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.

"Let's go in. I'll cook some more food for us!" Judith said with a smile.

Maurice then went to take a bath.

Severin's mind was filled with a myriad of thoughts when he entered his old room. It was clean though, and Severin felt a burst of warmth when he saw it.

Sure enough, the people who cared most about him were none other than his parents. It looked as though they came in to clean his room from time to time.

When Severin opened the closet, he discovered several of his old clothes. They had aged through the years but still remained spotless and clean.

Judith walked in some time later and smiled at Severin while explaining, "We clean your room once in a while when you're not here. Your clothes are probably a little small though, and they must be out of fashion by now. Old folks like us don't really understand the fashion trends of young people!" As she said that, she approached him and took out 200 dollars, which he stuffed into Severin's hand. "You should go shopping tomorrow and get some decent clothes!"

"I can't accept this money, Mom..." Severin stuffed the money back, and said to Judith in a solemn tone, "You don't need to be so worried about me. I have money, and I'm going to let you and Dad live in a big villa in the future. You've suffered your whole life because of me, while I've only suffered for a few years. I can't possibly spend your money like that!"

"Do you really have money on you?" Judith looked at Severin and was still a little skeptical. she believed that the generous person he met in prison would have given him a sum of money, probably in excess of tens of thousands. After all, if Severin had not paid the remaining debt of twenty-six thousand to the six men earlier, there would have been no explanation as to why they would just leave. Both Judith and Maurice had known their characters after almost five years of having to deal with them!

"Of course. Why would I lie to you?" Severin smiled and assured. "Dad's done in the shower, so it's about time I take one too. Let's have a nice meal after that!"

After taking his shower and changing into his old clothes, he sat with his family on the small table and began to eat.

"It's been a while since you had a drink, right, Dad?" Severin could not help but ask as soon as Maurice took a sip of the wine.

The question stunned Maurice for a moment. He put on a fake smile and said, "N-not at all! You know how fond I am of these drinks. Doing all that physical work is really tiring, so drinking a few sips would help me to sleep better, won't it?"

"Yes! He drinks all the time!" Judith was afraid that Severin would be worried about them, so she added, "We eat meat almost every day too, don't we?"

"Yep! It's pretty much a daily thing here!" Maurice smiled awkwardly.

Severin's heart ached when he saw his parents' poor acting skills. Had he not returned that day, he was almost certain that there would neither be any wine nor any stewed meat on the table. At most, there would be shredded potatoes and a plate of yellowed cabbage leaves. The yellowish leaves were a sign that they were probably discarded parts that were picked up from the vegetable market.

"Why are you staring at us? Come on, eat some meat! Did you eat or sleep well when you were inside prison?" When Judith saw Severin's blank and quiet expression, she scooped two pieces of meat and put them on his plate.

"It was alright. Didn't I tell you that I had help from someone generous? I wouldn't have been able to come out so soon otherwise!" Severin immediately put a smile on his face, and scooped some meat for his parents too. "The two of you should be eating more. You're both so much thinner than before, and Mom's hair is all gray now!"

"Your mother's hair turned gray because she was worrying too much. I never believed that worrying could turn your hair gray, but your mother has proven me wrong!" Maurice laughed in spite of himself but felt extremely bitter in his heart.

"Don't worry, I've learnt a bit of medical knowledge, so I'll make her hair black again! But whether her hair is black or gray, she'll always be my beautiful mother!"

Severin clinked glasses with Maurice and took a sip of wine from his glass.

"You're quite the sweet talker now, I see!" Judith did not place too much of hope on Severin's statement, but at least she had a smile on her face now that her son had returned. As long as he came back safe and sound, the color of her hair did not matter at all!

"By the way, what's with that envelope, Mom?" Severin was very curious as to why the woman who was dressed in a food delivery person's uniform placed an envelope at the door of their house, and why Judith could obtain two hundred dollars from it.

After pondering over it, Severin could not help but ask, "Could a relative of our family be helping us?"

Upon hearing Severin's question, Maurice smiled bitterly and said, "Tch. Those relatives used to keep in touch with us every now and then, but they didn't interact that much with us since you were imprisoned!"

Judith also added, "That's right. After you went to prison and the matrimonial home was sold, everyone avoided us after knowing that we owe the Loughs a hundred and fifty thousand."

"They did? Even Aunt Marie and Aunt Edwina, or Uncle Paul and Uncle Vincent? Haven't they helped us at all?" Severin was slightly surprised. "Uncle Paul, especially. Isn't his family well off?"

Judith then said, "Your two uncles and Aunt Edwina came up with all sorts of excuses just to avoid lending us a single penny, but in reality, they were just afraid that we won't be able to pay it back. After all, we're old, and it's difficult for us to change our lives for the better. Unlike them, Aunt Marie and her family are very poor, yet she was the only one who was willing to help us. We borrowed a total of eight thousand dollars from her, and we've made sure to keep a record of each and every cent that she lent us!"

Upon mentioning that, Judith advised him seriously, "You need to remember Aunt Marie's kindness and do your best to return the money to their family as soon as possible. I know that she has quarreled a lot with your uncle because of what happened, and to makes things worse, she had no money for surgery when she fell sick. In the end, your cousin had to borrow money from all over the place, even to the extent of taking out a high-interest loan just to gather enough money for the surgery!"

Maurice sighed when he heard that. "Your cousin came to our house to ask if we could pay them back, but we didn't have a choice because we had no money at all. Easton's minions came to collect our debt every month, and demanded seven hundred every single time. We don't always manage to save up that much, so there was no way we could pay back what your aunt lent us. Your cousin got really angry at the time, so we gave her all the money we had at the time. It was about fifty or so dollars in total, but she threw it on the ground and left!"

After bringing up that incident, Maurice took a big sip of the wine in his glass. "Don't blame her for that though. If anyone's to blame, it's us. There was nothing we could do, and we've let their entire family down."

"I understand, Dad!" Severin nodded. "Aunt Marie has been kind to us, so I promise I'll repay her kindness a hundredfold!"

Judith took out the envelope and handed it to Severin, "As for the sender of this envelope, we have no idea who it is. Whoever they are, they send us money every single month. It's usually a hundred and twenty or a hundred and thirty, but sometimes it'll reaches a hundred and fifty! The letter inside says that she's a friend of yours whom you've met only once. There's also a reassurance that you're doing fine, and that you had told her to send the money to us!"

"A friend? Whom I've met only once?" Severin frowned. He could not believe that a so-called 'friend whom he had met once' would help his parents out like that. That said, Severin was at a complete loss as to who the sender was.