Ice and Fire

Chapter 127 Don't Let Her Go

Joe declared with great determination, "If I get married in the future, I'll still always put my mommy first.

I will take good care of mommy with the help of my wife, so that mommy can be happy ever after."

Cherry was delighted to hear those innocent words said by her son. Naive as they were, Cherry felt

happy.

Cherry's heart still ached from Emily's death. She had always hidden it from her son, because Emily

was too important to her. She did not want to mention it, and had to bury it deep inside her heart.

Joe looked at his mommy's face and took everything in. He knew that mommy had kept her emotions

about one of the most important persons to herself, and that she never told him anything about Emily.

Perhaps if mommy talked about Emily, she would cry. If that were the case, he couldn't make his

mommy think about Emily; his mommy shouldn't cry again.

After a long while, Cherry looked at her watch and realised that it was too late in the night. She said to

Joe, "It's very late now. Go to bed, and I'll drop you to school tomorrow."

"Ok, good night, " said Joe lovingly and obediently.

Lying in bed, Joe stared at the room ceiling, feeling that he had gained a new understanding of the

father he had never met before.

Meanwhile, Jackson drove the car back to his department. He didn't return to the military residential

compound, nor go to Sally. Once inside his apartment, he took out two bottles of wine and a glass, and

drank all of the wine, sitting alone in the living room. He felt so bad.

Just then, the phone on the couch rang. He knew it was Sally calling him. He did not bother to pick it

up.

After a while, Jackson heard somebody knocking at his door. At first, he thought he was hallucinating

because he felt dizzy from drinking all that wine. Then, the knock on the door kept persisting. 'Who

wants to see me at midnight?' he wondered. Could it possibly be Cherry? Had she promised that she

would come back to the apartment?

A glimmer of hope started to rise in his heart. He stood up, came to the door, opened it and then, saw

the angry face of Sally.

"Jackson, why didn't you answer my phone?" Sally demanded in a fury. All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

Jackson saw it was Sally and he felt disappointed. Then, without responding, he turned round and

returned to the living room.

Jackson's breath smelt strong with wine. Sally knew he had been drinking wine. She followed him into

the living room and saw the empty bottle lying there.

Jackson sat on the floor, picked up his wine glass and continued to drink.

Sally was angry. She snatched the glass away from Jackson and scolded him, "You have had enough

of it."

Jackson did not respond this time either and simply looked away from Sally.

Sally saw the impatient expression on Jackson's face and she asked again, "Why didn't you answer my

phone? Do you have any idea of how much I was worried about you?"

"Why do you care about me? I'm fine, " Jackson retorted, his rudeness obviously generated from the

wine he had drank.

"Because I love you, " said Sally, while looking into his eyes affectionately. Then, her tone became soft.

"Jackson, I love you, " she spoke tenderly.

"But I don't love you and you know that, " Jackson suddenly turned around and looked at Sally

seriously in the eyes. He spoke every single word clearly and seriously. "I have always loved one

woman, and that is Cherry, " he added. Then, he pointed his finger to his heart. "Only that woman can

stay in my heart."

Sally heard Jackson's declaration of love for Cherry and tears streamed down her face.

She knew that Jackson did not care about her any more. In the past, whenever she cried, Jackson

would try to comfort her. But five years had passed, and Jackson did not love her any more. Now, only

Cherry deserved his comforting words.

Sally cried and slapped Jackson on his arm. She shouted angrily, "Why are you doing this to me?

Why?"

Jackson didn't stop her. He was accustomed to her wantonness.

Sally saw that Jackson was ignoring her. So, she also sat on the floor and grumbled, "You never forgot

her once in the past five years, even though I was always there for you. You never stopped loving her.

Although we seemed to be intimate with each other in front of others, the truth is that you never even

touched me."

Sally now understood that Jackson was doing this for Cherry, and his love was only for her.

Being drunk, Jackson opened his mouth and said, "She's my wife, and also the woman who I love the

most."

"Then, what about me?" Sally asked aggressively again. "We once loved each other. Have you

completely forgotten that?"

Jackson looked Sally in the eyes and said earnestly and seriously, "Sally, if you truly love somebody,

you can't just break away from them."

Sally knew it wasn't herself that Jackson was talking about. It was Cherry, that damn women who had

stolen her love.

Sally's face was suddenly distorted. She wiped tears off her face and stood up. Then, she looked at

Jackson again and declared ferociously, "Jackson, nobody can rob me of anything I want, including

you."

After saying those words, she turned round and set to leave.

Just then, she heard Jackson's stern voice from behind her, "Don't you do anything to her."

Hearing Jackson's pleading words, Sally stopped midway, frustrated with his concern for Cherry.

She turned round and looked at Jackson, with tears running down her face. "Is that all? What if I had

done something to your wife? Will you kill me?"

Jackson stared at Sally and said nothing. He wasn't willing to hurt her. However, he would never allow

her to hurt Cherry in any way. He still remembered what had happened between the two women five

years ago.

Sally was delighted with Jackson's silence, and she thought that he perhaps still loved her to a small

degree. She determined to find just any way to win his heart again.

She turned round and left.

In the morning, Cherry drove her car and dropped Joe to school. Then, she came to the office.

Before she entered the JS Building, she saw Caroline hastily walking out. Cherry was a bit confused

and had to stop her to ask, "Caroline, where are you going in such a hurry?"

Caroline saw Cherry and stopped. She answered, "Cherry, Ms. Selina just called and said that she's

going to the hotel to discuss a contract. She asked me to bring the contract to her."

"Well, I can come with you, " said Cherry. She thought that since she was also a secretary, it was also

her duty to do these kind of tasks.

Caroline refused her proposal and answered, "No, thanks. You should go upstairs and prepare for the

conference to be held this afternoon. You can leave this contract to me."

Cherry agreed with this arrangement. She also had some work already lined up to do today.

"Alright, " Cherry accepted.

Then, Caroline left, saying, "I'm off. Bye."

Cherry watched Caroline's fading figure for a bit, and turned round and walked towards the elevator.

Once seated in front of her desk, Cherry started to sort out the documents needed for the afternoon

conference.

Suddenly, the elevator door opened. Cherry thought that Selina and Caroline had come back and she

was about to greet them with a smile.

Then, she raised her head and saw that it wasn't Selina or Caroline who came out of the elevator, but

Sally whom she was so familiar with. She was left dumbstruck.