Ice and Fire novel Chapter 42

When Jackson learned that Cherry was at Emily's home, he rushed there with Derek.

Emily heard a knock on her door, she went to the door and opened it. The next moment, she was surprised to see the two men standing outside.

"Jackson Chu, why are you here?" asked Emily.

"You should know what I'm here for, " said Jackson, coldly.

Of course she knew. She looked at Jackson and said, "Cherry's still sleeping on the sofa. Don't disturb her."

With these words, Emily walked into the room, beckoning Jackson and Derek to come in, too.

As soon as Derek and Jackson entered Emily's house, they saw Cherry curled up on the sofa.

Emily whispered, "I don't know what happened between you two. Cherry refused to talk about it. But I hope you won't hurt her. She has lived a really hard life since she was a child."

Jackson listened to Emily's words without defending himself. He looked at Cherry, who was asleep, and felt distressed.

Standing next to Jackson, Derek looked at Cherry but did not say anything either. He could not comment on Jackson's private affairs.

Emily looked at her watch and was nervous. She said to Jackson, "I must go now, otherwise I'll be late for work. Please take good care of Cherry. There's food in the refrigerator. Bring her some when she wakes up."

Jackson nodded, without saying anything.

Derek thought that Jackson was going to stay here for a while, so he said to Emily, "Let me drive you to work."

Emily had not expected Derek would say this. She asked, shyly, "Is it convenient for you?"

"It's okay. I guess that Jackson is not leaving now. And I have nothing else to do, " said Derek. Derek was trying to give Jackson and Cherry more privacy to get along with each other. Seeing that they were both suffering, as Jackson's good friend, he too felt miserable.

Emily nodded when she saw that Jackson was not against the plan.

After Derek and Emily were gone, Jackson slowly approached Cherry. He sat on the sofa and looked at his woman, who was sleeping. He felt a touch of sadness flow through his heart.

She had lost a lot of weight and it must be because she hadn't slept well without him next to her at night.

Jackson reached out and tenderly stroked her cheek. He wanted to take good care of her and protect her, but he hadn't found the right way to do it.

Cherry felt someone stroke her cheeks and the feeling was familiar. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Jackson's handsome face. She was surprised and asked, "Why are you here?"

Cherry looked around. It was Emily's house. She wondered why Jackson was here.

"I'm here for you, " said Jackson, softly. He was afraid of scaring the woman.

"Why are you here for me?" asked Cherry. She sat up from the sofa and glared at him. She was still very angry when she recalled what had happened in the hospital.

Jackson held Cherry's hand and said, "Sweetie, don't be angry, okay?"

His tender words made Cherry feel a bit flattered, but her mind was still clear and she knew exactly what she should do.

Cherry took her hand away from Jackson's hand and avoided looking at him. "You don't have to behave like this. If you want to look after Sally He, just do it. I don't care about it."

Her indifferent words and attitude made Jackson feel helpless. He was already so humble. What else did she expect him to do?

"Let's go home first and we can talk about it, " said Jackson.

"Jackson, do you think that home is still my home?" asked Cherry. Remembering those sleepless nights, Cherry felt very sad.

"What the hell do you want to do?" Jackson stared into Cherry's eyes and asked her.

"I don't want to do anything. I don't care about your affairs and you should not care about mine, " said Cherry. She was completely disappointed with Jackson. After all the things that had happened, her heart was now broken.

Jackson tried his best to restrain himself from getting angry at her.

"Honey, let's go back home. I promise that I'll always be with you from now on, " said Jackson. He had already asked Derek to look for a housemaid for Sally He. And he would take good care of Cherry, with his heart and soul.

Looking into Jackson's eyes, Cherry began to believe in him again.

"Shall we go home now?" asked Jackson, stroking her hair tenderly.

Cherry finally nodded and agreed to Jackson's request.

When Cherry went back to her home, it had already been cleaned up and the wedding photo in the bedroom was hanging in its original position. It seemed that nothing had ever happened here.

Seeing Cherry standing still in the bedroom, Jackson walked over, hugged her from behind and said, "Honey, this is our home and you have to guard it."

Hearing his sweet words, Cherry felt conflicted. How could she feel at ease with Sally He around?

Cherry suddenly remembered something. She turned her head, looked lovingly at Jackson and asked, "How is your wound?"

Jackson smiled happily when he saw that his woman cared about him. "I'm a soldier. Such wounds matter little to me, " said Jackson.

Cherry fell silent.

At night, Jackson lovingly held her in his arms, as they lay in bed. He seemed to own the whole world when she was by his side.

"Honey, " Jackson said.

"Yes?" answered Cherry. She liked the way he called her.

"Do you believe in me?" asked Jackson.

Cherry was stunned. She did not know what Jackson wanted to say?

Jackson saw that Cherry had not answered him. He continued, "I love you."

Thinking of Sally He, Jackson's words did not make any sense to Cherry.

"What about Sally He?" Cherry finally asked, wanting to clear the doubt in her heart.

Jackson did not immediately answer her question.

Cherry continued, "Don't you love her? I heard you grew up together and your love for her seems to have exceeded my imagination."

Cherry did not know what had happened between them, but she was sure that Jackson loved Sally He.

"That is an old story, " said Jackson.

"Don't you love her now? Can you let her go out of your heart?" Cherry approached Jackson and asked him.

"Honey, do you have to ask it this way?" Jackson's tone gradually hardened, and his mind was in turmoil. He wanted to handle these things well, but he did not know how to explain it to Cherry.

"Then how do you expect me to ask it?" Cherry's face went cold. "You said that you loved me and wanted to protect me, but what about Sally He? Who is she to you? You abandoned me as soon as she came back. In your heart, she is more important than I am. She is your true love while I am just your nominal wife. Isn't that right?" asked Cherry, angrily.

"It's not like what you are thinking, " said Jackson, helplessly.

Cherry did not want to continue with this topic. She looked at the ceiling and asked the question that had bothered her for a long time, "Then can you tell me what happened between you and Sally He that year? Why did she leave?"

Jackson's face tightened. That year? It was a painful memory that could never be wiped away from his heart.

Seconds passed by, slowly.

The whole bedroom fell silent. Jackson did not answer her question.

Cherry kept on waiting. Finally, she gave up, slowly closed her eyes and pretended to fall asleep.

Jackson looked at the ceiling, distracted. He was not ready to tell the story to Cherry. It was about hatred among three families. It was a nightmare and had been a source of great pain for him. He hadn't forgotten about it even after so many years. How could he let Cherry suffer from it too?