Ice and Fire

Chapter 71 Unexpected Phone Call

Stephen then drove Cherry home, but when she intended to get out of the car, he suddenly grabbed

her arm.

Cherry didn't know what Stephen wanted to do, and instead looked at him in confusion.

He turned to Cherry, and said, "Cherry, just tell me if you don't want to live here, and I'll take you away."

Stephen knew that it was Jackson's home, and that Cherry was Jackson's wife. Although he shouldn't

have said those words, he still followed his heart nonetheless.

Cherry shook her head, and said, "Thank you, Stephen, but I'm happy here for Emily, " and after she

paused for a couple of seconds, she continued, "and Jackson."

Cherry then got rid of Stephen and walked into her home.

In fact, Cherry didn't care a moment about what Stephen said, because her longing for Emily and

everything that they had done together had captured her heart. She didn't care about the rest of the

world, and instead decided to let things flow on their natural course.

After Cherry came back home and curled herself on the sofa again, she again blankly stared and didn't

utter a word. She was alone, but she felt better than she had been back in the bar; she missed Emily.

When Jackson returned home, he felt his heart bleeding when he saw her sitting in the sofa,

motionless.

He quickly hung his military jackets on the coat-hanger, and then walked towards Cherry and sat

beside her. He gently took her into his arms, and called her, "Baby."

Jackson was worried about her, and hugged her tightly in his arms. He felt his heart ache because

Cherry was very sad, and wondered when would she ever recover to her former happiness.

Cherry quietly snuggled up to Jackson's chest.

Cherry realized that Jackson was there only after a long time, and slightly called out to him, "Jackson."

When he heard her, Jackson immediately replied, "Yes, dear, I'm here, I'm here."

Jackson was very delighted, because Cherry finally knew that he was around her.

He fondly whispered in her ear, "Why are you sitting alone here on the sofa? Come on, I'll take you

upstairs."

Jackson then intended to move, but Cherry quickly shook her head, and said, "No, no, I don't want to

go upstairs."

She didn't want to go there because she was afraid that she would miss Emily when she looked at the

bedroom's ceiling. She also feared to sleep alone and feel the cold sheets of the bed on her skin at

night.

Jackson saw Cherry's unwillingness, and said, "Okay, okay, we won't go upstairs."

Jackson then sat back and hugged Cherry, but he didn't know what she was thinking of. Why didn't she

want to go upstairs? After all, that was their bedroom, but why did she refuse to go there?

Jackson was confused, but he couldn't ask Cherry because she was already buried in her sadness. He

didn't care about anything else but to make her feel happy again.

Two hours passed, and Cherry fell asleep in Jackson's warm and comfortable embrace.

He was very glad that Cherry could sleep, and he tried to make her feel as comfortable as possible.

But then, Jackson's phone rang.

The ringtone woke Cherry up, and she sluggishly opened her eyes and saw that Jackson was about to

answer the call.

Jackson didn't know who was calling him, but he frowned when he saw the name on the display.

Cherry clearly saw the name of the caller on Jackson's phone; it was Sally He. Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

Cherry's heart ached for a second, because the name sounded familiar to her. But she had forgotten

who this Sally was due to lingering sorrow.

When Jackson looked at Cherry, he found that she was staring at the phone in his hand.

She slowly got out of his arms, stood up, and then walked towards the staircase.

"Honey, " gently called Jackson after her, but she didn't stop, and also didn't turn around.

The phone was still ringing, but Jackson looked at Cherry's figure with hesitation. Finally, he didn't go

after her, and instead chose to take the phone call on the balcony.

"Hello, " answered Jackson.

"Jackson, where are you? I miss you, " said Sally.

Jackson tried to lower his angry voice, because he was afraid that Cherry would be sad and

misunderstand him. He said, "Sally, I told you to stop bothering me anymore. You know that your life

will be very comfortable with all that money that I gave you. What else do you want from me?"

In a shivering tone, Sally said, "Jackson, you know that I will always come to you, because I miss you

every moment, day and night, and I always want to see you, and talk to you. Didn't you feel guilt when

you left me lonely in that cold room?"

Jackson hesitated when he heard Sally's voice. He would have gone back to her regardless of

everything that had happened in the past, but at the moment, he couldn't. Jackson knew what he had

to do, and most of all, how to treat the people around him.

He took a deep breath, and replied, "Sally, I'm married now, and I want to take good care of Cherry."

"Why do you have to take care of her?" screamed Sally, "I dare say you don't love her, then why do you

have to take care of her? I don't think you love her and that she loves you. Jackson, I already know that

she's John Ye's ex-girlfriend. You two…"

Jackson roared at her before she could finish her words.

"Sally He!" furiously cried Jackson.

Sally was scared by him, and she didn't continue her rant.

"What happens between Cherry and I is none of your business!" Jackson was mad at Sally for the first

time because he wanted to defend Cherry, and that meant that he had already made up his mind to

take care of Cherry.

Sally, on the other side of the line, couldn't believe what she heard. Was he actually hurting Sally, just

for Cherry?

Silence reigned for a long time, but eventually, Sally asked, "Jackson, did you just yell at me... for her?"

Jackson calmed down at that moment, and said, "I'm sorry, Sally, but I got too emotional."

Jackson didn't say that out of regret, but instead thought that he had to treat Sally with respect,

because, after all, she had once been his favorite.

Sally then burst into tears, and shouted at him, "You can come and take my body to the morgue if I

won't see you in an hour. Anyway, I'm the only one left in my family, and even though you saved my life

once, and I can give it back to you now, and I can finally see my parents in the heaven again."

Sally then furiously hung up the phone.

That worried Jackson, and although he had tried his best to stay away from Sally, he had no choice but

go to her and sort things out; she was, and would always be, his only weakness.

Jackson was hopeless.