Shauna led Fane to the door of a small, dilapidated courtyard house.

There was a big banyan tree in the courtyard. Looking in from there, it appeared tranquil. However, there was the problem that the place was too run down.

“You’re telling me that my mother, Selena, and the in-laws are staying here?”

Seeing the house in front of him, Fane felt sorry for them.

Selena was the daughter of Master Taylor. She was fantastically talented. Back then, she was even known as a stunningly beautiful director that exuded pride. Countless people courted her.

At that moment, because of her decision to keep the kid, she was kicked out of the household to stay at such a place!

Shauna smiled bitterly. “There’s also your little uncle! He was still young five years ago, but he’s now 19 and staying here.”

“That many people!”

Fane’s eyes turned red. “Selena must’ve had a hard time!”

However, they quickly noticed a Bentley was parked by the courtyard.

“Why’s there a Bentley here?”

Fane scowled, feeling suspicious.

“I don’t know. After all, I hardly come here. Sigh, too many things have happened over the five years. Miss Selena has been waiting for you all the while!”

“However, her parents’ patience ran out a long time ago. Furthermore, they had a strong bias against you...claiming that you forced yourself on Miss Selena during the wedding night, taking advantage of her drunkenness…” Shauna said carefully with a frown.

“Sigh, I can only slowly make it up to them. I’ve caused father and mother-in-law to suffer together!”

Fane sighed deeply. He too wanted to stay by the side of his woman, and yet was just as helpless.

Just as he entered, Fane scowled and raised his hand, signaling Shauna to keep quiet for the sound coming from within the house made him angry.

The voice of Selena’s mother could be heard. “Young Master Clark, don’t you worry. There has been no news of that kid for five years. He’s long gone! I’m planning to go apply for a death certificate. By then, you can marry our Selena!”

“Haha, thank you very much!”

Young Master Clark laughed loudly, then said, “Auntie, there’s actually no need to get that death certificate. The marriage certificate is just a piece of paper. I, Ken Clark, am not such a superficial person. When the time comes, we just need to arrange a glorious and grand marriage ceremony! The most important thing is for Selena to agree to our marriage.”

“Agree! Of course she’d agree!”

Selena’s mother immediately thumped her chest and said, “Don’t you worry. Her father and I will help you persuade her!”

“Really? However, she is quite the stubborn one!”

“Back then, if not for her insisting to give birth to that b*stard, you guys wouldn’t be kicked out of the Taylor family to suffer alongside her over here!”

Young Master Clark then added calmly, “Sigh, five years ago, Selena was the prettiest girl in the Middle Province. Look at her now, what has she become?”

“That’s right. It’s all that delivery boy’s fault. The original deal was just a faked marriage, yet he ended up impregnating our Selena.”

Once again, Mrs. Taylor added, “Our Selena is really obstinate, stubbornly claiming that child to be her flesh and blood, swearing to care for her!”

“Hehe, it’s okay. Uncle, Auntie, I’m sincerely in love with Selena. Once Selena is with me, wealth is not an issue!”

Having said that, Young Master Clark took out a jade bracelet. “I had someone bring this jade bracelet over from Shanghai. It’s worth quite a sum. I’ll give it to Auntie as a gift!”

“T-T-This… How can we accept this?”

…

Beyond the door, Fane’s expression turned uglier by the second. His fists gripped tightly together.

He tried his best to suppress the raging fire in his heart. After calming himself, he then knocked on the door.

“Who’s there?”

Mrs. Taylor’s voice sounded annoyed as she opened the gate.

“Who’re you?”

Mrs. Taylor, Fiona Lewis, looked at Fane suspiciously, then looked at Kylie, asking, “Why are you holding onto our Kylie?”

“Grandma, h-h-he’s daddy!”

Kylie looked at Fane, then said softly, “Daddy said that with him home, nobody would dare to bully me and mommy ever again!”

Fiona was dumbstruck on the spot, then quickly exclaimed in astonishment, “Wonderful. Fane, the shameless one, is actually alive… You have the gall to show up now? You need to compensate my daughter for her lost youth. Our family is in a rut because of you!”

“Who? Who’s back? It’s that b*stard Fane?”

Selena’s father rushed out, limping forward to grab at Fane. “I’ll kill you, you beast. If not for you tainting our Selena’s purity, would she need to make a living from collecting trash? If not for you, my leg wouldn’t have been crippled!”

Fane had a huge shock. How did Selena end up collecting trash? How did her father’s leg end up like this?

Although it was not his fault as Selena took the initiative, he was also drunk during that time and did not resist the urge.

However, it was still because of him that they ended up like this.

No wonder Andrew Taylor and Fiona Lewis would hate him to this extent.

