Ice and Fire novel Chapter 50

They went to the bar. Emily arranged a seat in the corner for Cherry, asked her colleague to serve her a few glasses of drinks and then she resumed her work.

Cherry was in the corner, having drinks and looking at the bar, which in the afternoon was largely empty of patrons. She still thought of the scene that had unfolded at noon and was even more confused. Who was that man? What was his relationship with Sally He? Did he know Jackson? What was the relationship between him and Jackson?

When Stephen walked out from the office to check on how his employee were doing, he immediately saw Cherry sitting in the corner. From the worried expression on her face, Stephen knew that she had something on her mind.

Stephen took a deep breath and got ready to greet Cherry. He walked towards her.

Seeing Stephen, Cherry put down the glass, smiled and said, "Hello, Mr An. You've come!"

"Well, why didn't you tell me in advance that you were coming to my bar? Aren't we friends?" Stephen said, with a smile, and gazed at Cherry fondly.

"Yes, we are. I just sat here for a while and I'll be leaving in a minute, " explained Cherry, hastily.

Stephen asked the waiter to serve two more glasses of drinks.

Stephen looked at Cherry and knew she had something on her mind. So he asked her, "What's the matter? Is something upsetting you?"

Cherry looked at Stephen. She did not want to reveal this to Stephen, but she felt that he had always been nice to her, so it didn't matter if she told him this thing. She thought that Stephen was a trustworthy person.

"Stephen, I just saw Sally He, " said Cherry.

"Sally He?" Stephen was surprised and asked, "What's wrong with her?"

Cherry looked at him earnestly and said, "She was with another man. I saw her while I was having lunch with Emily. It seemed that Sally He was discussing something with that man, and then they left. Emily and I could not follow them."

Hearing Cherry's words, Stephen was shocked and wondered if Sally He had come back for certain purpose.

Stephen vaguely figured out something but he did not reveal it. Instead, he remained calm and said to Cherry, "Perhaps she was just with her friend. I don't think it's a big deal."

Cherry looked at him, shook her head and said, "No, I don't think it is so simple. I still feel that Sally He is hiding something, but I haven't been about to figure it out. After all, I'm not so familiar with her."

With these words, Cherry shook her head and was lost in thought.

Seeing this, Stephen quickly said, "Cherry, you must be overthinking it."

Cherry suddenly turned to Stephen and asked, "Didn't you know Sally He before? Do you know her past? What kind of a person is she? What is her life story? And..." Cherry paused and then continued, "What happened between Jackson and her before?"

Facing Cherry's questions, Stephen was timid but he did not want to answer these questions. He knew that Jackson had told her nothing, so it meant that Jackson did not want her to know these things. Then how could he tell her these things? If Jackson found out that he had told Cherry these things, then Jackson and Derek would not let him get away with it.

Stephen eventually held back himself. He just shook his head, looked at Cherry and said, "No. I don't know her very well. Years ago, I just knew Jackson and had heard of Sally He from him. So if you really want to know something about Sally He, you should ask Jackson. He knows Sally He best."

"He won't tell me, " said Cherry, disappointed. Actually, she had asked Jackson about Sally He the last time, but Jackson hadn't answered her.

Stephen thought that only Jackson had the right to tell things about Sally He to Cherry, because if any other person told Cherry, that would trigger an unimaginable conflict. Perhaps, things that had happened years ago would be raked up again. This price was too high.

Stephen saw that Cherry was still lost in thought. He did not want Cherry to be caught up in this thing, so he changed the topic and asked, "Cherry, if you know that somebody has lied to you, what would you do?"

Stephen asked this question not for someone else, but for himself. He was afraid that Cherry would hate him after he told her things that had happened between him and Jackson.

Cherry was a bit astonished, but she looked at Stephen and saw that Stephen wasn't joking. So she thought for a minute and said, "If I have been deceived, I'll certainly feel angry. I can allow my friends to make mistakes, but I can't stand it if they lie to me."

Stephen was shocked and thought to himself, 'If Cherry doesn't take me as her friend anymore, and even doesn't want to talk to me after she knows everything, then that will make me very sad.'

Cherry noticed his strange expression and asked, "What's wrong?"

Stephen quickly shook his head and said, "No, nothing."

Cherry did not think too much about his expression. Her mind was occupied by thoughts of Sally He before Stephen had asked her this question, and she was still pondering over Sally He's affair.