Ice and Fire novel Chapter 564

"That's good. He should be taking excellent care of you. If he didn't, I'd come back and beat him up, and retake the JC Group from him," Stephen joked, pretending to be domineering.

At Stephen's mock threats, Cherry jumped to her husband's defense,"No! You can't do that. I won't allow anyone to hurt my husband, and aside from that, the JC Group is part of our family's holdings and has nothing to do with you. How could you take it from us?"

It hadn't even been a year since Stephen had left, and the way Cherry was talking to him floored him completely, rendering him speechless. It made him wonder if this new mannerism was learned from Jackson. How had she become as overbearing as Jackson?

Jackson's white teeth gleamed as he grinned like the Cheshire Cat from Alice In Wonderland when he heard Cherry's side of the conversation. He was so pleasant that his wife didn't hide her love to him.

"Cherry, did Jackson bribe you to sing praises about him?" Stephen wanted to know.

"It's possible, and that he had to pay a lot of money," Cherry responded grinning devilishly.

"Fine! I'll double his price, and you can fly here by private jet," Stephen joked even though he knew it was impossible.

"That wouldn't be possible. I couldn't leave my husband, or my son, and oh, this baby in my belly, none of them would ever allow it!" Cherry joked back, adding,"Not to mention, Lily, the family maid! She'd never let me leave her either."

"Sounds like you are quite popular," said Stephen smiling.

Cherry knew Stephen was kidding around, but, she didn't want to anymore and changed the subject,"Stephen, did you know my brother, Wilson, married Selina yesterday? The wedding was spectacular, and Joe got so many of the red envelopes!"

"I could see your little Joe receiving a lot of money at the wedding. Such a lovely troublemaker!" Stephen could picture Joe having a great deal of fun at his Uncle's wedding reception, even if he hadn't been at the ceremony. Joe would have effortlessly gone from adult to the next, dazzling them from time to time with his smile.

"How can you call my son a troublemaker? I'll have you know, that my son is a genius! He is a handsome lad full of sunshine! You can't call him a troublemaker!" Cherry retorted. How dare Stephen call her son a troublemaker? If he were here, she would fight him!

"Alright! Alright, geez! Whatever you say, I will keep my point of view, to myself," replied Stephen from the safety of the other end of the phone. He could imagine the murderous look Cherry would have now. He knew Cherry loved her son very much, and nobody could say anything bad about him.

"What? Stephen! What did you just say?" Cherry shrieked.

"I don't know what you thought I was going to tell you, but, I only wanted to tell you I have a girlfriend, and we're going to be married," Stephen divulged before Cherry could interrupt him again. He still preferred the short, straightforward approach. He didn't want to jabber endlessly like Cherry had, and he still wasn't sure what she was talking about.

"Excuse me? What did you just say?" Cherry was flabbergasted by Stephen's announcement. She took a steadying breath to contain herself before she asked,"Okay, I need some details! What's her name? Her height and weight? Oh, may as well tell me all her vital stats right down to the width of her lips. Are you going to be married soon? Did you have sex? Did she agree to marry you because you're obsessed with her?"

The questions Cherry was firing off had Jackson biting down on his fist to keep himself from laughing.

Cherry kept asking questions,"Where's she from? What's her nationality? What's her race and ethnicity? And most importantly, is she beautiful? When will you bring her back? I can't wait to meet her!"

Cherry took a deep breath when she was done asking all her questions, and thought Stephen might be speechless since she had asked so many details. She cared about him a lot, and since he planned on marrying this anonymous girl, she felt a bit worried. She hadn't worried as much when her brother, Wilson, married Selina.