Fane’s heart was wracked with guilt. ‘That’s right, if not for my impulsive behavior, their entire family wouldn’t have had to suffer.’

“Shauna, take Kylie over to the courtyard to play for a while!”

Fane passed Kylie over to Shauna.

“Brat, of all times, you chose to come back now. Why are you here? It’d be better if you had just died on the battlefield!”

Fiona was in tears. “I think you’re just unwilling to let our Selena live a single day in comfort. You animal!”

“I’ll teach you a lesson!”

Andrew immediately sent a slap at Fane.

However, the next instant, his hand was firmly in Fane’s grasp. “Father, I’m sorry. It’s because of me that you had to suffer. Regardless, Selena has already given birth to Kylie. I, Fane Woods, will take full responsibility. I won’t let her down. She has waited for me all this while. I’ll let her live a comfortable life.”

“Huh, you dare to grab my hand? Get out of my sight!”

Andrew was pissed. As expected of a retired soldier, Fane’s strength was great. He was unable to move an inch.

“He can’t leave!”

Unexpectedly, right at that moment, Young Master Clark approached them with a smile. “This kid is back just in time. Since he’s not dead, we can have him divorce Selena. Moreover, Kylie is his kid. He’s her father, therefore he should take custody over Kylie. From now on, we’ll just have Kylie follow him!”

Having said that, he further added with a grin on his face, “After all, I’m unwilling to help someone take care of their baggage. Without this burden, both mine and Selena’s life will be much better!”

“That’s right. You’re absolutely right! To be honest, I don’t really like this little girl anyway!”

Fiona nodded repeatedly. “After all, she shouldn’t have existed!”

Hearing those words, Fane felt the urge to kill them all in just one strike.

However, deep down, he reminded himself to stay calm. After all, Fiona was Selena’s mother, his mother-in-law.

This place was no longer the battlefield where he killed as he wished. At the very least, Fiona and Andrew were not his enemies.

Andrew’s leg was in its current condition because of his rash actions with Serena on their wedding night.

Their hatred for him was reasonable.

However, there was an outsider present.

Fane smiled coldly, then looked toward Young Master Clark. “Kylie is my daughter. She’s not baggage, nor is she a b*stard child. You have to kneel down and apologize for your words!”

At that point, Fane paused for a moment, then continued, “If not because of my unwillingness to stain this place on my first day home, you’d be dead by now!”

“Haha, brat, did I hear you correctly? Do you know who you’re talking to?”

Young Master Clark laughed, then pointed at the Bentley outside. “I heard that you used to be a delivery boy. A few years of war as a soldier has made you a tough guy, eh? You’re nothing in my eyes. Do you know how much that car costs? A person like you can’t afford to buy one in your entire life.”

“That’s right. Fane, stop your meddling. Take your daughter and leave!”

Fiona took a step forward, then added, “Stop messing with my daughter’s search for happiness!”

“Mother, unless Selena personally asks me to go away, I will never leave her side!”

Fane looked at Fiona with a resolved expression on his face.

“What do you have to compare with me? How do you qualify to be with her? A person needs to understand his own shortcomings, no?”

Young Master Clark took a step forward, then jabbed at Fane’s chest. “You’re just a useless soldier…”

Smack!

To their surprise, Fane sent Young Master Clark a few steps back with a slap. He spat a mouthful of blood along with three teeth.

“Ouch!”

Young Master Clark screamed while his cheeks burned.

“Y-Y-You dare to hit me? You’re courting death! Do you know who I am?”

Young Master Clark was furious. He wanted to fight back, yet dared not to.

The person in front of him had returned from the battlefield. He, a pampered young master, was surely no match for Fane.

“Fane, do you know who he is? He’s the Clark family’s young master. The Clark family is a lot wealthier and has more influence than our Taylor family!”

“I don’t care who he is. He dared to badmouth my daughter and have unclean thoughts about Selena. It’s already generous of me to not kill him!” Fane coldly declared.

“Alright, you’re ballsy and quite capable. Do you dare to let me make a phone call?” Ken said menacingly.

“I wouldn;’t be scared even if you made 10 calls!”

Fane could not be bothered with him. Such trash meant nothing in his eyes.

“F-F-Fane Woods?”

Right then, a melodious voice could be heard coming from behind them.

Fane’s heart trembled. He turned around to see Selena, still beautiful as ever, but dressed in simple garments. His eyes immediately turned watery. “Selena, I’m back.”

“This is wonderful. I knew it. I knew you'd survive!”

Selena’s body trembled, dropping the bags filled with trash to the ground. “It’s good that you’re back. Our child must not be without a father!”

Selena’s voice quickly regained its calm.

Must not be without a father!

Those six simple words made Fane realize Selena’s feeling for him at that moment.

