage. I can't imagine how you got the guts to hit Mister Easton when everybody knows that he's from an influential family."

Severin said calmly, "The past in the past, and I don't regret anything!" Having said that, Severin walked over, looked straight at the scar-faced man, and pointed to the plastic bag full of money on the ground. "What's the deal with all this money?"

The scar-faced man sneered and said, "What's there to explain? Don't you have a brain? Did you think that you wouldn't have to pay any compensation for beating up Mister Easton? The Loughs demanded two hundred thousand, which your fiancee paid by selling your matrimonial home to Mister Easton for a hundred and fifty thousand. As for the remaining fifty thousand, you were allowed to pay the sum back in installments."

Then, the scar-faced man touched his chin and said, "Your parents have paid back a little less than half in the past five years, so there's still about twenty-six thousand remaining. In any case, it's a good thing that you were released early. At least you can help to make the payments!"

The younger brother who squatted on the ground and counted money complained, "Yeah, your momma always gives us a pile of small change. It's a waste of our time to count it all!"

"You don't need to count. The total is five hundred and seventy-six!" Judith said tremblingly.

"F*ck this sh*t! It's short again!" The man who squatted on the ground had tattoos all over his shoulders. After hearing Judith's words, he tossed the money in his hand to the ground and stood up to glare at Judith. "You trying to get yourself killed, old bag?! You're short of the correct amount every single f*cking time!"

"I think you guys are the ones who are trying to get yourselves killed." Severin looked angrily at the men in front of him, for it was obvious that the money had been painstakingly saved by his parents.

"You wanna get beat up, don't you, kid?" The six people immediately surrounded Severin and Judith.

The scar-faced man remarked viciously, "It just so happens that my fists are itching for a fight. It's been a while since they've seen blood!"

"No! D-d-don't hurt my son!" Judith was so frightened that she hurriedly pulled Severin back. She then immediately opened the envelope in her hand. The contents included a letter and several 10-dollar bills. Judith counted them at once and fearfully stuffed the money inside the plastic bag that was on the ground. "T-t-there! I put in a hundred dollars. Now it's six hundred and seventy-six dollars! It's only short by twenty-four dollars now!"

"That's interesting. You were hiding some of your money, didn't you? I don't suppose you'll take out that hundred bucks if we didn't threaten to beat you up?" The scar-faced man sneered and said angrily, "Are you trying to play some kind of trick on us?"

Severin's heart was burning with anger, and a cold glimmer flashed across his eyes.

However, he suppressed that anger when he looked at Judith standing in front of him. In order to prevent Judith from worrying, he smiled at the other guys and said, "You there, with the scar. Yeah, I'm talking to you. we still owe twenty-six thousand, right? Well, don't get yourselves all worked up over it. Twenty-six thousand is a small sum, and I can pay it to you in full. There's no point causing a ruckus here."

"A small sum, huh? Can you believe it? This dirt-poor guy actually said that it's a small sum. If that's the case, then you'd better hurry up and pay it back!" Scarface looked at Severin in amusement while the thugs began to laugh.

Severin walked over, picked up the plastic bag on the ground, and handed it to the shocked Judith. "Wait for me in the house, Mom. I've got money, so I'll bring them to the bank and withdraw the money for them."

"Where did you get that kind of money, Severin? Please don't lie to your own mother." Judith looked worriedly at her son.

"Don't worry, Mom. It'll be fine. Come on, let's go in!" Severin helped Judith up and ushered her into the house.

Moments later, Severin exited the house work a bank card in hand and waved it at the people in front of him. "See this? Don't look down on me, you know. Come with me if you want your twenty-six thousand."

"Is this kid for real?"

"Who cares. Getting the payment in one lump sum will save us trouble of having to come here all the time. What's there to complain?"

The thugs followed Severin away, and they finally came to a big banyan tree at a far corner. "What's the meaning of this? I thought you were going to bring us to the bank?"

Severin's smirked as he turned around and said with a sneer, "Are you people honestly still expecting me to hand over the money when you guys roughed my mother up and call her an old bag all the time? In your f*cking dreams!"

"F*ck you, kid! Are you trying to play some kind of trick on us?" The scar-faced man was so angry that the veins on his forehead were bulging.

