Ice and Fire novel Chapter 147

The secretary hesitated for a brief moment, and then replied, "Oh, no, no, everything's alright!"

Cherry felt that the secretary's expression was strange, and she stood up from her seat to get closer to her. She then looked her in the eye, and said, "You're my brother's secretary, so you must know the situation best. Besides, I'm not an outsider. Do you really think that I would want to harm my own brother?"

Hearing her words, the secretary pondered for a moment, and then said, "Actually, our company is confronted with a major crisis. The company lacks funds, because we've already spent too much money on the Future Project, and that leads to nothing. Currently, the company can still run well, but if we soon don't find a fix for the problem, in two months time the company will..."

The secretary didn't continue, but Cherry already understood what she was implying.

Cherry thought for a while, and then asked, "Hasn't my brother come up with some sort of solution?"

The secretary shook the head and replied, "No, he hasn't. He has been discussing this issue with several of his senior executives."

Cherry fell in deep in thought, and wondered how to cope with the big issue.

The secretary helplessly started to talk to herself, "Oh, if only there was a company that would help us out! Our General Manager is an overseas returnee, and he doesn't have that many connections around him. Anyway, there's no one that can help us from the city..."

Cherry thought about it for a while, and then said, "I'll see what I can do."

She waited an hour before Wilson came out of the meeting room. He was surprised when he saw Cherry and Joe, because he didn't expect them to be there.

"Cherry, Joe! Why did you come here?" asked Wilson.

His face looked tired, and Cherry felt terrible because she couldn't help him out with his problems.

"We were waiting for you to come back home together with us, uncle! Today, mommy was the one who picked me up from school!" said Joe, while he went towards Wilson.

Wilson looked happy when he was with Joe. He carried him in his arms, and replied, "Okay! Let's go home now!"

Cherry wanted to say something, but after a second thought, she decided to refrain herself.

They then went home together, and after dinner, Jacob and Elsa went to bed and Joe began to do his homework. When Cherry saw that Wilson was standing on the balcony alone, she went to him.

He saw her, and asked, "Cherry, why didn't you go to bed?"

Cherry ignored his question. She stood beside him, and asked, "Brother, do you have any problems with your company that you need to tell me about?"

"No, the company is running well, " hastily replied Wilson.

Cherry noticed that Wilson didn't even dare to look at her, let alone face her with his problems.

"Brother, if you have problems, you should tell me about them, so that we can try to solve them together. Does your father know about what's happening?" asked Cherry.

Wilson then quickly looked at Cherry, and said, "Don't tell my father! I don't want him to know about it."

Cherry didn't answer him, because she hadn't had the slightest intention of doing that.

The night was quiet. Cherry and Wilson stood on the balcony in silence, and just stared at the stars.

Cherry quickly replied, "I know, but I still need to think of Joe; I haven't been able to provide him with proper living conditions since the day he was born. I owe it to him, and I can't let him be hurt in any way."

Wilson looked at her haunted look and didn't say anything more.

Cherry then calmly said, "Wilson, in reality, the Chu Family is very complex; it's so complex that I couldn't believe that I actually stayed there five years ago. Besides, Jackson has changed a lot since then, and is no longer the man that he was five years ago." Cherry paused for a moment, and continued, "No, maybe it's more fair to say that I actually didn't know him that well five years ago. He has a lot of secrets, like all the people around him; Derek, Stephen and Sally. They all have their own secrets."

Wilson said nothing, and also thought that since the Chu Family had managed to become the most powerful in the city, there had to be some stories buried in the family's secrets; otherwise, Andrew could have never had become the most powerful man in the city, and Jackson neither.

Cherry continued, "Wilson, you know what? I've been thinking how to continue my life, how to avoid hurting Joe, how to tell Jackson about him, and how to manage to get them to meet each other. Actually, to be honest I've been tormented by these thoughts for some time."

Tears started to fall down her cheeks, and Cherry continued, "I love Jackson and I want to be with him, but I love Joe more and I want to protect him. I don't know how to bring them together without hurting them in some way, and believe me, I've thought of millions of ways but none of them is practicable! Actually, Wilson, you know what? I've reached the conclusion that there isn't one! I'm really in a lot of pain, oh..."

Cherry couldn't stop crying, and as Wilson looked at her, his heart ached. He moved closer to her, placed his arm around her and embraced her. Concerned, he said, "Cherry, if you feel tired, you can always just come to me; you know that I'll always be here for you. If you haven't made your decision yet, you can always just live here with Joe. This is, and will always, be your home. I'll never throw you out of it."

Hearing his words, Cherry replied to him with silence. She knew that Wilson was nice to her, but she couldn't accept his kind offer anymore. She had already received enough from him, and she was afraid that if she continued to accept his kindness, she would get used to doing so and eventually have to always rely on him.

Cherry then suddenly stood straight, and as she wiped off her tears, she said, "Wilson, I'm very tired. I'm gonna go to bed now."

She then turned around and left.

Wilson watched her leave the balcony and felt his heart ache. He didn't know whether he felt sorry for his own sister or just for a woman, but he knew one thing, that Cherry always pretended to be strong in front of him. Before he offered to help her, she declined his help. His heart ached to see her acting so stubborn like that.