Ice and Fire novel Chapter 142

After she arrived at the apartment, Cherry found a place to park her car and got out of it.

As she stood in front of the door that had used to be so familiar to her, Cherry took out a key from her handbag to open it; she had kept it for five years.

It was pitch-dark in the living room, and Cherry turned on the light habitually. A strong warm feeling suddenly came over her when she saw that everything around the house was the same as she had left it five years ago. She felt like she was back home again.

Hearing the noise in the living room, Jackson quickly got out of bed, put on a robe and went to see what was happening downstairs.

He stopped halfway on the stairs, astonished at the sight of the familiar figure in his house. Was he dreaming?

Cherry was walking around the living room, and when she was just about to step into the balcony, she saw Jackson. His vision was still foggy from the sleep, and it was obvious that he had just woken up.

Cherry turned her head to look at the watch on the wall and saw that it was eleven o'clock.

"Did I bother you?" softly asked Cherry.

After he heard her voice, Jackson began to realize that he wasn't dreaming after all. 'It's true, she came back! She actually came back!'

Jackson then went downstairs into the living room. He didn't get close to Cherry, but instead sat on the sofa, and started to ask, "Why did you..."

But Jackson didn't know what to ask her first. So he stopped before he could finish his sentence. Why did she come there? Or why did she come back? It seemed that he couldn't ask either one of them.

Cherry knew what Jackson wanted to say, and said, "I just wanted to see the apartment."

Jackson was speechless.

The living room was filled with a tense atmosphere, and Jackson lowered his head and kept being silent. Cherry also didn't know what to say to him.

After some time, she asked, "Can I go to the second floor?"

Jackson didn't answer her immediately, but after a while said, "Sure."

Cherry walked towards the staircase and then went upstairs, and Jackson followed in her wake.

Cherry looked inside the study, and saw that it was the same as it had always been. After that, she arrived at the door of the bedroom in which she had slept for so many nights half a decade ago.

Cherry didn't step inside, and instead saw the untidy bed in which Jackson had slept in through the doorway. Her scent couldn't be felt in the room anymore, her robe wasn't on the hanger, and there were no cosmetics lying on the dresser. The bedroom looked to be overall very deserted.

Cherry stood in the bedroom's doorway for some time, with Jackson beside her mute as a fish.

Some time later, Cherry said, "It's late, I'm going to go now; I'll leave you sleep."

After that, Cherry turned around to leave.

But Jackson suddenly grabbed her arm and embraced her tight from behind.

A warm feeling then filled Cherry's heart. She was speechless, and couldn't help but tremble a little because of Jackson's sudden reaction.

With his chin on Cherry's shoulder, Jackson fondly begged in her ear, "Please, stay with me a moment longer, okay?"

His detainment on her and his romance made Cherry's heart melt instantly. She had already known from the start that once she was inside it would be very hard to leave.

Jackson waited for some time for Cherry's answer. He suddenly kissed her ear, and whispered, "I miss you."

His words made Cherry feel miserable, and she made great efforts to manage to control her emotions and love for him. She didn't want her love towards Jackson to reignite again, but because Jackson had started to get closer and closer to her, it became more and more difficult for Cherry to stay in control.

"Can I sleep here tonight?" asked Cherry all of a sudden.

Jackson's narrowed eyes were now wide as saucers, and he almost couldn't believe his ears.

He gently said, "It's your home as well, I can't see why you couldn't..."

Cherry then turned around in Jackson's arms to face him. She looked at his handsome face and saw that the outline of his perfect countenance was still clear.

Cherry went to the bathroom to take a shower, and then got out of it drying her hair with a towel.

As soon as she came out of the bathroom she saw Jackson standing beside the door. Cherry felt a bit surprised, and as she looked at him, asked, "Is there anything wrong?"

"Nothing, I just want to look at you, " said Jackson. He was carefully staring at Cherry, seeming to can't get enough of her.

Cherry didn't know what to say next. She instead looked away from him, and said, "Go to sleep, it's late."

Then, Cherry walked to the bed.

Jackson didn't say a word, and instead just walked behind Cherry.

The two then got in bed, and Jackson turned off the room's light and only kept on the bedside lamp. The lighting in the room was dim.

All of a sudden, Jackson pulled Cherry into his arms under the quilt.

"Jackson, what are you doing?" cried Cherry immediately, frightened by Jackson's sudden move.

When he saw the woman get nervous, Jackson felt comfortable and delighted.

"Sleeping with you, " peacefully said Jackson, making his action seem reasonable.

Cherry didn't intend to resist him, because she had also longed to sleep beside Jackson for a long time.

The night was so quiet that they could only hear the sound of their breaths echoing in it.

"Jackson, " suddenly said Cherry.

"I'm here, " replied Jackson in a flat voice. Everything was very quiet.

"Did you still live here these past five years?" asked Cherry.

"No, sometimes I went to stay with our grandpa and look after him, " answered Jackson.

Remembering Grandpa Andrew, something suddenly came into Cherry's mind. She moved in Jackson's arms and raised her head to see Jackson better. "Is our grandpa alright? Does he know that I'm back in the city?"

Jackson lowered his head for a moment and then looked at Cherry's face. As he softly touched it with his fingers, he gently said, "No, I haven't told him yet. Our grandpa is not that healthy nowadays. He enjoys plenty of leisure time every day, and sometimes our butler even goes on walks with him, but because I'm so busy all the time, I can only go to visit him occasionally now."

"So why didn't you go back there this night?" asked Cherry. She stared into Jackson's eyes, and admired his long eyelashes and beautiful eyes.

He looked back at her, and said, "Because I miss you! I miss you so much, and I can always feel you here beside me."

His words warmed Cherry's heart. It had never occurred to Cherry that Jackson would live in that cold room alone rather than go back and live with Grandpa Andrew.

Cherry gradually started to loosen herself and began to slowly express her love towards Jackson.

Cherry stretched her arms out to hold Jackson in them and tightly clung herself to him. They could feel each other's body temperature through their thin robes.

"Jackson, you've never been away from my heart a single moment! You were always here with me!" said Cherry firmly.

"Baby, " softly called Jackson.

His endearment made Cherry feel very happy. She enjoyed the moments when Jackson called her "Baby" and only when she was in his arms could she truly feel secure. Feeling Jackson's breath, Cherry firmly believed that Jackson was her her only courage and strength to live.