Ice and Fire novel Chapter 73

Cherry got up out of bed, washed, sat on the sofa, and fell again into her trance. Her mood violently fluctuated with Jackson; whether he was with her, or what he was doing, all had a great influence on her.

It was a lovely day outside, and Cherry couldn't help but think of Emily again. Not a day had gone by when she had not thought of her.

So she made up her mind to go to the graveyard.

She put on a plain, dark blue suit, and set off on her way.

She then called for a taxi, and told the driver to go directly to the graveyard in the suburbs.

Standing in front of Emily's gravestone, Cherry finally burst out into tears. She had already held them inside of her for far too long, but now that she was near her friend, she let them out freely.

Cherry wanted to unleash all of her anguish and to tell Emily about everything, either bad or good, but she couldn't, and all of her words turned into tears.

As time went by, she eventually stopped crying, and felt much better.

She wiped the tears off her face and her eyes glittered with determination. She didn't know why she felt so determined, and also didn't know whether it was for someone, or for something.

She looked at Emily's photo on her gravestone, and whispered, "Emily, from now on, I won't ever rely on anyone else. I'll be independent, and live a life on my own, and no matter what happens, I'll always believe in myself and live a happy life."

A glimmer of hope then rose from the bottom of her heart, and she realized that it had always been about her.

She finally understood what meant to be strong and to live an independent life.

When she left the graveyard, she did not return home immediately, and instead walked alone on the sidewalk, and enjoyed the scenery with a kind of unrestricted happiness glistening in her eyes. Her mind was at ease, and with every breath that she took she felt lighter.

She walked for a little while longer, and her stomach started to ache. 'I didn't eat anything in the morning. How can my stomach ache so bad?' she thought.

She insisted on moving forward, but the pain was getting so stronger that she had to stop and grab her stomach with her two hands.

Her face twitched because of the sharp pain. She looked up, and did not see anyone around that she could ask for help.

She tried to slowly drop to the ground to ease the pain, but before she could make it an even sharper pain hit her, and her mind slid away into total darkness.

When she woke up, she found herself in the hospital, with Stephen beside her.

She looked at him, and asked, "Stephen, why are you here?"

Stephen seriously said, "If I hadn't visited Emily's grave, you would have lain there forever!" He was angry because of her recklessness, but when he saw her on the bed, he immediately softened.

Cherry did not say a word, and it turned out that he had found her on his way to the graveyard.

After a long while, she said, "Thank you, Stephen."

He affectionately gazed at her, and said, "Please take better care of yourself from now on! That's the best way to thank me."

Cherry quietly stared at Stephen.

A doctor then pushed the door open and walked inside her ward.

Stephen immediately stood up, and as he looked at the doctor, he waited for him to tell them Cherry's medical report.

Cherry put her eyes on the doctor and also waited for the same thing.

Before he looked at Cherry, the doctor took a glance at Stephen, and said, "You're Cherry Shen, right?"

She nodded.

"You're pregnant, and you should be more careful about your health, or it'll be very dangerous for both you and your baby, " said the doctor calmly, as if he was broadcasting something on the radio.

That took both Cherry and Stephen aback, and Cherry looked at Stephen in disbelief. 'Me? Pregnant? A baby? Dangerous?'

Stephen also thought, 'She's pregnant? Jackson is going to be a father?'

The doctor was a little unhappy to see his patient's reaction. How could she have not known already that she was pregnant?

"Cherry Shen, didn't you know that you were pregnant?" asked the doctor.

Cherry then moved her eyes back to the doctor and she shook her head, she decisively said, "No, I didn't."

Stephen lowered his head, and murmured to himself, "It can't be, no, it just can't be."

The doctor took a deep breath, and said, "Now that you know that you're pregnant, you must be more careful with yourself. Thanks to your in-time arrival, both your baby and you are safe now." He paused for a moment, and turned to look back at Stephen, whom he thought to be the husband, and said, "As her husband, you must pay her more attention in the coming days. You should ask doctors about anything that comes up, even if you don't want to go to hospital. If she's been a careless mother, why don't you be an attentive father?"

The words reduced Stephen to silence. 'I'm Cherry's husband? Well, I'd like to be, but...'

Cherry slowly looked away and did not say anything. She thought, 'Husband, hmm... where is my husband? He's probably busy sleeping with someone else, and anyway, I doubt that he'll know how to take care of me.'

After a few moments, Stephen nodded to the doctor, still dumbfounded. He then looked at Cherry, and sadness grew in his heart, and thought, 'She must be missing Jackson, the only one that she loves.'

Stephen stayed with Cherry for the whole day, and when evening came, she felt much better. After the doctor checked her again, he finally allowed her to go home.

Stephen again drove her home.