A smile that was neither self-important nor self-abasing unfolded across Severin's face."This guy is Mister Henry's friend? That can't be possible!""For the love of God, that kid was invited to have a meal with Mister Henry when even people like us aren't qualified to do so?"A number of wealthy businessmen were completely shell-shocked to hear Henry's words. Some of them even wondered if they were dreaming."How did he get to know Mister Henry?" George, the head of the Shanahans, frowned as well. Everyone there had been trying to get close to someone as powerful as Henry, yet none ever had even the slightest chance of succeeding. By contrast, Severin seemed to be on such friendly terms with Henry that the latter had took the initiative to treat him to a meal!Henry turned around and looked at Lucy while saying, "Aren't you Severin's ex-fiancee? Don't you think you should return the dowry now that you're getting married to someone else instead of him? And that one-hundred-and-
To everyone's surprise, Diane frowned and said, "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I won't be able to join. You can go with them yourself, Severin!"The smile on Henry's face froze in an instant, for her rebuff was downright discourteous!The Shanahans were all taken aback, and William immediately stepped forward to say, "What are you talking about, Diane? Mister Henry invited you to dinner because he thinks highly of you. How could you refuse to go?"He then smiled in a flattering manner and said to Henry, "Mister Henry, my wife has been a little spoiled since childhood, but it's nothing more than a bit of temper. Please don't take her actions to heart!"Catherine was just as startled too. "What are you talking about? You need to go, Diane! It is unbecoming of you to refuse an invitation from Mister Henry!"The Shanahans had been dreaming of getting such an opportunity, yet they were never fortunate enough to get one. On the other hand, Diane had received that privilege when Henry invite
"Severin, you b*stard! You just had to ruin my daughter's wedding because you can't marry her, didn't you? It's not like you'll achieve anything with your actions. My daughter will marry Easton anyway!" Helga cursed at Severin as she was still resentful that her family had to return the 190,000 dollars.Severin could not bother to pay attention to her and looked at Denzel with a smile. "Thanks for your help today, Mister Denzel. I owe you one, so if you ever need my help in the future, just say the word."Denzel was secretly delighted to hear that. In fact, he was confident that Henry would help Severin after arriving there, and that was the only reason he dared to stand up against Blade and Trevor. Had he not known that Henry would show up and speak for Severin, he might not have dared to do what he did that day. Having Severin owe him a favor was a good thing of course, since he believed that someone whom Henry thought highly of would definitely be someone extraordinary!"You're w
Diane still had not taken too kindly to Severin, but at the thought of her daughter and the sight of Severin's sincere expression earlier, she eventually gave in and allowed him to hold her hand. As they reached the door to her home, she took out her key and opened it. Inside, Selene was sitting quietly on an old sofa while watching cartoons."Mom! Is Dad back?" Selene immediately ran over when she heard her mother open the door.Severin walked in, and when he gazed upon the four-year-old girl in front of him, the strong connection he felt from their blood relationship made his heart skip a beat."Mom…this man…is my dad?" Selene held Diane's hand and asked timidly. Severin was a stranger, after all, and it was only natural for her to feel wary of him.Diane frowned slightly, but a smile soon unfurled across her face. She squatted down, caressed Selene's face, and nodded. "That's right, Selene. He's your father. Weren't you looking forward to his return? Well, here he is!""I'm so
"Enough with those empty promises!" Diane glared at Severin and continued, "Don't just say yes to everything she asks for, or else she'll keep talking about it until we get it!""I'm not making empty promises." Severin smiled. "Relax. I've got money!""Ugh, fine, whatever!" Diane rolled her eyes at Severin again. From her point of view, Severin could only have been speaking about must be the money that he got back from the Orwells.Soon, the two of them returned to the hotel with Selene and were welcomed like esteemed guests to a luxurious private room. By then, the food that Henry and Charmaine ordered had already been served."This is too much food, Mister Henry!" Severin exclaimed with a smile when he looked at the table full of food in front of him."Haha, everything they have on the menu is delicious, so I figured that I might as well let you try them all. Besides, I don't know what kind of food you folks like, so it wouldn't hurt to order a little extra!" Henry chuckled."M
Diane's red lips parted open slightly and her face was that of utter bewilderment. She originally wanted Severin to refuse Henry's offer because it was only due to Severin that she was able to sit there and have lunch with Henry that day. It did not cross her mind that Severin would just put the key into his pocket."Glad to hear that!" When he saw that Severin had finally accepted the gift, Henry smiled and quickly said to Selene, "Selene, I'd like to eat some cake too. Can I have a slice?""Okay!" Selene smiled.Diane immediately unboxed the cake and had Selene cut it into several pieces to share with everyone."You're not just cute! You're a good girl too!" Charmaine could not help but pat Selene's head."Have some cake!" Selene smiled, then ran back to her seat."All right, let's have our cake!" Henry nodded with a smile. After taking a bite of the cake, he seemed to have been overcome with emotion. "You know, it's been so long since I've eaten cake. The food at my birthday c
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
Catherine thought about what Felicia said and eventually replied, "A dowry of one-and-a-half million dollars is nothing. It's not like we lack that kind of money. What's more important is building a relationship with the Horsfields. It would indeed be good if Diane marries into their family!""Yes! Exactly!" Felicia's eyes lit up. For the record, after Diane was kicked out of the Shanahan home, the money in Diane's bank card was all taken back by the Shanahans.Though Felicia, William, and Megan were still living with the Shanahans, they had been sidelined by Stanley.William was never a capable person to begin with, so he could only work in the company's warehouse. The salary was not very high to begin with, but Stanley slashed his salary and even came up with all sorts of reasons to deduct it even further. In the end, his pay was peanuts.Felicia did not work, so she spent her free time playing bridge with her friends.Megan, on the other hand, graduated from university only rec