"You're asking for it, kid!" The other thugs were all riled up as well, and they surrounded him immediately.

Seconds later, when everyone's fists were about to land on Severin, the latter simply frowned. A strong pressure then surrounded the entire area in an instant, causing the dry leaves all around to begin fluttering several inches above the ground. The temperature seemed to have dropped considerably as well.

The six thugs, including the robustly-built scar-faced man who was an experienced fighter, knelt on the ground.

"GRAAAH!"

Everyone howled in pain. The stone slabs beneath some of their knees had shattered, and blood was flowing from their knees too.

"Forgive us!"

"We won't do anything to you parents anymore!"

They all looked at Severin in horror and were genuinely frightened by what happened.

Severin looked at the passers-by and finally said in a deep voice, "I'll let you off for now, but if any of you ever cause trouble with my parents ever again, I swear I'll kill all of you! Now f*ck off!"

The tremendous pressure disappeared instantly after Severin's warning, allowing the scar-faced man and his gang to flee.

Severin clenched his fists and muttered to himself, "You really are a ruthless woman, Lucy. Like it or not, we have a three-year history with each other. Cheating on me is one thing, selling the matrimonial home for half the value that I bought it is another. How could you sell it off to Easton for one hundred and fifty thousand when I bought it for three hundred thousand? Bunch of schemers!"

After mumbling that, Severin thought to himself, 'I'll make you return every single thing you took from me! I never intended to hold grudges with worthless people like you two, but you have both crossed the line!'

When Severin walked back to the house, he discovered that Judith had gone out to the gate to look around because she was worried about him. As soon as she saw Severin return, she walked over with a worried face and held Severin's hand while asking hurriedly, "Are you alright, Severin? They didn't hit you, did they?"

Severin's heart felt all warm and he smiled at Judith. "Don't worry, Mom. They didn't hit me. I took them to get the money and gave it all to them. They won't be troubling us anymore in the future!"

"Really? You're not lying to me, are you? Do you really have that much money? We're talking about twenty-six thousand here!" Judith obviously did not believe what Severin said. After all, how could he have the money when he had just been released from prison?

Severin explained, "Don't worry about it anymore, Mom. I met a very generous person in prison, and he gave me a bank card when I was released. There's a lot of money inside, and it's more than enough to pay off the debt!"

"Is that so? I'm glad to hear that, then!" Judith was filled with emotion when she heard that. "You absolutely must repay his kindness in the future if you ever get the chance, Severin."

"Yes, Mom, I will!" Severin smiled, and continued, "I was only released this early because of him!"

Severin had no other choice but to explain it thus. After all, he had to say something in order to ease Judith's worries, but it was difficult to explain what truly happened. At the end of the day though, what he said was the truth—the old wacko was indeed a very generous person.

"Well, it's good that those people won't pester us anymore. Now that you're out, you can get a job in the future so your father and I won't need to overwork ourselves!" Judith sighed, and continued, "Lucy is a terrible woman. She got together with Easton half a year into your imprisonment. She even sold off the house you bought at half the price we bought it. Now that you're out of prison, we are unable to give you any money, and we don't have a decent house. You're already twenty-eight, so we should try and save more so you can find a wife!"

She began to feel emotional as she spoke. "It's a good thing that you were released midway through your sentence. If you served it in full, you would be thirty-three by the time you're out. It'd probably be even more difficult to get married at that age!"

"What are you talking about, Mom? I'm handsome enough that I won't need to worry about finding a wife!" Severin smiled. He then asked Judith, "Where's Dad, by the way?"

"He took up a job moving bricks, so he's at a construction site now. He still hasn't come back yet, but he should be back anytime now!" Judith glanced around her.

Sure enough, a sweaty, dusty man came back on a badly maintained bicycle with a lot of cardboard boxes behind him.

"I got lucky today. I saw a whole pile of cardboard boxes when I was getting off work from the construction site. They should be able to sell for a few dollars..."

The man parked the bicycle at the gate, where the street lights were rather dim. As he was unloading the cardboard boxes, he asked, "Who's this, Judith? Do you know him?"

Severin walked over and looked at his father Maurice, who had also aged considerably. Tears began streaming down his eyes as he said, "Dad…it's Severin. I'm back."

