Arrogant Man VS Unyielding Woman

"He works for you. I surely shouldn't involve myself in it." Jean rolled her eyes at Zed and added, "But can you please tone down the fierceness? You look unfamiliar to me in that avatar and I get scared."

"Alright. I promise you that I will control myself from now on." Zed looked Jean in the eye to assure her of his genuineness and nodded his head.

Zed making a promise to Jean in a heartbeat gladdened her. Still, the thought of her mother's death at the back of her head brought her spirits down. She lowered her head in gloomy silence.

Noticing Jean's low spirits, Zed realized what she was thinking about at once. He consoled her with encouraging words. "Jean, don't think too much. Your mother is already gone. We can't do anything to bring her back so please don't cry any more. What boils my blood is that Joy tried to kill you too. I'll definitely make her suffer for it."

"How are you going to add to her suffering?" Jean was curious about what Zed meant by this. She shrugged her shoulders and added, "Only if she goes to the police office and confesses what she did to my mother, will she meet an end that she deserves." "Do you prefer her to die or live to suffer?" Zed questioned Jean with a grave look.

Jean mulled over what Zed had just said. It was only at this point that Jean understood what Zed meant by "suffering".

Thinking of all the realities she could have subjected Joy to, Jean shook her head in the end. "Never mind. Though I really want to torture her, I don't want you to break the law for me. What are you going to do with Shirley?"

"Our promise to Joy will have to be honoured. It's easy. Once Shirley is condemned to a life sentence, it's done," Zed said.

"Yes." Having Zed stand by her through thick and thin had bolstered Jean's confidence greatly. She was relieved to have him by her side in facing all of this.

"Why are you nervous? It need not be done illegally. Don't worry." Zed laughed to make the matters light and to make Jean see things differently.

"I know that." Jean smiled back at Zed and added,"But I hate the fact that we'd have to get involved..." Jean held Zed's hands in affection.

"Don't think too much. It's much easier for me to do that before she gets sentenced." Zed squeezed her hands tightly and said, "I find you becoming smarter and smarter with each passing day. Did you plan all this a long time ago? Is this why you returned to the Wen Group? To look for the truth behind your mother's death? Why are you so silly? Why did you do that alone?"

"If I told you earlier that there's something wrong with my mother's death, would you have let me look into it?" Jean asked, scanning his face for any disagreeable expression.

"Of course. What made you think I wouldn't?" Ruffled by her doubts, Zed said in an assured tone, "Whatever you want to do, as long as you promise to be safe, I'll support you."

"I know you would. But you might have restricted me, and perhaps slowed me down, preventing me from getting close to the truth in time. Fortunately, I found an important clue. Or I won't have had the chance to get Joy to tell me the truth. Zed, after Joy is convicted, let's visit my mother."

Jean finally voiced the thought that had been coming to her again and again. She warmly looked into Zed's eyes.

"Sure." Zed gazed back at Jean and got excited at once. "I've been waiting to visit mother ever since we got married. Now I finally have your word on it."

Jean was flummoxed seeing Zed react this way. She couldn't get where the sudden excitement was coming from. But soon she put two and two together and felt flush with emotions as it struck her that Zed had been waiting to get formally introduced to her parent. Overwhelmed by his niceness, she put her arms around his neck and said in a choked voice, "Zed, why are you so good to me? I'm worried that I don't deserve you. And because of this, I fear letting you down someday."

"Shh, don't say that!" Zed shushed Jean by pressing his finger on Jean's lips. He stroked her cheek gently and said, "All I know is that I'm happy to have you by my side. It'd have been better to have met you earlier so that you wouldn't have to go through so much of suffering."

"I only suffered to save my luck to meet you." Tear-eyed, Jean braved a smile as she softly murmured, "As long as I got to meet you, all that suffering was worth it."

"You stupid girl." Zed was deeply touched in his heart as he extended his arms to take Jean in a tight embrace. "Now that you know the truth, will you tell Henry?"

"Of course I will," Jean answered without any hesitation. "He should get to know that my mother was innocent and Joy is such a vicious bitch. Though I still hate him, he is also a victim of Joy's schemes as he didn't know the truth. Alas."

Saying that, Jean felt a bitter irony seize her mood.

"What's the matter? Are you going to forgive him?" Zed asked with a sweet smile.

"Forgive him? No, I won't. After all, it's he who let me suffer so much ever since I was a kid. I won't forgive him so easily. I only feel sorry for him. That's it."

Although Zed knew Jean's strong-willed nature, he could sense her becoming softer on Henry though he didn't spit it out.

"I'll tell him the truth for another reason. I want him to regret for what he did. After all, my mother was killed by Joy this easily because my mother never had Henry's trust or support." Jean's eyes glimmered with hatred.

"Fine. We'll make him regret it." On understanding Jean's feelings, Zed agreed to whatever Jean wanted to do and thought it'd bring her and her mother some justice.

She sighed deeply and shut her eyes for respite. Leaning her head on Zed's shoulder, she said quietly, "Everything has finally ended. I worked so hard for the truth and I eventually get it. Joy and Shirley are both summoned by law for their wicked deeds. But why don't I feel happy? Zed, am I not normal?"

"No. Jean, don't think that way." Zed caressed Jean's back caringly and said in a soothing tone, "You did a wonderful job. As for your low spirits, it must be because you are still reeling from the pain your past has caused. You need to rest your mind and body. Don't worry, you'll be fine in a while. Okay?"

"Sure." This time Jean yawned widely and her eyes watered with fatigue. She suddenly felt exhaustion come over her.

"Are you tired? I'll take you upstairs to get some sleep." Zed scooped Jean in his arms and climbed up to the bedroom.

Jean enveloped Zed in her arms and buried her delicate face in his strong chest. "Yeah, I'm so tired."

Zed carefully put Jean on their feather-soft bed. Gazing at her tender but pale face and tightly closed eyes, Zed's heart melted with tenderness. Slowly, he extended his hand to tuck in a wisp of hair behind her ear. Zed's eyes were filled with intense affection at the moment.

'All our troubles have passed. Jean, I'll protect you and make sure you are only happy from now on.'

Stroking her cheek ever so gently, Zed sat next by her side. He couldn't help but continue to watch her peaceful tired face as she breathed rhythmically in her sleep.

When Jean finally woke up in the evening, she saw Zed looking at her with a loving smile. Embarrassed at once, she asked,"Did I sleep for a long time? What time is it now?"

"It's time for dinner. Would you like to get some more sleep?" Zed asked with concern.

"No, I'm fine. I've rested enough. If I sleep more, I won't be able to fall asleep tonight." Jean shook her head as she felt better after several hours' rest.

"If you can't fall asleep tonight, we can do something else." Zed said mischievously with a twinkle in his eye. 000000☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