Ice and Fire novel Chapter 393

Jackson nodded to her, and replied, "Then go for it if you want to do that, but don't tire yourself out or I'll come to Wilson and talk to him myself."

"I know, don't worry; I'll be careful, " replied Cherry with a bright smile on her face.

"Fine."

"How about you? What do you intend to do next?" asked Cherry.

When he heard her question, Jackson's expression suddenly changed, and his brows knitted together. After he thought for a while, he said, "Baby, I've asked for retirement."

"What?" Cherry was stunned to hear Jackson's words, because he said nothing to her about his wild decision. How could she still keep her calm when such unexpected news fell upon her?

Jackson didn't offer Cherry a detailed explaining, and instead simply said, "Both Derek and I have left the army."

Cherry knew that Jackson didn't want to explain his decision to her, and she also didn't want to force him to do that. She believed that he had to have his own reasons for making the sudden drastic decision.

"Well, " started Cherry to say in a soft voice, and after she quickly thought over the situation in her mind, asked, "How about matters concerning our family?"

Cherry's question made Jackson feel even more distressed. He knew what Cherry was asking about, because there were already too many things for him to take over, now that Andrew had passed away.

"Baby, " called Jackson all of a sudden, with his voice feeble and helpless.

"I'm here, " replied Cherry.

"I'm so confused now, I don't know what to do, " said Jackson.

"Why?" Cherry carefully gazed at Jackson. She want to know what had happened, and how had Jackson come to this. His frown made her feel even more uneasy, because he must have had something in his mind, or otherwise he wouldn't have worn the gloomy expression on his face, and his voice wouldn't have sounded so feeble.

"I can't find the token anywhere, " said Jackson even more hopeless.

"Token?" echoed Cherry. She didn't know too much about the Chu Family, so she could only guess these things by herself. When she heard Jackson mentioning the word "token", Cherry realized that it had to be a very important thing, or Jackson wouldn't have been so concerned about it.

Jackson had no plan on continuing to conceal the truth from Cherry, and he thought that the time had come to finally tell her something. In the past, he had always wanted to protect her, and because he had been afraid that she would somehow get hurt if she knew more about his Family, he had refused to let Cherry in on any of it's history. Now he realized that he had to tell her, and because Jackson believed that Cherry was a clever woman, he also believed that she had to know how to handle it. He was convinced that she had the ability to deal with all of these things accordingly.

"During my childhood, our Grandpa secretly nurtured two boys. One of them was called Eric Li, and the other one was called Jonson Jiang. Both of them had been mobsters from the gangland, and had been chased by their enemies in that night. It was our Grandpa who showed up in the nick of time and saved them, " said Jackson, his voice clearly sounding into Cherry's ears. He continued, "After that, Eric Li and Jonson Jiang began to follow our Grandpa. They were orphans, so Grandpa Andrew helped them live in the dark, cloaked part of society."

"Grandpa Andrew had actually not intended for them to become his subordinates. He had always told me that he had just felt pity for them, because Eric Li and Jonson Jiang had been just seventeen years old at that time. He wanted to save them, and he helped them with money from time to time, but because they had lived in the dark corners of society ever since they were children, they couldn't get rid of that life completely." Jackson was finally telling the story that he had kept hidden so deeply in his heart for so long. He had been unwilling to do that before, and the story had only stayed between Andrew and him. If other people knew about what had happened that year, they could only be Eric Li and Jonson Jiang.

"When I still was a young adult, " said Jackson, like he was prying open an old wound, "In that fateful year, something happened to Sally's parents. According to the strict military law, they had to be executed, and as for Sally, her life was going to become a definite hell."

Cherry quietly listened to him, because all the things that Jackson said were exactly what she wanted to know. Jackson was finally willing to open his heart and tell her about everything that she desired to know. Cherry had waited for the moment for so long.

"At that time, my ignorant love had begun. I didn't want to see Sally get hurt, so I became desperate to protect her at any cost. I just hoped that she could still peacefully live in this city, " said Jackson with sparkling watery eyes, "I disregarded Grandpa's maltreatment and discouragement. There was only one thing in my mind at that time, and that was to protect Sally."

"What happened next?" Cherry was very anxious to learn all the details of his story.

"I was so stubborn, that our Grandpa couldn't talk me out of it, so he eventually complied. He told me to stay at home quietly, and said that he would protect Sally for me. He promised me that he would keep her away from harm's way, " narrated Jackson.

"Grandpa was the one who protected Sally?" asked Cherry.

"Yes, " answered Jackson, "Our Grandpa used all his connections for this. He even asked for help from Eric Li and Jonson Jiang, and because they respected Grandpa very much, they carried out his request."

Cherry became silent, and just quietly listened to Jackson's words.

"Sally was saved, but at a great cost for Grandpa. Stephen's Family had also gotten embroiled in the affair, and these people had almost discovered our Family's involvement with the deed, " said Jackson. While he was talking, the events of that fateful years gradually started to flash in his mind, and he continued to narrate to Cherry, "Grandpa made a great sacrifice to save the Chu Family. He had tried all means, using a lot of money and connections to protect the Family and me.