Ice and Fire novel Chapter 475

"But, my love for you has never changed, " Sally cried. Her heart felt as though it might tear from her chest. She had been determined to love this man, and yet he now asked her to leave him! She didn't know what else to do to have his heart.

Lowering his head, Jackson sadly replied, "Sally, let it go! I have my family. I love my Cherry and Joe."

Something changed in Sally's face: determination, indignation, and ferocity. "No, I will never let you go! Never!" she declared.

She stared at her love's face for a moment longer before running from the room.

In Mond's villa, Cherry lounged on a chair. The balcony afforded her such a unique view.

Jean strolled to her sister with a plate of fruits, setting it on the round table. She sat beside the table and held Cherry's hands.

"You'd better go inside before long. It's chilly out here, be careful or you might catch a cold, " Jean worried. Cherry being pregnant brought out Jean's concern much more now, wanting to help her sister care for herself.

Cherry looked at Jean tenderly. "Okay, I know. Thank you, sister, " she said softly.

Smiling, Jean shook her head and said, "Silly girl. You needn't thank me, I am your sister after all."

Seeing that Cherry was so willing to accept Jean made her feel even more guilty. She thought back to the things she used to do to hurt Cherry, things even Jean herself couldn't forgive. But Cherry was so kind and still wouldn't hate her! Jean had vowed to be good to her sister as much as she could to make up for her actions in the past.

"You haven't been home recently. Do you miss Joe?" Jean broke her thoughts to ask Cherry.

Heartache plagued Cherry at the mere thought of her precious darling son. How could she ever not want to see him? She suffered from such pain for missing Joe. Cherry absentmindedly muttered, "I miss him very much. I don't know whether he eats properly. Does he study hard at school? Does he still take piano class with Amy?"

Seeing her dear sister ache so for her son, Jean watched her with tenderness. "How about I pick him up from school this afternoon? I could bring him here to see you, " Jean suggested.

Jean felt good to have suggested something so selfless, she really had no agenda this time. Joe was such a sensible boy, and she loved her dear nephew very much.

Looking at her sister, Cherry let out a long sigh. "Sister, I really want to see Joe, " she confessed.

"You can if you want. I'll go to his school to pick him up right now, okay? I promise, I'll bring your precious Joe to you, " Jean vowed with a smile.

"Okay, " Cherry nodded. "I'll call to let him know to wait for you at the school gate."

Jean agreed.

Once Cherry had watched Jean drive away from the villa, she used her phone to call Joe.

"Hello, Mommy, " Joe whispered from the phone, "I am in class now."

Cherry was startled to realise that it was still class time. Joe must have answered the phone secretly under the desk. She was so eager to see her boy that she forgot the time. She felt so silly for forgetting such a simple thing.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Joe. I forgot it was class time now, " she apologized hastily.

She could almost feel her son's smile through the phone. "It's okay. But Mommy, what are you calling me for? "What's going on?" Joe continued to whisper so his teacher wouldn't hear and catch him.

"Your Aunt Jean will be picking you up from school today. You'll come with her to Uncle Mond's villa. I'm here waiting to see you, " Cherry whispered back.

"Really? "I don't have to go home tonight? "What about Daddy? What will he say?" Joe was excited to be seeing his Mommy, but he was worried about his Daddy. Would Daddy agree?

Cherry considered for a moment and replied, "I'll call your Daddy about it. You just go with Aunt Jean after school."

Some time later, Cherry's thoughts were interrupted by the now-ringing telephone in the living room. She shivered as it had startled her greatly. Once she calmed down, she approached it. It was a fixed-line, not a cellphone.

She was puzzled, trying to understand who might call the fixed-line telephone. If it was for Mond, they should have been able to call his cellphone. Why would someone still call the fixed-line?

Her curiosity overpowered her sense and she answered the phone without a word.

The voice on the other end didn't let her speak anyway.

"Mr. Mond, your cellphone is out of reach, so I must call your home phone. Please forgive me. I have acquired the information you required: that person's family name is Wu. You were correct in your guess, that person only follows the orders of yourself and Mr. Jackson, because the two of you are descendants of the Chu Family. But Mr. Mond, I hope you'll reconsider your decision. I am afraid it is not appropriate to disturb him yet. Even if by him you're considered as a member of the Chu Clan, others haven't identified yourself as such, for you have been hiding for the years being."

Cherry stiffened as she listened. So much was bewildering of this mystery man's words. She froze, unable to speak. She didn't know what to say even if she could.

The mysterious man listened to her silence for a moment before continuing to speak. "Mr. Mond, this is merely my advice, I hope you don't mind. My call today was just to inform you the man's family name is Wu. If you have any further orders, you can call me any time. Bye then!"

He ended the call, but Cherry still held the receiver to her ear. The words seemed as though they had nothing to do with her, but she felt there was some connection, however small. The call had thrown her. She was barely sure it was even real, that she had even truly experienced it.

Her mind was in a swirl of thoughts and she stood there a long time before returning the receiver to its base. She intended to sit back on the sofa, but she felt faint with all the confusion.

The man named Wu meant nothing to her, but the man on the phone had said Mond was a descendant of the Chu Family, along with Jackson. How could Mond be a descendant of the Chu Family? Mond's family name was Xu, and Jackson was the only descendant in his generation of the Chu Family, which was a publicly known and acknowledged fact. How could Mond be involved with the Chu Family?

Many possibilities entered Cherry's mind, but she couldn't figure out what relationship Jackson and Mond had. The man on the phone was not joking, his tone said as much. Could it be possible that there was indeed something between Mond and Jackson? Was there indeed anything between Mond and the Chu family?

She thought about some of the events that had happened: the huge bill discovered in the study of the residential compound; she quarreled with Jackson over Mond and Grandpa fainted in the corridor; the last person who saw Grandpa alive was Mond, at the gate of the residential compound. All these events together indicated that Mond must have something to do with the Chu Family. And then there was Mond's unexplained hatred of Jackson; Jackson's mysterious tolerance of Mond. There was a secret here, and it seemed that there were people who weren't telling the truth.