Ice and Fire novel Chapter 89

When she saw him, Cherry quickly wiped away her tears, and said, "Hi, John. Long time, no see..."

All of his betrayals and feelings mattered too little for her, and she calmly greeted him without any sort of emotional distress.

John quickly asked, "When did you come back?"

"Yesterday, " replied Cherry.

John knew her well, and nodded gently. The first thing that she did after her return was to visit Emily's grave.

John put the flowers in front of Emily's tombstone, and as he looked at it, he said, "She wasn't lonely; Stephen and I have often come to see her in the past five years."

When she heard him, Cherry quickly asked, "How is Stephen nowadays?"

Cherry was very concerned about Stephen, because he had helped her escape. Except for Emily and Jackson, he was the only one that she ever cared about in the past five years.

John didn't intend to hide anything from her. He looked at Cherry, and said, "He's had both good times, and hard times."

"What do you mean by that?" Cherry didn't understand John too well.

"My uncle eventually found out that Stephen was the one who helped you leave, " said John. He believed that Cherry would then understand him.

Cherry then just stared at him, and wondered what Jackson had done to Stephen.

When John saw Cherry's expression, he guessed that she already understood what he wanted to say to her. He continued, "So my uncle always made things more difficult for him. That, and..."

"And what?" When she heard him, Cherry became a little more anxious. She wondered what had happened during her absence.

John said, "Stephen is no longer in charge of the underground organization of the city now. Bobby, who is under Jackson's command, took it over from him. You should know what that means..."

Cherry got lost in thought for a few moments, and then said, "When did he become so powerful?"

John looked up at the sky, and then started to tell her everything. "Bobby appeared shortly after you left the city, and almost all the city's major forces were on his side then..." John paused for a few moments, and then continued, "To be more accurate, they were on the Chu family's side, and Jackson didn't let Stephen go off so easily. Stephen's career was destroyed little by little, and he now just has the bar, but except for that, he has nothing else."

Cherry felt a sense of guilt. She had never expected Stephen to suffer so much because of her escaping.

Sensing her guilt, John comforted her immediately, "Anyway, Stephen's life is okay now. He told me that he was satisfied with his current status, and that he doesn't hate Jackson. There's no need to blame yourself for his mishap."

Cherry murmured, as if she hadn't heard John's words, "No, it was all my fault. If I hadn't asked Stephen to help me, he wouldn't have ended up like this."

John was distressed to see Cherry like that. Although years had passed, she had never changed, and had still remained as considerate as ever.

John patted her shoulder, and said, "Don't feel too guilty about it; it wasn't your fault. If you ever have time, go and visit Stephen. He'll be more than happy to see you."

Cherry looked at John's eyes. The man still knew her well, but they didn't belong to each other anymore; they could only get along like ordinary friends.

Cherry nodded, But before she left, she said, "John, would you please keep my return a secret for the moment? Don't tell Grandpa Andrew or Jackson about it, please."

Cherry was not ready to meet them, and if it were possible, she would have liked to never see them again. She just wanted to live a peaceful life, as she had started to.

"Aren't you going to see Jackson?" said John, surprised by her request. He continued, "You're still his legitimate wife. Don't you really want to meet him?"