Stephen continued, "But I think that you haven't noticed something. Jean's hatred for Jackson and Cherry isn't as profound as you've thought it was, and her hatred for Cherry is slowly declining. How could you hope that such a woman could help you achieve your ultimate goal?"
"That's none of your business!" furiously snapped Mond.
Looking at Mond, Stephen replied with a sardonic laughter, "Oh, oh, Mond, Jean has suffered a lot just because one wrong move. Let her go and stop your revenge at a proper time."
"That's impossible! I will never forsake my revenge after I have managed to arrive so far with my plans over the years, " swore Mond.
"Even if you eventually succeed, what will you get out of it?" asked Stephen.
Mond was silent again.
He had always been clearly aware that whether his revenge would a success or a failure he would get nothing out of it. The dead couldn't return, and what more could he wish for except for that?
But Mond suddenly said, "What if I get Cherry? Would that be something?"
It was now Stephen's turn to be shocked. He fixed his eyes on Mond's profile in surprise, and couldn't believe his ears what Mond had just said to him.
Mond also slowly turned to Stephen to look at him.
"Is Cherry your goal then?" asked Stephen, stunned.
"You ought to have known about that earlier, " said Mond coldly, with a fierce look on his face. He was able to express his true feelings only in front of Stephen.
Stephen shook his head to show his doubt to Mond's words. He said, "I actually checked it out, but I'm not sure why you want to get Cherry. Is it just because of your love for her, or your hatred for Jackson?"
"What if I told you it was because of both?" asked Mond.
Stephen stared at Mond, and saw that his expression contained the right mixture of banter and seriousness that made it hard for him to believe him.
Stephen just said, "Never harm Cherry."
"Stephen, can you believe it or not? We still have something in common with Jackson. All of us are in love with the same woman." Said Mond, with some sadness visible in his eyes. He then continued, "But Jackson has always been luckier than we are. He always got what he wanted, while in the meantime we lost it."
Stephen knew that these words came from the bottom of Mond's heart, and he agreed with them. Jackson had always obtained everything that he ever wanted easily, and one of the reasons for that was that he had been born in the Chu Family. The other reason was that he had always been more outstanding than the others were, something that Stephen had always admired.
Stephen then slightly patted Mond's shoulder and comforted him, "Mond, Jackson is indeed luckier than we are, but maybe it's just fate. Some things are beyond our understanding and contrivance."
Mond lowered his head and didn't answer him.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Ice and Fire