Ice and Fire novel Chapter 118

In the bathroom, Selina carefully cleaned Cherry's face as gently as she could. It pained her to see Cherry's swollen cheek.

"Cherry, how do you feel?" asked Selina anxiously.

Cherry slowly straightened herself up and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She whispered, "I'm fine."

However, Selina was sure that it hurt a lot, event though Cherry tried to deny it.

Cherry looked at her friend, and sincerely said, "Selina, thank you."

She knew that Cherry was referring to what happened back at the party, and said, "You're welcome. I just don't like Sally's attitude at all. What makes she think that she had the right to smack you?"

Cherry didn't reply.

Selina then understood that Cherry was not the kind of person who liked to speak ill of someone else, and that was why she couldn't blame Sally. After all, Sally was Jackson's partner at the party.

Selina suddenly asked, "Cherry, did you leave Jackson five years ago because of Sally?"

Selina was dying to know why Cherry had left Jackson, because only by knowing the truth could she make a comprehensive plan of reuniting Cherry with Jackson. But now she didn't know how to make things better.

Cherry looked away to avoid Selina's gaze, and then said, "Isn't Sally the love of his life?"

Suddenly all made sense to Selina. Because Cherry had cared so much about Jackson, she was offended by Sally meddling in their relationship.

"No, " answered Selina in an instant, but she still didn't know how to tell Cherry the whole truth. She added, "Sally doesn't deserve that."

But before Selina could say anything more, she was suddenly interrupted by Cherry.

Cherry raised one hand, and said, "Selina, please stop."

Selina sensed Cherry's sadness and obeyed. If she had been the one smacked so openly in public, she would have been even more depressed than Cherry was.

"Let's go, " said Cherry.

Selina nodded.

But when they walked out of the bathroom, they stopped.

Jackson was standing at the end of the hallway and looking at them.

They knew that he had been waiting for them all along. For what other reason would he be there, when everyone else was outside and having fun?

Selina knew that Jackson had to be there for Cherry. Although she had smacked Sally in retribution for Cherry, Jackson wasn't angry with her.

She took the hint, and said, "Cherry, I'll go first."

Cherry grabbed Selina's arm and shook her head, begging, "Please, don't go."

Cherry was afraid of Jackson. She didn't dare to face Jackson alone, and as a matter of fact she also didn't know how to face him.

Selina patted Cherry's hand, and comforted her, "Take it easy, he won't hurt you. I promise."

She gave Cherry an encouraging look, and then took her leave.

When he saw Selina leaving, Jackson slowly stepped towards Cherry.

When he stood in front of her, he didn't say anything, but instead he grabbed her hand and took her away from there.

"Where are you taking me? Let go of me, " shouted Cherry as she resisted him. She didn't have the faintest idea of what Jackson was about to do with her.

However, her resistance was futile, and Jackson just grasped Cherry's arm and kept dragging her.

After they entered a snug, Jackson finally let Cherry go and then forced her against the door with her back.

Cherry was confined between Jackson and the door. It was very dark inside, but from the dim light that crept in she could tell that it could have been a restroom.

"What, what are you doing?" Cherry had gotten too scared to try to resist him any longer.

Jackson simply ignored her question and studied her swollen face up close. She was crying at that time, and he wondered if it was because of the pain.

Jackson reached out his hand, wanting to touch it, but missed because Cherry turned her head away.

When he saw his hand linger in the air, he coldly said, "What? Doesn't it hurt anymore?"

"I don't think that that has anything to do with you." protested Cherry. She was still mad at him for his cruel nonchalance when she was smacked by Sally.

"Cherry Shen, " glowered Jackson at her.

By now, Cherry wasn't afraid anymore. She looked Jackson in the eyes, and said, "What? Didn't Sally get smacked too? Why don't you go and comfort her? Isn't she too delicate to be left alone?"

Jackson pulled a wry face. He was hopeless dealing with her five years ago, and so was now. She was always such a hard nut to crack.

"Then why did you cry if it didn't hurt?" asked Jackson, although this question was so not him. Somehow, these were the best words that he could find to continue their conversation at that moment.

However, Cherry took them as an insult. 'Does he think that I'm a fragile and feeble woman just because of my tears?' she thought.

Cherry took a deep breath, and while she kept her chin up, she said, "Jackson, whether I cry or not has nothing to do with you at all. Why do you even let it bother you?"

"No, I don't, " Jackson denied immediately. "Cherry Shen, you're too grand for your own good!"

With that, he let Cherry go, and looked at her witheringly.

Cherry immediately straightened herself up, pushed Jackson aside, and then walked to the other side of the room.

"Cherry Shen, don't think that because Selina has your back you can do anything you want, " scolded her Jackson, exasperated. Immediately, he wished that it had all come out differently, although he didn't even know why he would even say that. He had come to see her, and to check the wound on her face and comfort her, but the woman was as stubborn as an ox. She went against him as always, and of course, he lost his temper again.

"Are you defending Sally now?" Cherry felt her heart ache more than ever. It turned out that Sally had indeed stolen his heart after all.

Cherry continued, "Today was just an accident. Rest assured, I won't meet you and Sally again in the future, and even if I do, I'll treat you as two strangers. I hope that next time you can keep her out of trouble, she really needs to be more cautious with her choice of words and deeds. In that way, maybe she'll be lucky and not get hurt either."

She had done her best, and this was her bottom line.

However, her words left Jackson in an utter frenzy.

Jackson did not know what to say anymore, and stormed out of the room.

Cherry abandoned her pokerface and collapsed on the ground with a thump. The confrontation had almost worn her out, and she was on the verge of a sudden breakdown.