Arrogant Man VS Unyielding Woman

Jean sensed that Moore still had something to say. "Just say it, Moore. You don't have to sugarcoat your words in front of me."

After Jean said that, Moore heaved a deep sigh and thought about it a for a moment before saying, "Well, do you think it's okay to reprimand Maranda in front of Ron like that? After all Maranda is a girl, and she didn't really cross the line. It was just a joke between friends. You don't really need to take it seriously." "I wasn't that serious!" Jean knew what Moore wanted to say. She sighed and said, "I know Maranda's personality. Regardless of the situation, she always spit out whatever was on her mind impulsively. Do you think it was not a big deal? I got mad at her on purpose today, so that she could learn a lesson and keep it in her mind. If Ron didn't understand my intention, it is his problem. I don't want to explain to him."

Moore scratched his head. "Well, all right. But even if Ron understood your intention and ended up not blaming you for bullying his girlfriend, what about Maranda? How do you think she felt about it? Since she was born this way, couldn't you have told her in a milder way and a politer manner?" Moore said with a slight resignation on his tone.

"With that brain of hers, do you think she would understand if I was a bit milder and less expressive?" Jean looked at Moore with amusement and said, "Don't worry about it. Maranda won't hold any grudge against me. I know I was a little too harsh to her, but only by treating her this way will I be able to make her not commit the same mistake in the future."

Moore sighed. "Well, okay. I have nothing more to say since you put it that way."

Jean nodded and then her eyebrows furrowed into a frown. "But did you ever notice how Ron paid a special attention to this car? I think he took several glances before he left." Jean then turned to Toby on the driver's seat. "Toby, please put this car in the garage after you come back, and next time, please choose a less flamboyant car."

"Will do," Toby replied earnestly with a short nod. Jean then turned her attention back to Moore.

"Moore, do you want to go anywhere special for fun like the beach? I was planning to ask Maranda and Ron to go with us to the beach, but Maranda made me so upset that I shook that thought away. I am not so sure if she would still say something silly to piss you off if I asked her to come with us. In that case, I would cry my eyes out for ruining the evening."

Moore looked at her as Jean spoke again. "Do you think I am a narrow-minded person without any senses?" Hearing Jean say so, Moore chuckled softly and responded with a wry smile on his face, "I don't have anywhere special to go, so we can go to the beach." Jean's eyes sparked. "Speaking of the beach, I have done something stupid at the beach before." In order to relieve the awkward air, Jean started to narrate with a smile, "When I just married Zed, his first love Eva always found excuses to show up in front of Zed. She was trying so hard to get back together with Zed, despite knowing the face that I had already married Zed then. It came to the point that I got so sick of her badgering us that I even helped set her up with Zed, so they could get back together again."

This was the first time Moore had heard Jean talk about her and Zed, so he listened attentively with great interest, shaking the negative emotion that was building inside of him.

Seeing that Moore was fully focused on her story, Jean smiled and continued,"Because of that, Zed was seriously pissed and got at me. He gave me a difficult time after that."

As she reminisced about those moments with Zed, it felt so vivid as if it just happened a moment ago. However, if you think about the time and the events that happened between then and now, she realized that it was indeed far behind them. She had experienced so much ups and downs with Zed - so much laughter and tears were shed since that very moment.

It was amazing to think about that they were still together now after all those years instead of ending up separated. Now, she felt like laughing all those times she asked for a divorce, thankful that Zed still fought for their relationship rather than agreeing with her.

"There were times where I got upset and aggravated that I would bring up divorce to Zed immaturely. I tried so many ways to convince him that divorce was the right decision for us. Regardless, I was well aware that he would not agree no matter how much I brought it upon us. He cares so much about his reputation to the point that he was very careful of his every move. One wrong step would instantly cause a commotion in H City and catch attention of the public. Then again, I took advantage of that to piss him off again and again. I don't know why I kept doing it, but maybe because it felt satisfying to give back all the hard times he gave me.

Now, as I recall all these things, I just realized how immature and childish I was in front of Zed. Later on, I came to understand that Eva could and would never be a threat to our marriage. However, Jesse showed up, and this time, it really freaked me out. It was then that I realized my true feelings for Zed. That I had already fallen for him for a long time then. Zed, my husband... Yes, I really did fall for him and still is now."

As she finished with this, Jean looked dreamily away to nothing in particular. Thinking about Zed and their moments together, her face grew a sweet smile and her eyes started to spark against the gentle light.