That was right. They hardly had any feelings for each other as the marriage was just for show.

What happened that night was due to Selena’s rashness…

As for the child, she could not bear to abort her as she was her own flesh and blood.

Just six simple words fully expressed the helplessness in her heart.

“Selena, rest assured. Nobody will dare to bully you from now on!”

Fane raised his hand, declaring matter-of-factly, “I swear!”

“My dear, have him get out of here and take Kylie along. He will only bring trouble!”

Seeing her own daughter come home, Fiona grabbed onto Selena’s hand and said in tears, “Divorce him quick. Young Master Clark just promised us that he will take good care of you and us. I don’t want to see you collecting trash again. I also don’t wish to live in such a difficult situation anymore. Staying in a place like this is making us the laughing stock of others.”

“Ma, I’m sorry. I can’t abandon Kylie! Although Fane might be useless, he’s still my man and Kylie’s father. I believe that if we work hard together, our life will definitely get better!”

Selena managed a bitter smile, her eyes filled with helplessness.

“H-H-He hit Young Master Clark right after he returned home. Look, even his teeth fell off!”

Andrew was squatting on the floor in anger, feeling disappointed.

“What?!”

Selena looked at the teeth and bloodstains on the floor, then shot an astonished look at Fane. “W-W-Why did you hit him? You’re too rash! This will be troublesome!”

“It’s fine, honey. You don’t have to worry!”

Fane smiled calmly, silently appreciating the woman standing before him. She was just as pretty as before.

“What do you mean there’s nothing to worry? Quickly come apologize to Young Master Clark. He’s the most promising child of the Clark family’s younger generation and also the Eldest Young Master. He’s the heir apparent, the Clark family’s future master!”

“This time, you’re really in big trouble!”

Selena was extremely worried, urgently pushing Fane toward Young Master Clark.

“Apologize? Ptooi!”

Once again, Young Master Clark spat out the blood in his mouth, then looked up and puffed his chest. “It’s too late to apologize now. My dad has ordered Dan Jameson to come and settle this matter!”

“Dan Jameson?”

Fane was baffled. Was that not the person he had just defeated in an arm-wrestling match? What a coincidence.

Seeing how Fane was in a daze, Young Master Clark burst out laughing. “What’s this? Scared? Do you know who Dan is? He’s our Clark family’s number one fighter that will kill without remorse. He took down two to three hundred people all on his own. Do you think you’re so great just because you’ve been a soldier? Hehe, what an ignorant fool!”

“Young Master Clark, please show your generosity and let this person go. He’s just a boor. Why bother?”

Selena went forward to put in a kind word for Fane, feeling helpless.

“I’ve lost a few teeth and you’re telling me to let him go? Are you kidding me?”

Young Master Clark massaged his swollen cheek, filled with anger. “I can let this slide as long as you divorce him right now...and marry me!”

“Young Master Clark, is that necessary? With your status, you can easily find a beautiful young lady. Why would you insist on a married woman like myself?”

Selena smiled awkwardly. “Young Master Clark, please stop your jokes!”

“I’m sorry, but you’re the type I like!”

Young Master Clark laughed coldly. “Since you’re unwilling to divorce him, then I’m not to be blamed. This brat will die today!”

“I’ll die today? I don’t think so!”

Fane was unfazed. He took a look outside and saw that Shauna had already brought Kylie to play under the banyan tree.

“Hmph, I’ll see how you plan to act tough later!”

Young Master Clark could not be bothered to talk with Fane. He believed that Fane would be regretting soon enough.

Very quickly, a few cars pulled over just outside. Dan Jameson, the Clark family’s number one fighter, walked in along with a few muscular guys.

Just as he entered the courtyard, Dan shouted, “Who’s the person that dared to bully our young master? Do you wish to die?”

At that moment, Dan was furious as he had just ran into someone he could not afford to offend, causing him to lose a finger.

He had just only finished treating his wound at the hospital when his master gave him another phone call, telling him that Young Master Clark was beaten up, sending him over to settle the issue.

“It’s that trash named Fane Woods. He’s just a stinking, retired soldier, yet he dares to behave arrogantly before me!”

Young Master Clark immediately started smugly mouthing off once he saw Dan approach with his men.

“Motherf*cker, this is really—” Dan bellowed, rushing as he was about to take action to vent his frustrations.

However, seeing the person standing in front of Ken, he was almost petrified by fear.

“How unexpected. We meet again!”

Fane smiled calmly, then looked at the bandaged hand of the other party. “It seems you have a great personality. You’re a real man that keeps your word!”

At first, Ken could not understand what Fane was talking about. He frowned and looked at Dan, asking, “You’ve met?”