The cardboard box that Maurice held dropped to the ground, and his body trembled slightly as he turned around in disbelief. "Severin? It's really you? My son…is back?"

Tears welled up in Maurice's eyes and he looked at Severin in disbelief.

"It really is Severin, Maurice. He's back. He was released ahead of schedule!" Tears welled up in Judith's eyes again, but there was a smile on her face that time.

"That's…wonderful. Nothing could be better than having him back. I'm so glad they released him earlier!" Maurice stepped forward and looked at Severin carefully. "You don't look half bad, but your hair is a bit too long. You should get a haircut tomorrow. You look like a hobo right now, and what you need is a fresh and energetic look! After all, it's only when you look fresh and energetic that you can get a wife! Come on, let's head in the house, rather than hang around out here!"

Judith smiled and said, "You and Severin should go in, get a shower, and change your clothes. I'll get some wine and stew so you two can have a drink tonight!" She then immediately went off to buy them.

"Do you have any money on you? I have some here. I requested the foreman to give me some advance payment for our living expenses!" Maurice yelled to Judith as he was worried that she did not have enough money.

"I do, I do..." Judith replied without looking back.

Severin helped Maurice push the bicycle into the yard and then knelt down in front of him. "I'm sorry, Dad. I'm sorry for making you and Mom suffer. I didn't expect Lucy to be so ruthless after I went to prison, and I never thought that Easton would go that far either!"

"Alright now, there's no need to mention about the past. Ordinary people like us can never go up against the Loughs!" Maurice lamented. He then helped Severin up. "Get up, Son. Let's just live a normal, honest life from now on. Women like Lucy may be good-looking, but they're unreliable. It's good enough if you can find a woman that you can live the rest of your days with!"

However, Severin said firmly, "Dad, you can't just let everything slide just like that. That house was the result of you and Mom's blood, sweat, and tears! You gritted your teeth and bought it for me with all your money. That house is worth three hundred thousand! Lucy must have secretly worked together with Easton to have it sold to him for half that price! They're obviously trying to pull off a scam!"

Severin became even angrier when he spoke about that. "The Orwells requested a dowry of forty thousand too! Shouldn't they refund that money to us?"

Maurice shook his head, "I went to the Orwells, but they said it was not their fault that you went to prison and the marriage didn't go through. I wasn't able to get the money back, but I received a severe beating instead. I was beaten up so badly that my nose was bruised and my face became swollen. I had to be hospitalized for several days because of that!"

"Damn it. They really are bullies! I can't believe the Orwells are that ruthless!" Severin clenched his fists tightly and was so angry that his eyes were horrifyingly bloodshot.

Maurice was startled to see Severin's anger and said to him, "You have freedom now that you've been released from prison. Don't cause trouble with the Orwells. Their business is doing very well now, and Lucy's parents are accompanied by several bodyguards whenever they go out. It's all thanks to the Loughs that they became wealthy businesspeople!"

Judith, who came back with wine and stew, heard Maurice's words as soon as she entered the yard. Without further ado, she persuaded Severin and said, "You can't be as reckless as before, Severin. The Loughs and the Orwells are both big families with big businesses. Ordinary people are powerless against them! What are we going to do in the future if something happens to you again?"

"Don't worry, Mom. I promise I won't reckless!"

In order not to prevent his parents from being worried, Severin smiled and said, "I'll make sure the both of you live a good life in the future. Although, I think I ought to ask them about the dowry. Lucy might just return the money to us because of our previous relationship. If she refuses, then my last option is to reason with her! I promise I won't lay a finger on anyone."

"It should be alright for you to ask, but remember not to do anything to them. It'll be great if you can get the money back and pay them whatever money you still owe them. But if they refuse to return the money, then just forget about it and come back!"

Maurice then pondered for a moment and added, "I hope Lucy will consider the three-year relationship she had with you and return the dowry because of that. Her family is rich now—much richer than before—so they probably wouldn't bat an eye over that small amount."

Severin sneered to himself. He had experienced Lucy's attitude first-hand and was well aware that she would not recall their time together fondly. She and Easton were the rottenest couple in existence, and Severin was never going to let them get away so easily for those terrible things they did, especially the way they bullied his parents.