Arrogant Man VS Unyielding Woman

As a daughter, Jean hadn't been able to do one last thing for her mother.

She couldn't let the cause of her mother's death remain unknown.

Just the thought of this was making Jean's heart ache with grief as tears flowed down her fair cheeks.

Moore had been as pensive as her all this while observing her all the time. Seeing her cry, his eyebrows furrowed with worry.

He hurriedly walked over and comforted her. "Jean, don't worry. I seriously think that Zed can think of a way."

"How? We both know it is illegal. And, he won't go against his conscience to do such a thing. It's me who has been terribly harsh on him..."

Jean moped about the situation she had put Zed in.

She had thought that Joy wouldn't ask for more. As long as Shirley stayed alive, it wouldn't matter to her that she would be in jail for the rest of her life. There was nothing illegal in her bargain. But as Joy said, she had seen through Jean's weakness, so she would create the best possible circumstances for Shirley.

The sudden change in the terms hadn't left Jean any time to think. So, she agreed.

Now she realized how serious the matter was and it had exposed Zed to a risky proposition.

She didn't think about whether Zed would agree to it or how he would execute it in the first place.

But now her worry was concentrated at one point - Zed was in a difficult situation.

Jean's shoulders shook with helplessness and she began to cry more fiercely.

'Zed, I am sorry.

I must believe in you. You are the only one that I can depend on.

Please forgive me. I have got you in a bind but I did it all for my deceased mother.'

An hour and a half had passed since Zed went upstairs. After that, there was no noise from him. Jean's heart in the meanwhile was in the grip of mixed feelings - worry, anxiety and remorse... Moore quietly sat next to her as he too worried about how they would find a way out of this. As the clock ticked by, Joy grew more and more agitated.

'If Zed can't think of a way, Shirley will die.

Jean already has the evidence of my crime. If she goes to the court, I can't escape the punishment of the law.

If that is the case, I should have agreed earlier, only to let Shirley be in jail for the rest of her life, and avoid her death.'

Two hours passed and everyone became more worried.

Since Joy was fidgeting with the tassels of the cushions in a restless manner, Moore realized that she was losing her patience. He suddenly felt he'd have to do something and decided to go check in with Zed.

"I will go see Zed. You sit here. I'll be back soon," Moore said to a numb Jean.

Jean nodded. Seeing Moore's tall figure disappear into the flight of stairs leading to Zed's study, she sighed.

Zed and Moore were both under stress because of her.

Seeing Moore go find Zed, Joy was slightly relieved, having full faith in the two men.

Moore knocked on the door of Zed's study and heard Zed say 'come in'. He pushed the heavy oak door only to see...

Zed sitting at the desk and staring at a computer screen. As Moore couldn't see the screen, he didn't know what Zed was up to.

Curious, he walked over to Zed's chair.

In the meanwhile, he bounced off what was going on in his head all this time. "Zed, are you deliberately neglecting Joy to get her worked up and surrender first?"

Zed looked up from the screen and stared at Moore, slightly taken aback at Moore's correct guess. Then, he smiled and said, "Now that you already know, sit down and have a cup of tea. Let's talk and wait for Joy to break."

Moore nodded. When he saw what was on the screen, he said between laughs, "You were watching them from upstairs all the time! After seeing Joy grow more and more inpatient, it struck me that you might be testing her. But what if Jean loses her patience first? What will we do then?"

"No, she won't. I have confidence in her. Do you know why she cried after I left? It was because she felt guilty for putting me in such a precarious situation. She knew that I wouldn't break the law. See. She already felt sorry about it. So she wouldn't grow demanding from me at this point. Even if she wants me to agree to Joy's condition, she won't force me at this moment."

Zed analyzed with confidence.

Moore nodded in agreement. "I have to admit that you know Jean well. Nobody expected Jean's mother's death to be related to Joy."

Moore sighed.

He found the whole reality of it incredibly astounding.

Since he had come to the H City and met Jean, his life had taken a sudden turn.

He witnessed how Jean was hospitalized and endured everything by herself.

He also saw everything that Zed had done to protect her.

To be honest, he was truly touched by their relationship. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been willing to pass a chance at wooing Jean and instead, blessed them genuinely.

Jean's life had seen more ups and downs than normal people.

When she had just settled her relationship problems with Zed, she found out about her mother's death being shrouded in strange circumstances.

And now, she had to worry about fulfilling Joy's condition and suffered from the guilt she felt for Zed.

He had understood Zed's plan, but he didn't know whether Jean had understood it too.

From the computer screen, Zed and Moore closely watched what was happening downstairs. As expected, Joy was getting more and more worked up.

"Jean, what's the matter?" Joy approached Jean and asked in annoyance, "Can Zed think of a way? If he can't, forget about it. If you can't save Shirley, I won't tell you the truth. I won't say anything even if you turn me to the police."

Joy threatened Jean, in a mock-conceited way.

Jean who had been looking at the floor all this time, suddenly looked up.

She looked at Joy with cold fury, making her step back shuddering with fear. After a moment, Joy asked a in shivering voice, "Why are you looking at me like that? Jean, I advise you not to play any tricks. It won't work. No matter what you do, I won't tell you the truth."

"I know your only concern is saving Shirley and you won't make any compromises. Since that is the case, I have no more to say. See, even Zed can't think of a way to save Shirley. I can't lie to you." Jean stared at Joy and laughed brutally. "Since you have decided, you can go now. But I can tell you. You will soon see the dead body of Shirley..."

Joy put on a baffled experssion as Jean asked her to leave.

All this while when she had been waiting, she knew that a respected man like Zed wouldn't break the law to save Shirley.