Life After Prison

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.