Ice and Fire novel Chapter 513

Even though Sally had left, Lily was still worried about Cherry, who was sitting with weepy eyes, and her hands trembling in her lap. She asked,"Mrs. Cherry, are you really okay?"

Cherry took a deep breath and tried to calm down her nervous breath. She could feel her heart pumping away. Eventually, she closed her eyes and tried to block out everything around her.

"Yes, I'm all right, don't worry. We can go home now," Cherry simply answered, having composed herself to a modicum.

"Okay, Mrs. Cherry, please let me take you home." Lily then slowly stepped out the shopping mall with Cherry, carefully holding Cherry's arm with her hands. She handled her with as much care as one would use for a fragile item. She felt like Cherry could break at any time due to the emotional turmoil.

After they reached home, Cherry sat and played with her food instead of eating it. Eventually, she threw the remains in the bin and went upstairs to take a nap. Sweet slumber never came to her and she spent an inadequate amount of time overthinking everything that had happened so far.

Jackson returned home and looked around for his delightful wife. He was dying to meet her, he had had a long day at work and he just wanted to kick back with her and enjoy her company. He could not spot her in the vicinity so he asked Lily,"Where is Cherry?"

"Mrs. Cherry went to the second floor to rest," answered Lily respectfully, not looking Jackson in the eye.

"Okay. I'll go upstairs to meet her," Jackson replied. Every minute that Cherry was not with him felt like a wasted minute. She was the center of his world, the apple of his eye.

Lily halted Jackson's walk up the stairs by hesitantly confessing,"Mr. Jackson, I have something to tell you."

"What's wrong?" asked Jackson, confused. He looked back and noticed the sheepish expression on her face. He figured she had something important to tell him. "Just tell me what you want to tell me," said Jackson.

"Mr. Jackson, Mrs. Cherry and I went to the shopping mall this morning. We bumped into Ms. Sally there," Lily said, deferentially. She did not overstep the bounds of propriety a single time.

"Sally?" Lily could hear the inflection of surprise in Jackson's voice, who couldn't help but wonder how such an encounter had come about. He hadn't seen Sally in forever. In fact, he had no idea what she was up to these days and the thought of hers had not crossed his mind in a long time.

"Yes," Lily nodded, while looking up at Jackson. When she met his sharp eyes, she quickly lowered her head saying,"She knows now that Mrs. Cherry is pregnant so I'm afraid she will..."

Lily paused delicately, unsure of how to continue. Surely, Jackson must have understood the worry she was trying to convey. She did not want Sally to cause harm to Cherry. She knew that Jackson would do anything in his power to make sure his wife was taken care of.

Having absorbed the meaning of Lily's words, Jackson responded,"Well, I understand. Thank you for letting me know. You can resume your work now."

"Okay," nodded Lily and then she turned around and left. She was glad that the matter was finally taken off her chest.

Jackson went upstairs, step by step, while his heart was overridden by unimaginable chaos. He felt newfound anxiety for Cherry's safety. He was prepared to stay by her side all day and all night to protect her, if required. He would never allow anyone to hurt his wife and their baby! Never!

"Honey," Cherry lifted the covers off herself and sat up, giving Jackson all her attention. "It's been a while since we had some quality family time. Will you come with me to pick up Joe later?"

Jackson furrowed his eyebrows in worry as he placated her,"Why don't you let Bill take care of that? Aren't you tired after having spent most of the day outside? You should stay at home and take care of your body. Don't you think so?" Jackson tried to persuade Cherry while letting her make the decision for herself.

"But I still want to see our son. We didn't even drive him to school this morning so I think we should at least pick him up this afternoon. I miss him so much. He will be very happy if he sees us," Cherry insisted. In reality, she was apprehensive about her son's safety. It had become hard for her to remain calm after the encounter with Sally this morning. She was afraid that her family was at risk, especially Joe. That was why she wanted to pick him up herself.

Jackson stayed silent, not knowing how to respond.

Seeing that Jackson was unresponsive, Cherry immediately touched his arm softly and uttered sweetly,"Darling, you said that you have devoted yourself to me, why don't you do this one thing with me? I just want to pick up our son in person."

Cherry's persistence softened Jackson's heart. He didn't want to forbid Cherry but followed everything she said to him. However, he would remain to worry that she was overexerting herself at this crucial time during her pregnancy.

"Fine, I'll take you to the first floor. We'll have some porridge and then go to Joe's school. But, if you ever feel tired, we'll come home immediately, okay? Jackson finally gave in, with strict conditions.

"Yes, I will tell you; don't worry. And I happen to be hungry now, so let's go downstairs," answered Cherry, happily. She jumped out of bed like a small child full of delight and left the bedroom.