Arrogant Man VS Unyielding Woman

"You are so naive, you know? You would believe everything they write in the newspaper, won't you? It was Shirley who climbed in to Carlos' bed and enticed him to play out the script she wrote. She knew that Winner didn't have enough money to pay Carlos and therefore, Carlos was the one who killed Winner in the end. This way, Shirley didn't get her hands dirty! Then she pretended that she had been kidnapped by Carlos, after which she had an excuse to coerce Joy into paying him a hefty ransom." Since Henry wasn't willing to believe her anyway, there was no point withholding the truth and Jean didn't want to do that either. So she directly told him the reason why Winner had been killed.

"What did you just say?" Even after her lengthy explanation, Henry couldn't accept the cruel fact and his face turned bleak all of a sudden. Even so, he did succeed in getting his anger back on track and not cursing Jean anymore! As for Jean, with Shirley in jail, she didn't have to lie and withhold the fact.

Shirley had already been caught by the police and was bound to receive a life-sentence as she had masterminded a kidnapping scheme, along with extortion and obstruction of justice.

Furthermore, she was indirectly involved in a murder as she was the one who had hired the kidnappers.

Henry's heart ached on hearing Jean's words. He had never expected that his own daughter would go to such lengths just for the sake of money and would even have his son killed just to become the successor of the Wen Group.

'If Shirley had truly been kidnapped just as the newspapers had written, then why would she have been caught by the police? Isn't that a paradox?

Although she hasn't confessed to her crimes till now and therefore, hasn't been convicted of murder as of yet... But wait! If she hasn't pleaded guilty for having something to do with Winner's death, then the police have no right to keep her under arrest for more than twenty four hours, especially if no evidence turns up.

But the man I sent to bail Shirley out was outright refused by lan. And I have no chance of asking him for the same once again!

Clearly, Shirley really is guilty. Otherwise, she would be out by now.' Henry thought.

He was feeling so desperate so he turned to look at Jean.

"No matter what you want to say to me, I only have one question for you. Don't you think you should try to get some sort of justice for Winner?" Jean asked Henry coldly just as he was intending to say something to her.

"Jean, I know that you are the smartest child of the Wen Family. And to be honest, I've always known that in my heart. And now I realize that it was all my fault. I was too partial to Shirley and I only treated Winner and Shirley well. I treated you really unfairly and never stopped to consider your feelings! I know that I was wrong in doing that. Can you please give your old Dad a chance to compensate for everything he has done to you? Please, my dear baby?" Henry cried. Jean however, wasn't fooled!

"I am sorry. I can't." She outright refused to accept his apology. As she looked at his disappointed face, she continued, "You have already hurt me too much and I cannot be healed like that. No matter what you do, it's not going to be enough and I am never ever going to forgive you. And I must warn you! If you plan on trying to plead innocence for Shirley, then I suggest you give up before you waste your time and energy! It hasn't been so long since Winner's death. Have you forgotten that he is your own son? Your biological son? Have you forgotten that so soon?"

"No, Jean. You have misunderstood me. I'm not going to plead for Shirley. I also know that she has committed unforgivable crimes and there is no way to make up for that except perhaps, the legal system. She is going to be imprisoned in the jail for a lifetime for the mistakes she has made and she deserves that." Henry tried to explain his feelings in a hurry. "Jean, what I want to say is now I have really realized my fault and I sincerely apologize to you for how I have behaved to you all this time."

"That's enough. I don't want to listen to your explanation. It's too late for that now. Don't think that if you have done some flattery and said a few nice words, then I am going to be gentle enough to forgive you. You'd better give up, Henry. Even if you kneel down and beg me on two knees, I am not going to forgive you."

After saying these words, Jean took Zed's hand and directly stormed out of the ward in anger, slamming the door hard behind them.

"Jean... Jean..." Henry shouted in his bed, trying to call her back. However, the louder he shouted, the faster Jean rushed across the corridor and soon, his voice was drowned out by the eventual slam of the door. The finality with which it hit the door frame sent a wave of hopeless despair upon Henry's face.

Jean didn't hesitate or stop for even a minute in her tracks. Instead, she walked so fast that her pace was like the wind when she left the ward.

It wasn't until they had finally reached outside the gate of the hospital and Zed had started trying to stop her that she agreed to catch her breath. "Could you please walk a bit slower, baby?" he called out. "Henry is not going to come out and catch up with us, you know? Don't get so angry or frazzled, okay?"

It was easy for him to have walked so hard for so long since he exercised daily. Besides with the long legs he had, walking fast was not a problem.

However, it wasn't an easy thing for Jean, who wasn't used to such rapid movement on foot. Maybe it was because of her anger or the fact that she didn't exercise daily, her face had turned red and she was almost completely out of breath.

After hearing Zed's words, she finally stopped and looked back with uncertainty. It was almost as if she was afraid that Henry would try to come out and catch up with her.