Dan smiled bitterly, then nodded. “Young Master Clark, uhm… It’s about time for lunch. Why don’t we head back?”

While he spoke, Dan had even winked a few times at Ken.

“Lunch? What lunch? Go beat him up. Damn it! If I don’t vent my frustrations today, I’m not a man!” Ken huffed, failing to understand Dan’s implications.

Smack!

Fane took a step forward and gave Young Master Clark a slap to his face.

“You…”

“Dan, get him!”

Smack!

“Dan…”

Smack!

After a few consecutive slaps, Young Master Clark almost passed out.

“Dan, why aren’t you and your men taking action?”

Young Master Clark was on the verge of tears. He felt so wronged. He had never been treated this way before.

Dan did not dare to take action. The men around him had also witnessed first hand how Black Dragon was killed. They lowered their heads in fear, not daring to take a single step forward.

“Sorry for disturbing!”

The unexpected had just happened. Dan walked up to Fane and bowed respectfully, then with a wave of his hand, he ordered his underlings, “Take Young Master Clark home!”

In an instant, the thugs carried Ken and went out the door.

“Put me down. Dan, what’s wrong with you? I’m asking you to cripple that brat. Dan, why are you such a wuss today?”

Young Master Clark was cursing all the way out, but it had no effect. He was carried away just like that.

“This…”

Fiona and Andrew were both flabbergasted. At first, they thought that Fane was done for. Who would have thought such a dramatic scene would ensue?

“Could it be that Dan is afraid of you? You know each other?” Selena asked with a frown on her face.

“That’s a long story!”

Fane smiled bitterly, then looked at the bag of trash on the floor, asking, “Selena, why are you collecting trash? What happened in the past five years?”

All was good until that topic was brought up. Fiona immediately boiled with rage again.

Enraged, she walked forward and was just about to push Fane out of the door. “It’s all because of you, trash! If not for you forcing yourself on my daughter and impregnating her with Kylie, would she be kicked out of the family? Do you think we’d be collecting trash for a living?”

“Ma, stop that. He’s not to be blamed for that matter. It was my own decision. He did not force himself on me!”

Selena retorted strongly, “The incident that night was nothing to be regretful about. I’ll never regret my decision. I’ll be responsible for my own actions. Didn’t Grandpa have me marry him? He’s the man I’ll be with!”

“Impossible. It must be this scoundrel forcing himself on you. You must’ve been drunk, and he took advantage of that. That must be it!”

“You’re the Taylor family’s Eldest Miss and he’s only a delivery boy. How can he be a worthy partner for you?”

Fiona refused to believe Selena’s statement. She glared at Fane through gritted teeth. “Brat, I don’t care. You must compensate my daughter for her loss of youth and divorce her. Let her marry Young Master Clark.”

“Mother, I’ve already told you. Unless Selena says so, I won’t be divorcing her!”

Fane was determined. He looked at Selena, finally showing a gentle expression as he asked, “Selena, can you tell me what happened? Even if you’re kicked out of the Taylor family, you shouldn’t have to resort to collecting trash, right? With your networking and capabilities, how could you not find a good job?”

Selena made a bitter smile. That smile was filled with untold suffering. “Do you think I wished for this? After getting pregnant, I was told to abort it. I disagreed and was kicked out. What kind of job could I take while being pregnant? Moreover, my Grandpa gave out an order to ban all affiliated companies from hiring me!”

By that point, Selena took a seat by the table. Her gaze had a pitiful look. “Some companies were willing to hire me, for example, those from the Clark family. Although they were willing, the condition was to abort the child. Moreover, Young Master Clark had always been eyeing me! What else could I do? The Taylor family was even worse. They would only leave me alone when I collected trash. Otherwise, they’d be sending people to destroy my business even if I just set up a simple stall!”

“Damn it!”

By that point, Fane could not bear listening on. The wife of the Supreme Warrior was actually forced to collect trash and left without help?

“You see, it’s all because of you. If not for trash like you, would our family be in such a rut?”

Fiona was still as disgusted as before. “Furthermore, Selena’s dad’s leg was broken when he worked as a porter. Look at him now! Sob, sob, sob, why is my life so difficult!”

“Father, mother, I’m sorry. I didn’t expect it to turn out this way!”

Seeing Fiona in tears and how the whole family could not even have a decent meal, Fane’s heart was wracked with guilt. “Don’t you worry. Now that I’m back, nobody will dare to bully you in the future!”

“You’re just talking nonsense!”

Fiona’s voice trembled, clearly agitated as she pointed at Fane. “You’re just a soldier. What can you do? At most, you can only run your mouth. The way I see it, it’s 10 to 100 times better for our Selena to marry Young Master Clark or that Young Master Wilson when compared to trash like you!”