Ice and Fire novel Chapter 220

Cherry thought to herself, 'Jackson will never tell me about the huge money transfer, and even if he does, how do I know if he's telling me the truth or not? I don't want to question his words, I really want to believe him, but there are still so many things that I don't know about and so much doubt in my mind. No, I can't trust him.'

"Jackson, can you please tell me what happened between you and Stephen?" asked Cherry.

Jackson could tell from Cherry's words that she had only seen the photos in the bedside table's drawer, but not the ones under the dressing table.

"That's none of your business, and there's no need for you to know anything about it, " answered Jackson coldly.

Cherry's expression changed a bit. She then looked into Jackson's eyes, and helplessly said, "I'm your wife, Jackson, why do you have to conceal things from me? Why can't I know about it? I don't feel safe around you anymore. How could I not be scared when I don't even know my own husband?"

Jackson felt anguished when he saw the sad look in Cherry's eyes, and his expression softened a bit. "Cherr, sometimes it's better for you not to know too much about some things. I'm just trying to protect you, " said Jackson in a more tender manner.

"But I want to know, " said Cherry, as she suddenly grabbed Jackson's arm. In a firm and serious manner, she then continued to say, "I'm not asking you for the Moon, I only want to know everything that concerns my own husband. After that, be sure that I will obediently stay with you and never leave your side ever again."

After Jackson heard Cherry's words, his determination was somehow shaken. He yearned so much that the woman in front of him would be always at this side, but in the same time he was also afraid that if she knew everything then things would slip under his control, and he might not be able to protect her anymore.

Jackson didn't reply to Cherry's words, and instead he shook his arm, turned around, and walked slowly back to the living room.

When Cherry saw Jackson walking away, she knew that Jackson wouldn't tell her a thing. She had already guessed the outcome, and she knew that no matter how hard she begged and pleaded, he still wouldn't change his mind.

Disappointed, Cherry also turned around on her way upstairs, but as soon as she made a couple of steps, Jackson's voice sounded in her ears again.

"If you dare to ask anyone else about this, I won't guarantee that I won't do something bad to you, " said Jackson coldly.

Cherry stopped and listened to Jackson's words. She could easily tell from his tone that if she asked anyone about it, she would be looking for trouble for both herself and the other person.

Cherry replied to him by continuing to slowly walk upstairs. When she arrived back in her own bedroom, she was still in a trance-like state; her mind was in a total mess, and she kept wondering what was Jackson hiding from her, and why did he refuse so firmly to let her know about it. She was even more motivated to know what had happened between Stephen and Jackson.

Jackson then walked out of the house and drove away. At first, he had planned to go back to the residential compound to see Derek, but after he thought better, he made a small detour and went to the apartment first.

Jackson arrived at the residential compound, and as soon as he got out of the car, he saw his Grandpa and the butler standing in the door. He walked up to them, and said, "Grandpa, how are you doing?"

"I'm good, Jackson. Why are you back alone? Where are Cherry and Joe?" anxiously asked Andrew.

"Grandpa, Joe's at school now, but I'll find time in a weekend and bring him back to see you again, " said Jackson.

"Yes, Joe's at school today. It's a weekday, how could he come back?" whispered the butler near Andrew's ear.

Andrew thought about it, laughed, and then said, "Oh! I've missed Joe so much that I even forgot what day it is."

The butler saw that Andrew was laughing and didn't continue the topic; he instead turned to Jackson, and with a big smile on his face, asked, "Jackson, what are you doing here?"

"I came to see Derek. I have something to talk with him, " said Jackson.

"I thought that you came back to see me, but it turns out that you're here to see Derek! I'm so disappointed with you, Jackson, even Derek plays a more important role in your heart than I do!" said Andrew, pretending to be irritated. He thought to himself, 'Jackson is such an inconsiderate fellow! How could he speak to me like this? Doesn't he know that he should take my feelings into consideration?'

"Grandpa, please don't be angry! I especially came back to see you, of course, but since I'm here, I'm also to talk with Derek. Would that be okay?" quickly said Jackson. When he looked at his old Grandpa, Jackson felt a little guilty; he had always been so busy that he had never had free time to spend with his Grandpa, and what's more, he didn't even know how to say nice words to him to make him happy.

"Alright, alright, just go on with your business. I'll have the butler play chess with me, " said Andrew, as he waved his hand to Jackson.

"Okay, Grandpa. I'll go to my room and wait for Derek there, " replied Jackson.

Andrew then waved his hand again and beckoned him to leave.

When the butler saw Jackson's receding figure, he got lost in thought, and a puzzled look shined in his eyes.

Derek went to the Chu's quarters immediately after he received Jackson's call. When he walked into the house he saw that Andrew and the butler were busy playing chess together in the living room, and after he greeted them, he went straight to Jackson's room.

Derek came into Jackson's room and saw him sitting on the edge of the bed with a stack of photos in his hand.

"Jackson, what are you looking at?" asked Derek, as he took the photo's from Jackson's hands. But after he saw what was in the photos, he was shocked, and quickly asked, "Why are you looking at these?"

Jackson didn't look at Derek; he turned his head to look out the window, and said, "I just brought them from the apartment. I was afraid that she might see them, " said Jackson in a worried tone.

Derek knew that Jackson was talking about Cherry, because he never cared about anyone else as much as he cared about his wife.

"If Cherry saw these pictures, she…" said Derek in a serious manner. He didn't finish his sentence, because both he and Jackson knew what he was about to say. The photos that he was holding in his hands had Cherry in them, because Jackson had asked someone to secretly follow her ever since the day they had gotten married. His spying on Cherry had continued a long time, until five years ago, when she had run away from him.

"I'm afraid that she will hate me because of her proud character. How could she accept the fact that she had been secretly followed for such a long time?" said Jackson worried, as he kept looking out the window.

Derek thought for a while, and said, "Anyway you didn't have any bad intentions at that time. When you got married, both of you knew so little about each other; you did that because you wanted to learn more about her and her life."

"Do you really think that she'll believe that?" suddenly asked Jackson.

After Derek thought for a while, he replied, "Maybe she won't, because it's highly likely that a person like Cherry would never think like that."

Then, it seemed that Jackson wanted to drop the subject. Now that he had the pictures, Cherry couldn't see them anymore, and there was no need for him to worry about it any longer, but he was still concerned about some other pressing matters.

"Derek, " suddenly called Jackson.

"Yes?" Derek seriously looked at Jackson, because he knew that there had to be something very important to deal with if Jackson called out his name in that specific tone.

"It seems that something ruined our original plan, " said Jackson thoughtfully.

Derek immediately started to become nervous. He stared at Jackson, and anxiously asked, "What happened?"

"I locked her at home, but she still won't give up on her endeavours. She keeps on asking me to tell her about what happened that year, " said Jackson.

"You definitely can't do that! If you tell her then she might also find out about the Chu Family's past, and at that time…" quickly said Derek. He thought that it was too risky to let Cherry in on everything, and that under no circumstance could Jackson tell her about anything that happened.

"I'm afraid that someone else might tell her, " said Jackson, very concerned.

Derek thought about it carefully, and said, "There are only a few of us who know about it. Sally won't tell her without your permission, she wouldn't dare to do that, but as for Stephen…" He paused, and then continued, "He wouldn't do that too, will he? After all, he isn't powerful enough to challenge you. And as for that guy? It seems that Cherry hasn't met him yet."