Severin smiled and clinked sses with them before drinking his ss 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 olddy 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 that there is more to Severin than it appears on the surface. There must be something


    special about him!”


    William seemed to feel that his mother was trying to imply something, so he asked, “What do you


    mean?”


    Catherine pondered for a moment. “The past was the past. It’s been so many years since then. I think


    you should let Diane and her family move back here. What are three extra mouths to feed? We can still


    afford to expenses to take care of them.”


    William was overjoyed to hear that and immediately sought to confirm what Catherine just said.” Do I


    understand you correctly, Mom? Are we letting bygones be bygones? Does this mean you’re fine with


    Diane, Selene, and Severin moving back here to stay with us in our vi?”


    The olddy’s face sank. “Have I not made myself clear enough?”


    “Why would you do that, Grandma?” Diane’s elder cousin brother, Stanley, immediately expressed his


    unhappiness when the olddy offered to have Diane’s family move back. “Diane brought shame to the


    Shanahans. and her one-night stand is an ex-convict. Won’t it be a p in our faces if we just let them


    move back here? You said it yourself back then that she will forever be barred from stepping foot in our


    home if she gave birth to the b*stard she was carrying.”


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    His words brought a frown to the olddy. “I only said that in a moment of anger to persuade her into


    getting an abortion. Her child has grown older, and that incident was all in the past. As much as I don’t


    want us to face all that shame, the fact is that we already have. What am I supposed to do? Shove the


    child back into the mother’s womb? Severin might be more capable than we think. We’ll let them move


    back with us, and then bit by bit we’ll try to get him to open up about his rtionship with Henry and


    why Henry would invite him to a meal!”


    William loved his daughter dearly too, but he did not dare to go against his mother’s decision to drive


    Diane out. That, coupled with Felicia’s temper, deterred him from visiting Diane and Selene. Even so,


    he did visit them secretly a few times in private and even gave Diane some money.


    He was very happy to hear that his mother was nning to wee Diane’s family back. “Okay.


    That’s a wise choice, Mom! Diane suffered a lot in the past few years, and I’m sure she knows that she


    is wrong!”


    Felicia, however, chimed in from one side and said with a cold expression, “I can hardly believe that


    she’ll know what she had done wrong. If she did, she wouldn’t continue to be with Severin!” At that


    point, she stepped forward and persuaded the olddy, “Edward’s side contacted us again. him. and


    said that he’d give us a dowry of one-and-a-half-million dors if Diane is willing to marry It’s obvious


    that he still can’t get over Diane, and that’s what you called true love!”


    “Is that so?” Stanley, who was afraid that Diane would one day vie with him for the position of heir to


    the Shanahans’ assets, immediately agreed. “That’s a good thing! We must bring Diane and Edward


    together. The Horsfields are a second-tier upper-ss family, and they’re much more powerful than we


    are. It would only be beneficial for our own family’s prospects if Diane marries


    them!”


    Stanley, however, did not expect that Catherine would be a little displeased. “Have you forgotten. that


    the situation Diane is in today is precisely because we forced her to marry Edward five years ago? She


    ran to some bar in a fit of anger, got drunk, and slept with Severin. Since she would rather sleep with a


    random man than marry Edward, what makes you think anyone can persuade her to marry Edward


    now?”


    Her stern telling-off left Stanley with no choice but to shut his mouth. He was well aware of Diane’s


    character, and knowing how stubborn she was, there was no way they could persuade her now, when


    Severin had returned, since their efforts all those years ago proved futile as well. To him, she was


    nothing more than a blockhead.


    Be that as it may, Felicia still did not give up and could not help but say, “If you think about it, Diane


    used to be so stubborn because she was pampered youngdy. Now that she suffered for five years


    and experienced the harsh realities of life, I believe she might be inclined to agree if I try to persuade


    her!”