Ice and Fire novel Chapter 131

Wilson stared at Cherry for a moment and then also lowered his head and continued eating the supper.

Inside the living room, Andrew sat on the chair which indicated his authority in the family. His butler stood beside him, and Jackson and Derek sat nearby, while Bobby stood beside Jackson, and Selina in the other side of the room. The atmosphere was slowly getting more and more intense by each passing moment.

"Jackson, how is the Future Project going?" asked Andrew. He then added, "Do you need any help with it?"

Jackson shook his head, and answered, "No, I don't. Everything is well and under control."

"Are you sure? Can you win it?" Andrew was concerned about Jackson's competitors. He had conducted a thorough research on them, and the results indicated that Wilson was also holding a trump card. Besides that, Wilson's father, Jacob, would also certainly help Wilson.

Derek didn't say a word, but Selina seemed to have understood Andrew's concern. She said, "Grandpa, are you talking about Wilson?"

Andrew shot an approving glance at Selina and thought that she was indeed quite clever.

Selina regarded grandpa's silence as an acquiescence, and thought that she had guessed right. Delighted by this, she continued, "Grandpa, please set your heart at rest. In our opinion, Wilson isn't that much of a serious and competent competitor, but we do have another one that we need to worry about."

Andrew was a bit surprised by what she said, and as he turned to look at Jackson, he asked, "Well, who is it?"

Jackson stared ahead with a blank look in his eyes and didn't intend to answer his inquiry.

Derek also noticed Jackson's indifference and hesitation to answer the question, and thought that somebody eventually would have to reply to it.

He looked into Andrew's eyes, and slowly and respectfully said, "Grandpa, our most dangerous competitor is Stephen."

Andrew's expression suddenly changed, and he started to get more tensed. He asked, "The An Family's son?"

"I have always paid close attention to Stephen, " said Jackson. "From the first moment that I laid my eyes on him I understood that one day the two of us will have to battle each other for our lives."

Everyone in the living room then fell silent. All of them understood that the insoluble conflicts between Jackson and Stephen had been initially generated from what had happened between them dozens of years ago; Stephen's very existence was a threat to Jackson.

"Of course you can, grandpa, " said Jackson.

Andrew looked around the room and saw that all of the people there were family, and that there was no need to keep the question hidden from them.

"It's about you and Sally. Has she been with you all this time?" Andrew genuinely cared about Jackson's love affairs. Five years ago, his granddaughter-in-law had left his grandson without any justified reason. Although Jackson had made every effort in looking for her, she had been nowhere to be found. Now, five years later, Andrew heard that Sally had always been there for Jackson, accompanying him everywhere and loving him. Andrew had thought of driving her away, but he was at the same time afraid that Jackson might do something stupid, and he eventually chose to turn a blind eye to their relationship. Now, the proper time had come for him to ask Jackson about her, because he really wanted to know about Jackson's real thoughts that lurked deep down in his heart.

Both Derek and Selina also looked at Jackson, and waited for his reply.

He replied by lowering his head, and hiding his facial expression from the others.

A few moments later, Jackson finally said, "I only love my wife, Cherry."

When they heard him, Derek and Selina instantly looked at each other and smiled, because they both knew that Jackson still loved Cherry. Actually, Selina was more than happy with his reply, and now she was more than ever convinced that she had to find some way of bringing Jackson and Cherry back together. That was the right thing to do.