Ice and Fire

When Cherry got back home, she found Wilson sitting in the living room. She thought that Wilson must have been waiting for her and so he had not gone to sleep.

Cherry walked into the living room and calmly asked, "Wilson, it's really late. Why haven't you gone to bed yet?"

Wilson, however, did not immediately answer her question. Instead, he stood up, walked up to her and asked patiently, "Did he drive you here?"

Wilson found himself behaving very naively. He had seen that Jackson drove her home. Why bother to ask her about it?

Cherry did not intend to hide it from Wilson anyway. She said, "You have seen?"

Wilson once again ignored Cherry's question and asked her instead, "Were you and Jackson the only two for the dinner tonight?"

"No, Selina and Derek were also there. We had dinner together and then..." Cherry paused for a second and continued, "Jackson drove me home."

"Ha ha…" Wilson suddenly laughed out helplessly. He looked away and said, "I should have known. Your staying around Selina means that you can stay around Jackson. Why do you keep insisting on moving out of my villa? Do you want to go back to Jackson's house?"

"Wilson, I have never thought of that!" said Cherry in a hurry. She had not expected Wilson to think that way.

"Then, what is it that you have thought? Both dad and aunt have urged you not to move out and I have begged you to stay too. But you still did not change your mind. Do you plan to be with Jackson again? Didn't you say that you could never forget what Jackson had done to you?" Wilson had summoned up the courage to speak his mind.

Cherry looked at Wilson and felt a rush of sadness. She had thought that even if the rest of the world couldn't understand her, at least he would. However, what he had said had disappointed her.

Cherry tried to calm herself down and said to him, "Wilson, I'm tired and I'm going to get some rest first."

With these words, she turned and was about to leave, but Wilson walked up to her and stood in her way. He persisted to ask, "Tell me! Do you want to be with Jackson again?"

Cherry, finally unable to control her emotions, shouted at Wilson, "So what if I do? After all he's my husband; we are not divorced. The fact that he is Joe's father can never be changed."

Cherry's words stunned Wilson. At that moment, he realized that their fate was predetermined and no matter how hard he tried, it would not be changed.

that she had not succeeded in controlling herself

tried to calm herself down and said, "Sorry, Wilson. I'm not quite myself today.

these words, Cherry pushed Wilson away

the living room and stared into the

door and leaned against it quietly. Her mind was in a total mess. Both Jackson's and Wilson's words kept on echoing in her mind. The two important persons in her life were both pushing

and found her beloved son standing in front

remembered what had happened in the morning. Her face darkened immediately. She went to sit on the sofa next to her and commanded her son, "Come

his mother was going to ask him about what had happened at school today.

pouted and looked at her without saying a

have something to say to me?" Cherry asked him straight away, harshly.

his own fingers and murmured, "Mommy, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have

knew her son very well. He would never hit his classmate unless he had been offended. She had failed to give her son an intact family, which made

stretched out her arms and said

tenderness led Joe to burst

wailed

there was something missing. It was a father's love. He got upset when he saw other children's father pick them up from school or play with them in a park. He only

holding his son

Cherry asked, "Joe,

away in dismissal of that question. He loved his mother most in

I'm sorry. Mommy failed to give you an

said, "Mommy, please don't apologize to me. I have never blamed you. You're

touched to hear her little son's words. In this

born. Once, when I asked grandma about it, she only told me that daddy treated you badly and that was why you left him, " Joe paused and went on,

tightly nestled into

happy and calm with her son comfortably in

to mommy and daddy's story?" Cherry looked ahead with a forlorn look.

all about it. Even though he could not live with his father, he still wanted to know who he was. He had