Damien was sitting in the backseat of a taxi cab with a sullen expression.
Ryan's appearance reminded him of the past that he didn't want to remember.
Back then, he was called a bastard and an illegitimate child at a tender age, and got chased out of his home together with his mother, whose assets and valuables were all seized. He had a high, persistent fever at the time.
And while holding him in her arms, his mother knelt by the Wallaces' doorstep and pleaded for help, only to hear them say coldly,
"We don't care about the lives of those who are not related to our Wallace family"
Afterwards, his mother moved around and brought him to Greenville, where she worked hard to make ends meet. Although life was tough, she managed to raise him to adulthood.
However, his mother developed an illness and collapsed after years of toiling and living a strenuous life.
At that time, Damien had just graduated from college, and his meager salary was a drop in the bucket compared to the hefty medical bills. He swallowed his pride and tried to seek help from the Wallaces, only to receive a heartless rejection and harsh mockery and criticism, which made him feel hopeless and resentful toward them.
Not quite long after, he and Lena were drugged, thus resulting in the shameful scandal that spread like wildfire in the entire city.
The Parkers requested that he marry into their family, to which he agreed on the condition that the Parkers would lend him eighty thousand dollars for his mother's treatment.
But however, by the time he rushed to the hospital with the money, his mother had already passed away.
At that time, Damien was devastated and felt like a complete failure in life. He failed to save his mother's life and wasn't worthy of an outstanding girl like Lena Parker either.
To make matters worse, the Parkers often mocked him in the past.
Damien then decided to leave his wife behind and join the military, where he swore to make a name for himself so that he could stand proudly beside his wife.
Now, he had returned.
........
The car sped along the road, and soon he arrived at the Parker residence.
Damien stood outside the courtyard gate that he was familiar with and seemed rather nervous about returning home.
Years ago, he left without saying goodbye, and he didn't know what Lena thought of him now.
He soon summoned courage and walked forward.
Just as he was about to knock on the door, he heard some boisterous laughter coming from inside.
"Mr Thompson, since you're so sincere about Lena, we shall be straightforward. Let's just settle on a date."
Boom!
Damien was stunned.
He reckoned that the voice belonged to Kate, his mother-in-law and Lena's mother.
"Madam Kate, you're being too polite. Since we're going to be a family in the future, don't be so formal. Just call me by my name."
"Sure, sure, you're so young and eloquent. Lena's truly lucky to have met you! As her parents, we can finally feel rest assured now!"
"But, I heard her former..."
"You mean that good-for-nothing? It's alright. The law states that a missing person can be declared dead after being missing for four years. He's already disappeared for more than four years, so he must have died in some shit-hole! If you're still worried, I can go to the court and get a certificate."
"In my opinion, Lena is brilliant in all aspects, except that her husband, my brother-in-law, is a good-for-nothing." another voice chimes in.
This was the voice of Damien's sister in- law.
"That piece of trash isn't your brother-in-law. From now on, your brother-in-law is Mr Thompson" Kate Parker scolded.
When Damien heard this, his face turned incredibly gloomy, and he couldn't tolerate it any longer.
He had come back for Lena, and yet he heard her family talking about remarrying her out?.
No matter what, he had to see her to clarify.
Bang! Bang!!
He knocked on the door.
"Who is that? Coming."
Having settled her eldest daughter's marriage with a wealthy man, Kate was in a rather good mood as she opened the door with a gleeful grin.
However, her expression turned into that of disdain.
Christ F**k!
This good-for-nothing is back!
Although Damien's appearance had changed over the years, she could still recognize him, as she always curse him in her head several dozens of times everyday.
"I'm back home, Mother" Damien said calmly.
"Mother?! How could you have the cheek to come back, you wastrel?! and still have the guts to call me mother? Don't act so close to me! It's Mrs Parker. Didn't your late mother teach you any manners!" Kate hollered, her brows furrowed and her hands on her waist.
Her saliva almost baptized Damien's face.
Damien's heart was suddenly full of fury!
His mother's death would forever be a sore spot in his heart and the reason for his rebellion!
He clenched his fists and repeatedly warned himself not to get physical because the woman in front of him was his wife's biological mother.
"What? You wanna hit me? You're such a jinx. Of all times, you had to come back now. I bet you're bent on making life hard for us!"
"Who's out there with you, honey?" When Lena's father heard the ruckus, he walked out of the living room too.
Swish!
When he saw Damien's face, his eyes widened immediately, and he charged forward with a furious expression in a bid to punch Damien.
"You bastard, how dare you come back?! Why didn't you just die outside?! Huh?"
Clamp!
Just as his fist was about to land on Damien's face, a hand that was as strong as an iron clamp pinched his hand tightly.
"Old man, it seems like you must be tired of living! How dare you try to hit Damien..."
Tristan had been Damien's subordinate or rather his personal assistant and bodyguard for years and had long treated him as his closest kin.
How could he stand by and watch him get humiliated by others?
With an icy-cold gaze in his eyes, he emitted a murderous aura that frightened Lena's father to the point that he turned as pale as a sheet!