Ice and Fire novel Chapter 445

Joe's words warmed Jean's heart to its very core and melted all the spite and anger that had existed inside. Some guilt also arose in her, for being treated so well by her little nephew, in spite of her bad behavior towards Cherry all these years. It showed that he was a nice little boy, who bore no ill-will towards anyone. She could now see that her sister had done a good job of raising him.

On the other hand, from Joe's perspective, he finally understood why his mom didn't hate Auntie Jean anymore. She had forgiven her after holding a grudge after all those years so he understood that hatred should never exist between family members. Whatever happens, family always comes first and that can happen only by maintaining good relations. Besides, after meeting his Auntie, he had come to like and know her merits during their brief liaisons. Since there was no bad blood between the sisters, he had decided to treat her nicely and change his initial behavior towards her. Yet another thing was that Joe thought Jean might know some information that his parents refused to tell him, so he had come to her to get it out of her.

After pondering on whether or not to ask the question, Joe changed the topic and asked, "By the way, Jean did you know that our former butler got into an accident? He was very close to our family."

Jean nodded, with a slight change in her facial expressions. She did not seem to have realized that her answer held great value to Joe. She replied, "I heard the news."

Trying to subtly continue his line of questioning, Joe kept asking, "Jean, did you know our butler very well? Had you met him a lot of times?"

Jean did not notice that Joe was trying to investigate the butler. She answered as if it were just small talk. "I know a little about him. He had accompanied Andrew for a long time and had watched Jackson grow up from being a little kid. However, " Jean paused for a second before she continued, "He deserves what he got, because he betrayed the Chu Family and did many awful things."

"Did he really betray the Chu Family?" asked Joe. His heart sank on hearing about the betrayal. He was surprised that he couldn't help but think aloud, "That explains why he wasn't in the Chu Family after Andrew passed away."

"Yes, he did. He badly wanted an item of the Chu Family and was prepared to go to any lengths to acquire it. He even risked ruining his relationship with Mond and fighting him. But unfortunately, he failed in his attempts and lost his life, " said Jean. Although she didn't know much about the butler, she had heard a great many things about him from Mond.

Joe was mildly surprised by the twist in the story but the information was no doubt, enormously useful. He quietly recited the bits of the story he had pieced together, which was that both the butler and Mond had wanted the token. He wondered why it was so precious.

Joe pretended to be remorseful about the butler's betrayal and said, "I did not expect that. He had always been very nice to me and even brought me toys from the supermarket, sometimes."

Jean understood her nephew's emotions were in the right place but was concerned that other people could take advantage of him. She told him with seriousness, "You have to keep in mind that just because someone treats you well, it does not mean that they mean it or are your friends. You may not fully understand what I'm saying, but you'll see this around you once you grow up. People often take advantage of other people, especially when they're nice and helpful."

Joe heard Jean's words and nodded because he was moved. He was pleased that Jean cared about him, although he had only partly understood what she said.

"All right then, finish your food fast. Otherwise, you'll end up missing your classes in the afternoon, " Jean reprimanded.

"Oh! I almost forgot that I have classes. I don't even feel like attending them, " Joe said. He then pushed the food towards his Aunt and nudged, "Jean, let's eat together."

"Okay, " she replied and gobbled it down.

After lunch, Jean drove Joe back to his school while remaining in deep in thought about the afternoon they had just spent together.

Before dropping him off at the gate of the school, Jean assured Joe, "Call me if you miss me or need me. I'll come to you as soon as I can."

"Okay!" Joe cheerfully said, adding, "Jean, you sound like my bodyguard."