Ice and Fire novel Chapter 361

Joe looked up at his mother's face and understood what she was feeling at that moment. The boy agreed with a nod and said,"Okay."

Before they left, Joe glanced at Mond and thought to himself, 'So this is Mond, the CEO of ZM Group. He is the same age as Daddy and he protected my Mommy from that angry woman. He looks lonely. What has he been through?'

When Mond saw that Cherry and her son had left, he said to Jackson,"Jackson, don't think that you've won. This is not yet over."

Then he left in a hurry without hearing Jackson's answer.

Jackson saw that Mond was in a hurry and he knew that Mond was going to try and catch up with Cherry and Joe.

Watching Mond leave, Sally angrily said,"Fool! Mond must be insane! He must have fallen in love with Cherry, that bitch!"

Jackson, not liking what Sally called her wife, said,"Sally! Watch your mouth!" He thought to himself, 'How dared she curse my wife in front of me! She totally disrespected me!' Jackson thought that Sally was so different from Cherry. She had no breeding. It seemed that nothing pleasant came out of this woman's mouth.

Sally noticed that Jackson was angry for what she had just said. She needed to help him cool down and forget what she said against her wife. Sally approached Jackson, held his arm and gently said,"Jackson, please don't be mad at me. What happened today was just an accident. I..."

Before she could finish what she wanted to say, Jackson shook her hand off. He slowly walked back to his seat and sat down. His eyes looked glassy, he stared straight ahead and was deep in thought.

Jackson was annoyed and worried at the same time. Things that he dreaded had finally happened. What should he do? What actions must he take to correct today's mistake? What should he do in the future? His main problem now was Cherry and Mond. What actions must he take that would inflict the smallest pain towards these two people?

Mond walked as fast as he could and he was to be able to catch up with Cherry and her son. Mond didn't have to walk that far since the mother and son walked a bit more slowly than before. Cherry's pace showed that she was deep in thought and was not really present at the moment. He reached out for her arm to stop her from walking.

"Cherry!' shouted Mond. Cherry was surprised, stopped walking and stood still. She turned her head and saw Mond standing beside her. Mond was thankful that he caught up with her, he breathed a sigh of relief and at the same time, he was trying to control his emotion.

Cherry shifted her gaze away from Mond. She didn't want to see him.

Joe was holding his mother's hand. The boy turned around when he felt her mom stopped walking. He looked at the guy in front of him and studied him carefully.

Mond's full attention was on Cherry. He had forgotten about the boy who was holding her hand. He didn't notice Joe was looking at him. Mond asked,"Why did you not accept my apology?"

Hearing his words, Cherry turned her head and stared straight at Mond. "You've known that they were together and you wanted me to see it. Am I right?" She asked, ignoring Mond's question.

Cherry was very angry. She tried to keep herself calm but the pain of betrayal was too much for her to handle. The pain and shame that she felt were all intertwined. It was now very difficult for her to see reasons. She wished that she had never seen Jackson and Sally together. If so, she would still believe that Jackson loved her. That she was the only woman for Jackson. She would have gladly gone along with his lies and not feel this pain.

Mond saw Cherry's pain reflected in her eyes. He admitted and said,"Yes, I knew they were together. But you wanted to know the truth about your husband. You wanted to know who the real Jackson is. The Jackson outside your home. You wanted to know things about Jackson, right? Now, you've seen for yourself."

Cherry shook her head helplessly and said,"No, I don't. I don't want to know. I don't want to know anything about him anymore."

Then, tears started to roll down her cheeks.

Seeing her mother cry, Joe knew that Cherry was not just sad but was also hurt. Joe had pieced together the cause of her mother's tears. It was the woman named Sally, who was with her dad at the cafe they just left. Sally was taking away his father from her mother and himself. This woman was the core of her mom's grief. Joe didn't know how to comfort her mother. He wanted to tell her that he was there and that he would never leave her for anyone. In the end, he said,"Mommy." This was the only words that Joe was able to speak.

Cherry remembered that her son Joe was with her. He was holding her hand, squeezing it. He was reminding her that she was not alone. Cherry quickly wiped her tears away. She didn't want her son to see how painful she was. She didn't want Joe to hate his dad or even Sally. She believed that Joe was to young too learn how to hate people.

Mond looked at the miserable Cherry and didn't know what to say. He thought to himself, 'Cherry just wept. She is really hurt and that means that she loves Jackson. She truly cares for him. Is she always so vulnerable? Does she always look so fragile?' This was a side of her that was new to him. He always knew the Cherry who was a fighter, the strong woman, the cool and complacent girl. Never a Cherry in tears.

"I'm...sorry," said Mond. He felt so helpless. He did not know what to say to her to stop her from hurting. He did not know what he should do to stop her from feeling the pain he partly caused. He felt guilty.

Cherry dried her eyes, put on her cold and brave face and looked at Mond. She silently scolded herself, 'Even though I'm really hurt, it is not proper to cry in front of other people. It's not right, especially when in front of Mond. For goodness' sake girl, pull yourself together. You are in front of a CEO and it is impolite and unbecoming of you.'

Cherry calmly said,"It's me who should say sorry. I'm sorry that I became too emotional."

Mond felt disappointed when he heard her apology. The Cherry he knew was back. The vulnerable girl had hidden herself away. He thought to himself. 'Cherry, why do you not accept my apology? You never accepted it. I've said sorry to you so many times and not once did you acknowledged it. Do you know that no one in this world can make me say sorry? No one, except you. Do you only have eyes for Jackson? Has he blinded you that you have forgotten that there are other people on this planet, other people who care for you? Do you really care for no one but Jackson Chu, your so-called husband?'

Noticing that Mond was lost in his own thought, Cherry looked at her son and gently said,"Joe, let's go home now."

Joe nodded his head and said,"Okay, Mommy." Joe felt very sad when he saw his mother's sadness and pain. The little boy told himself that he would never be the cause of her Mom's tears. He would make all the effort to make his Mom happy, to keep her smiling. Joe was angry at Sally, and he even wished that the woman never existed.

Cherry looked at Mond and calmly said,"Goodbye."