Episode 8

"Mom, no matter what you say, Fane is still Kylie's father and your son-in-law. Don't ridicule him like that again!"

"The past is long gone. You need to stop talking about it too!"

Salena was as kind and understanding as she always had been.

"Nonsense! I never acknowledged him as part of our family. He's not in the equation!" retorted Fiona.

"Exactly. If it weren't for him, my leg wouldn't be in this state!" Andrew held onto his grudge as well.

"But what wrong did he do? At the time, I slept with him because I was heartbroken over our family. I didn't expect to get pregnant because of it!"

Salena felt powerless. It was indeed her thoughtless act that had led to all this. Yet, she really didn't want to terminate the pregnancy.

She considered the situation they faced even now as a punishment for all the mistakes she had made back then.

"But you didn't have to keep the child. You...you were really trying to give me a heart attack, weren't you!"

Fiona stomped her foot in frustration.

"Enough. It is what it is. He's gone back to the battlefield now. Let's see if he can find something to do in the future. Our lives will eventually improve!"

Andrew pulled out a cigarette and lit it. He was indeed enraged whenever he saw Fane. But at this moment, there was nothing more he could do. After all, Kylie was his grandchild, the flesh and blood of his own daughter.

"Just how much better can our lives get? Can it be compared to when we lived in the upscale housing?"

Fiona was still panting from her emotions.

"Salena, where is my mother? Why haven't I seen her yet?"

Fane furrowed his brow. He had been back for a while but hadn't seen his mother. Before, Jenny had said that his mother was also staying with them.

"She's still at work. We can't keep her. Your mother is uneducated and old. She can only work as a street cleaner. Her monthly salary is quite low, and she divides some of it to help us. As a family, we do what we can!" Salena said with a bitter smile.

"Come on, take me to her! You should know which streets she's cleaning, right?"

Hearing that his own mother had been working as a street cleaner and the entire family's income depended on her and Salena picking through trash, Fane felt extremely uncomfortable.

"Kid, I'm telling you again, you have to divorce Salena straight away. Besides, I won't let you walk away without at least 10 million dollars for compensation for her lost youth!"

As they left, Fiona's explosion of anger could still be heard from inside the house.

***

By now, the sun was high in the sky. The sweltering heat of the summer day caused the temperature on the ground to keep rising.

On the roadside, a middle-aged woman was seen wearing a hat while cleaning the streets.

Thump!

A plastic water bottle was thrown right in front of the middle-aged woman.

The woman looked up and saw two young men with several short-dressed, sexy girls. She shook her head with a resigned expression.

"Ah, the youth of today... they don't even know how to dispose of their trash in the bins right there."

Unexpectedly, her words were overheard by the group.

"What the hell, you're just a cleaner. Why are you talking such nonsense?"

"I was the one who threw that bottle in front of you. What about it? If I don't throw trash here, then what are you cleaners paid for?"

The young man who threw the bottle started ranting.

After that, he spat out, "Low-life people like you can only get this far!"

"That's right. If it weren't for us littering, they probably wouldn't have jobs!"

One of the young curly-haired girls in a black skirt and stockings began chewing sunflower seeds and tossing the shells everywhere.

"Clean up, if you don't do it right, they might cut your wages!"

The two young men joined in and grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds, starting to chew them, "Exactly. Auntie, clean it up properly, will you? Ha ha ha!"

"Y-You're so young, yet so uncivilized. The trash bin is right there. Don't you know that littering is very uncivilized?"

The cleaning woman became indignant. Under the scorching summer sun, she felt like she might pass out from the heat. Yet the street she spent so much time on...

"Haha, you're teaching us manners? You're just a cleaner, but you talk about manners. That's funny!"

The first young man laughed again.

Watching the incident, Fane and Salena were enraged. These young people were so disrespectful.

"What's the use of abusing this old person?"

Before Fane could step forward, Salena had already rushed towards the group, shouting angrily,

"What kind of behavior is this? People work hard to keep the streets clean. Can't you do your part in maintaining a good environment?"

"Aiyo, pretty miss, are you trying to defend her? You look good and have a fine figure. But you appear poor. Look at your clothes, all patched up!"

The young man looked over Salena and was taken aback by what he saw. This woman wore very old and simple clothes that could not hide her beauty.

"Don't you know you should mind your own business?"

Instead, the two girls looked disdainfully at Salena.

"Salena, why are you here?"

Joan Xavier, Fane's mother, quickly pulled Salena back.

"It's okay, it's okay. They'll leave in a while. Afterward, I'll clean it up!"

"Mom, they are too much. They have crossed the line!"

Salena felt uncomfortable. Her fists were clenched tightly, but she was powerless to do anything.

The young man saw Salena getting angry and became even more excited. He could not resist the temptation.

"Come here. If you give me a kiss, we'll stop littering. Deal?"

"How dare you touch my woman?"

Fane couldn't hold back any longer. He stepped forward and glared at them.

"You..."

Joan was startled. She immediately recognized Fane and began to cry, "Fane, y-you're back?"

Fane turned around. His eyes were also welling up. He grasped Joan's hand tightly,

"Mom, where have I been. Your daughter has made you suffer. I couldn't be by your side for these past five years!"

"No, I'm fine. I'm really fine!"

"What matters most is you've come home safe and sound. Everyone said that you had died on the battlefield. I knew you would come back safely!"

Joan's tears flowed freely as her voice trembled. Her calloused old hands grasped Fane's hands firmly. She was fearful that if she let go, it would all turn out to be a dream.

"I'm back, I'm really back. We won't ever be apart again and will live comfortably from now on!"

Fane nodded repeatedly, "Your devoted son has caused you worry!"

"No, no, you're a good child. I know you married the daughter of the Taylor family just to get the money for my treatment. You also went to battle for our country!"

Joan's tears blurred her vision, "I'm so satisfied to have a son like you!"

"Damn it. Are you from the entertainment department? What's with all this drama? It's sickening!"

The young people were growing impatient. However, the outburst they had just provoked caused a murderous glint to flash in Fane's eyes.

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