Life After Prison

“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.

“Miss Diane, is the daughter you had with Severin? She’s quite the cutie.” Charmaine looked at Selene and said with a faint smile. Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

Diane nodded. “Yes. Her name is Selene, and she’s just a little over four years old!”

“Come now, everyone. Take your seat and dig in! We wouldn’t want the food to go cold now, would we?” Henry beckoned them with a smile.

“To be honest, I was planning to celebrate Selene’s birthday today, and I even bought a cake for her. She’s been looking forward to eating cake with her father on the day he returns.” Diane awkwardly took

out the cheap cake that she bought and put it on the table.

“Is that so? Since it’s Selene’s birthday today, it wouldn’t be very nice of me not to give her a present!” Henry said with a smile.

Diane was flattered to hear that, but she immediately explained in embarrassment, “Mister Henry, her birthday was some time ago, but I forgot to celebrate it with her because I’ve been too busy. She’s been asking for cake ever since, and it just so happens that I’ve decided to make it up to her today. Having you treat us to a meal is already more than we could ask for!”

“Haha, that’s so adorable of her. Well, birthday or not, I think a gift is in order anyway!”

Henry laughed again and took out a key, which he put in front of Diane. “I have a house at Dragon Lake that’s been left unoccupied for a long time. It’s a very quiet place, one that would be perfect for Severin’s parents to spend their old age in!”

Diane glanced at the key and handed it back at once. “Mister Henry, we can’t possibly. This is priceless!”

Diane knew very well that it was the key to a villa at Dragon Lake Vista. It was one of the most sought- after residential areas, no doubt because it was built on the mountainside and the scenery was simply breathtaking.

Not even the Shanahans were able to secure one, though it was not so much a question of whether the Shanahans could afford it as it was the limited number of villas. The Shanahans were just a run-of-the- mill wealthy family, and while they did lack the financial ability to buy it when the units were first put on the market, it was the upper-class families’ reluctance to sell that formed a stumbling block for the Shanahans by the time they were able to afford a villa there.

Henry, however, pushed the key back to Diane again and said earnestly, “It was Severin who saved my life, and I insist that this villa be given to you. I know that Severin won’t accept money because it’s a little crass, so I figured I could just give him this villa!”

Severin pondered over it for a moment. It was far from ideal for his parents to live in that leaky old house, and the same goes for the shabby place that his wife rented to stay with their daughter. Furthermore, it would be such a waste of time to go through the process of finding and buying a house by himself.

“But…”

Diane frowned and glanced at Severin, signaling for him to help her out.

Severin smiled, took the key, and placed it in his pocket. “In that case, I am very grateful to you, Mister Henry! No gift can be bigger than this!”