Moore couldn't help but smile as he watched Jean remember those times and saw how her face started to get basked with happiness.

He didn't know much about Zed's attitude and feelings towards Jean, so he really couldn't judge.

As for Jean, he always had felt Jean's feelings towards Zed for a long time now.

'What a blessing it is for a man to marry a woman that loves him so much!' Moore started then to shake his head.

His face turned gloomy as he felt sad for himself. 'What a shame for me! Maybe I don't deserve that kind of happiness in my life.'

Jean noticed the mopey expression now on Moore's face. Her face frowned with concern. "What are you thinking about, Moore? I'm sorry. Is it because I'm boring you now, blabbering about me and Zed?"

"Oh no, not at all. Don't get it the wrong way, but I just really feel like you two are blessed, and here I am, envying what the both of you have." Moore explained with a bitter smile on his face.

"Envy us?" Jean's eyes rolled shrewdly. She studied Moore closely and then asked, "Moore, did you ever have a girlfriend?"

Moore's eyes widened at this sudden question. "I..." Shyness appeared on Moore's flustered face, and he nodded a moment later. "Yes."

Jean eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Really? What happened? Are you still together?" Jean suddenly covered her mouth as she realized how insensitive her last question was.

Because if Moore still had a girlfriend, he wouldn't have stayed in H City.

Moore didn't take Jean's last question deep in his heart. "We broke up," he said, sorrow in his eyes.

With a weak smile on her face, Jean said in haste, "I am sorry. I wasn't thinking. It was so insensitive that I should not have brought this up." She placed a hand on Moore's arm in attempt to comfort him. Moore looked at Jean and after a moment, he sighed in resignation "It's okay. It was my fault anyway. I didn't cherish the relationship we had and broke up with her. If I see her again, I will apologize to her." Jean's eyes narrowed. "You broke up with her? Why?" Jean asked with great curiosity. "I'm sorry. Please tell me if my questions are too personal or that if talking about this makes you uncomfortable."

Moore shook his head. "No, it's okay. I don't mind talking about it. It has already been long ago." He paused for a moment as if thinking about what to say, his face clearly lost in thought. After a moment, he looked away from Jean and stared out of nothing in particular. "We knew each other in college and then fell in love. I wouldn't say that it was as amazing as the two of you have, but we had the passion of the youth. I thought that I would, one day, see her walk down the aisle towards me, and then we will build a family and live together until the end of our lives. However, after graduation, our life's choices started to cross and oppose. One fight led to another and then another to the point that our day wouldn't be complete without one argument.

I was not good at handling these kinds of situations. Back then, I didn't understand why I couldn't pursue my own dreams after I had a girlfriend. I thought girlfriends were supposed to support you instead of opposing you. Why did she side with my adoptive parents and push me to take over my family's business instead of supporting me with my own dreams and ambitions? Who had the right to tell me that running a business was the perfect career, leading to a perfect life? For a few days, I was tortured by all these questions in my head. When I couldn't take it anymore, I broke up with her without telling her the reason why. I still remember how her face turned into surprise and then sadness finally appeared on her face. I could also remember how tears started to brim her eyes, but she managed to keep them there. For a long while, she just looked at me with those sorrowful eyes, and I stared at her back. It was as if she was trying to look for any sign of hesitation in my eyes, waiting for me to take back what I said. But I didn't. In the end, she agreed and was the first one to turn and walk away. Since then, I haven't seen her even just once.

My adoptive parents felt very sorry when they learned that we had broken up. I knew they were sad, because they believed it was her who could convince me to forget about the pursuit of my own dreams. Then again, I still felt the regret soon after that. After all, we had been together for three years. A lot already have happened then. The pain was more than I could endure after I lost her. I tried to find her, hoping that I could apologize and ask if we can get back together. However, she was nowhere to be found. It was not until I got my master's degree that I heard from my old friends that she was already married to someone else. What's more, her husband was a classmate of hers, who had been loving her secretly, but failed because of me. I was still the reason that if I hadn't committed that mistake of letting her go, we would probably still be together and not them."

Moore lowered his eyes, feeling the sadness build inside his heart as he reminisced about all those times he was with her. He didn't say anything more. Jean rubbed her hand on Moore's back and sighed. "Aww, it's such a shame that both of you loved each other but ended up broken. Maybe, she just wasn't the right person for you just as you weren't for her."