After making sure that it hadn't really happened, even though it was highly improbable, Jean finally eased down a little and her rapid pace turned into a trickle.

"What are you afraid of, Jean? Henry is disabled and he can't walk at all, you know? What's wrong with you? Why are you running so fast? What made you forget the fact that he can't walk? What were you thinking of, sweetheart?" Zed stared at Jean and asked in a single breath with an anxious expression on his face.

"I..." Seeing just how much Zed concerned for her, Jean sighed deeply with a complex expression on her face and an intriguing tone in her breath, explaining why she was running so fast. "When I was a child, Henry once chased after me like a ghost. It was a like a nightmare for me and it was so traumatizing that I can see it vividly before my eyes even today!"

Seeing her frightened expression, Zed felt sorry for his wife and hugged her tightly, trying to comfort her as much as he could. Nightmares like hers simply didn't vanish overnight even after such a time. "It's okay, baby. Don't worry about it. You have me with you now and no one is ever going to get a chance to hurt you anymore."

His soft tone and deep hug seemed to calm her down and she sighed in relief.

He let her rest on his shoulders for a while, then took her in his arms and led her to the garage.

After sitting in the passenger seat for a few minutes, Jean's face slowly returned to the same ruddy expression it always carried. "Am I in a mess right now?" she looked at Zed with a bitter smile and asked.

"No, baby. Believe me, you are the most beautiful woman in the world, and you're never a mess!" Zed stared at her and replied with a loving smile.

"Oh, Zed!" Jean blushed. "Since when have you become so coy and flippant?" She asked with a naughty laughter.

But after a short while, a sad expression appeared on her face once again. "Zed, I wonder! How can some people in the world be so cold-blooded and heartless?" she asked and there was a tone of disappointment in her voice. "I had always believed that even though Henry is an aloof person, he would be at least a little bit sad about Winner's untimely death, or rather, murder! After all, he is his biological son! But he wasn't. He was hardly affected at all! He was just putting an act in front us, but I didn't notice any signs of grief in his eyes, or on his face. He never felt sad about Winner's death and Shirley's imprisonment. What he cares about most is whether he can rely on me or not. He is so ridiculous!"

Zed sighed heavily with a complex look and expression on his face. "What a bastard! I've never imagined that a father could be so cruel to his own daughter, or over that, his own biological son. In his eyes, his family is a mere tool to him for climbing up to the highest possible social status. After he has used them to meet his own ends, he can be as cruel to them as a killer!"

"That's true, and I'm an exact example of that. There would be very few fathers in the world, countable on my fingers, who would sell out their daughters just for obtaining a piece of land. And my father is one of them. He did all this to me. I was really lucky I met you, you know? You are willing to care for me and accept me even with all my shortcomings. I am fortunate to have a husband like you." Jean burst into tears when she said these words.

"Don't be so sad about that bastard, baby. I'm here, and I'm never going to leave you." Zed's heart ached when he saw her red eyes brimming with tears. "It's okay, baby. It's my responsibility to care for you, and it is my privilege to love you. Now that you know I'm faithful to you, all you should do in return is be happy."

"I will, Zed. I trust you and I love you very much." Jean nodded heavily in an effort to calm down.

"Hey! You can openly tell me that you love me now! How have you changed so much?" Zed looked at Jean in surprise and joked.

"Indeed, I've changed a lot since I left the Wen Family. I've become more outgoing and daring, especially when it comes to expressing my feelings. Zed, which side of me do you like more? The shy introvert? Or the confident extrovert?" Jean asked shyly. "I..." Zed pretended it was hard to answer her question and hesitated for a while with an indecisive look on his face.

Jean felt a little bit worried about his hesitation. "You preferred the old, shy, introverted me from the past, right?" she hurriedly asked before he could reply. "Is that why you married me? Oh, no! What do I do now? My personality is so different now. Do you still like me?" "No, Jean. I don't like you anymore, especially this overconfident self!" Zed pretended to nod his head in agreement.

Jean felt so worried when she heard that Zed didn't like her confident self. She said, "What if I change myself to the way I formerly was? Will you like me after that?"

"How are you so innocent, Jean?" Zed burst into laughter. Seeing that Jean was serious about his words, he sighed and couldn't help rubbing her head affectionately. "Yes, sweetheart. You did attract me in the past. And in the start, you were so different than everyone else I had ever met, and I pursued you just out of curiosity. But after sometime, I found out that I had grown fond of you. As for now..."

Zed paused for a moment, so Jean hurriedly asked him, "What about now?"

"Now I've totally fallen in love with you. It's not just mere appreciation of who you are or were, Jean. I love you. I love you so much! I can never tell you just how much!" Zed stared at her with affection and he explained with a smile on the corner of his mouth, refuting his pretentious melodrama.