Life After Prison

Chapter 31
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 happy! I finally have a dad now!” Selene was ecstatic and jumped for joy.
“Dad!” she called out, running toward Severin.
In all the years that Severin was in prison, he was able to make even the most vicious of people submit to him. His heart had
been tempered by those experiences, or so he believed. Yet when the little girl in front of him stammered as she called out to
him, it managed to touch the depths of his heart ever so slightly!
“Yes, it’s me, Selene!” Severin squatted down and hugged his daughter in his arms. Even his eyes were tinged with scarlet.
Selene smiled, tilted her cute little head back. “Dad! Mom said you went away to earn loads and loads of money! Are you rich
now?”
Severin looked at the childlike naivete in her eyes and could not help but smile dotingly. He touched her round face and said, “I
am. I’ve made a lot of money so none of us have to suffer anymore!”
“Can you buy me a lot of toys then?” Selene looked at Severin innocently.
“Of course! Let’s buy them after we get something to eat!” Severin agreed right away. The closeness he felt toward someone
who was his flesh and blood was such a novel feeling for him, and his affection for Selene grew with every glance he took at her.

“Yay! Did you hear that, Mom? Dad earned a lot of money, so he can buy me toys!”
Selene ran up happily to Diane and said, “Mom, you don’t need to go to work anymore now that Dad has so much money! You’ll
spend more time with me now, won’t you?”
Diane opened her mouth to answer but did not know what sort of response would be best. All she could think was, ‘How are we
going to survive in the future if I don’t work?”
Severin smiled. “That’s right, Mom won’t have to go to work anymore, and I can spend more time with my precious daughter
too!” He went over, carried Selene up, and said to Diane, ‘Come on,
let’s go get lunch! The car is still waiting below!”
Diane could only nod her head and smiled softly. “Okay.”
“We’re going out to eat? What about the cake, Mom?” Selene looked at the little cake on the table and could not help but lick her
lips in anticipation.
Severin turned around and said to Diane, “Let’s bring the cake.”
Diane knew that Selene had been looking forward to eating cake with her parents for a long time, so she nodded and took that
little cake as well.
It was Selene’s first time in a luxury car, and she asked Severin, “Is this our car, Dad?”
Severin shook his head. “No, but we’ll have our own soon! We’ll go buy one some other day!”