Ice and Fire novel Chapter 397

"Sally, you do realize that Jackson won't love you even if Cherry disappeared, right? You are deluding yourself if you believe you are the princess he used to love." said Stephen in a scathing manner.

"Stephen! You..." Sally was too angry at what he said to go on. She pouted, angry and knew deep down that what Stephen said was true. She was no longer the noble princess she had been years ago. Her family was decimated, and what remained had been scattered when she was young. Jackson had been the only person she could rely on, and at that time, she had no choice but to leave the city, and in doing so, leave Jackson as well. When she returned to the city five years ago, she found the man who had once professed to love her completely, loved another. Jackson was Cherry's husband, and he didn't belong to her any longer.

Mond sat quietly half hearing the conversation between Stephen and Sally. He was conflicted about how he should treat Cherry.

Sally suddenly turned to Mond yelling, "Mond, can't you say something? What do we do next?"

Stephen looked at Mond too, wanting to know what he was thinking.

Mond calmly said, "First, let's set aside our personal feelings, and instead, focus on getting the token."

Mond had Stephen's full attention with that, and intrigued, he inquired, "The token? How do we get the token away from Jackson?"

Sally's mind raced, thinking of everything she knew about Jackson and Mond, and a thought occurred to her, "Mond, your purpose for revenge wasn't to simply defeat the Chu Family; you intend on snatching their wealth and power too?"

"Why shouldn't I take them? They should be mine!" replied Mond firmly.

Stephen and Sally didn't know what to say to that. They weren't entitled to voice an opinion about the subject, not that they dare meddle in Mond's affairs, to begin with. They knew those foolish enough to confront Mond met with an unexpected, tragic ending.

A thought struck Mond and he suddenly stood up, "Did you find the butler yet?"

"Not yet, I don't know where to look for him. I have people searching, but they haven't got any new information regarding him in a long time, " Stephen reported as he shook his head.

"He must know something, where could he be hiding?" Sally thought out loud.

"We have a better chance obtaining the token if we can find him. He was with Andrew for so long, there's no way he wasn't privy to the whereabouts of the token. But..." Mond paused thoughtfully and then, "if Jackson finds him before we do, our chances of getting the token are slim to none."

"Is the token THAT important?" Sally asked, perplexed.

"Yes! The token is THAT important! The person with the token wields the power to overthrow the entire city, by controlling and being able to dispatch the two gangs, " said Stephen. He had learned this tidbit from a gangster at a bar along with rumors about the power that the Chu Family had far surpassed what anyone imagined.

Sally shuddered involuntarily, and fear griped her heart. It was becoming clear that the resentment Mond had for Jackson was not as simple as the incident from years ago.

Mond stopped Stephen from saying more, "Stephen, have your men continue to carefully look for the butler, and remind them, to pay close attention to anything suspicious looking."

"It's about Cherry..." Stephen paused, looking into Mond's eyes, scrutinizing him, "Are you in love with her?"

Mond mundanely rolled his eyes at Stephen's opinion, and his expression was the same as usual. Deep inside, it was like he was tumbling; his heart felt like it was doing somersaults, on the outside though, he was cool as a still pool of calm water.

Mond's reply was bitter, "No one in the world deserves my affection! The only person who deserves my love has been dead."

"You really hate Andrew that much?" questioned Stephen cocking an eyebrow, then, in an even tone, "Everything he did that year was to protect you as much as the Chu Family! He didn't drive you too hard! Why do you continue to blame him even now?"

Mond had a fierce look as he stared unbelievingly at Stephen, "Stephen, you want to pretend to be a good man now, do you? Okay, tell me then; how is it that the An Family was destroyed? Did you forget?"

Stephen retorted instantly, "I haven't forgotten! How could I? I spend every day remembering! But, when I think about it now, I find that what happened, wasn't entirely the Chu Family's fault that year. My parents did something very wrong, so did Sally's parents. Andrew only took the measures he had to, so he could protect the Chu Family. As a result, the An Family and the He Family appeared to suffer a great deal. At least from one point of view. But, what if the Chu Family hadn't protected Sally? What would be the difference? There's only one difference, and that is Sally would not live safely or peacefully now!"

Mond cried out sharply, "Stephen! Don't pretend to be a good man! Jackson and the rest of the Chu Family are our enemies! Don't forget that!"

Stephen clamped his mouth shut at that.

After a long time, when Stephen was sure Mond had calmed down, he said, "I guess, your hatred for Jackson isn't as strong as it used to be, right?"