Arrogant Man VS Unyielding Woman

"Am I hallucinating things? Something tells me it is not as simple as you make it sound," said Jean. She looked at Zed and waited for an explanation.

Zed had the urge to tell her that it was indeed her illusion. He wanted her to believe that there was nothing wrong between Avery and Moore. Moreover, he hated it when she spent her time worrying about other's problems. But when he noticed that she was staring at him with her innocent eyes, Zed couldn't muster up the courage to say it.

'Well..." Zed looked at Jean and tried to come up with an explanation. "Whether Moore likes Avery or not, this is his own business. This matter is about his life, so he should decide it by himself. It would be wrong for you to influence him. Jean, you have to understand our job is to watch rather than give opinion. We don't have the ability to force our opinions on others. Do you get the idea of what I am trying to say?"

"No, I don't get it!" Jean replied defiantly while she shook her head. "Are you asking me not to interfere in Moore and Avery's problem? If Moore really likes Avery, I will be the happiest person. But if Moore doesn't like Avery and is forced to see her because of us, then isn't it my business? Would you still feel that Moore's grievance will have nothing to do with us?"

Hearing Jean's words, Zed shook his head. He explained, "No, Moore is an adult now. He knows how to do things that are right for him. Why do you think he's going to force himself into doing something just to please us?" In truth, Zed knew Jean had a point and he marveled at her cleverness.

But he was still curious and wondered how she had figured it out.

Without any reason, Jean would never ask Zed such a question. Since she seemed skeptical about Moore and Avery's relationship, Zed was aware there must be a legit reason behind it.

"I don't think Moore will do anything he dislikes, yet I can't help feeling there is something wrong between his relationship with Avery. I don't think they are getting along as well as we have expected. Zed, please be honest and tell me what you think of this. I trust your judgement."

Jean expectantly looked at Zed for his point of view.

"Actually, no." Zed shook his head without any hesitation.

This time he didn't intend to give himself away like he did the last time.

"No? Well, if that's what you think. Maybe I have thought too much about it!"

Jean sighed with a trace of disappointment on her face when she heard Zed's answer. There was tone of finality in his voice and Jean didn't want to push him.

'Maybe I am wasting my energy worrying about a problem that doesn't exist. I know Moore's temperament very well and he has no reason to do anything that he doesn't like.

We may be good friends, but he wouldn't take such a huge step to please me.

Moore really doesn't have a reason to do that, does he?' Jean thought inside her head.

Zed looked at Jean with fear in his heart. He was really worried he would end up speaking the truth if she pushed him. But at the same time, he mentally warned himself not to mention Moore and Avery's relationship anymore in front of Jean in the coming future. He could have confidently told Jean that Moore stood up for Avery while she was being bullied. Moreover, this would have assured her that the relationship between Moore and Avery was beyond friendship. It might have sounded like he was beginning to take a fancy to Avery.

What surprised Zed was the fact that Jean smelled something wrong at this critical moment.

'If I tell her that Moore has always loved her, what would she think of it?

My fear is that she will end up feeling furious and guilty when she hears the truth. After all, she has always regarded Moore as her best friend.

She won't just hurt Moore but will end up getting herself hurt. This friendship means a lot to her, 'Zed thought to himself, fearing what would happen if he spilled the beans.

Zed gave out a helpless sigh and wondered why his luck was so bad.

There was another man who was also fond of his wife and it was his duty to keep this truth because it would hurt her.

He felt like he was in a dilemma and didn't know how to solve it.

At the moment, he realized revealing it to her would be the wrong move.

Zed clearly knew that Moore liked Jean yet he allowed him to stay in their house.

'Maybe I have done a foolish thing. Why did I let him move so freely in the house when I know he is in love with my wife?' thought Zed with frustration.

While he was lost in his thoughts, a text message disturbed him and brought him back to reality.

Zed glanced curiously at Jean and saw that she had unlocked her phone. It was a voice message and Jean played it in front of Zed. "Jean, do you have a boyfriend now?" asked a male voice in the audio.

As soon as Jean heard the familiar voice from the WeChat, she blushed all of a sudden and stole a glance at Zed.

She saw Zed was looking straight into her eyes like he was waiting for her to explain what was happening.

"Well..." Jean looked at Zed with embarrassment and explained timidly, "You know, I met a primary school classmate at the Wanda Plaza this afternoon. What a coincidence! We haven't seen each other for many years. We are meeting for the first time since our childhood..."

"A primary school classmate? If you haven't seen each other for so long, then why is he asking you whether you have a boyfriend? Jean, haven't you told him that you are already married?"

Zed spat these words out in an unpleasant tone. It was evident that he was very unhappy at the moment.

"Well, I was about to tell him that I am married, but all of a sudden I happened to meet Maranda and this interrupted our conversation," Jean explained in a hurry.

'Jesus Christ, why does this excuse sound so far-fetched even to me? Will he even believe me?' Jean wondered.

"Besides, we used to be classmates, but we haven't seen each other for so many years. It's natural to ask about each other's relationship status, isn't it?" Jean went on explaining to Zed. But she hadn't expected that after she finished saying this, there appeared a more complex look on his face. She was too regretted for having said this nonsense that she even wanted to bite off her tongue.

"Of course you should care about each other. Did you ask him whether he has a girlfriend?" Zed looked at Jean and questioned her with a gloomy face.

"Zed..." After hearing Zed's words, Jean's face turned crimson. She was pissed off and said, "Why can't you be more generous, Zed? Now I know why Maranda has warned me repeatedly that men are easily jealous. I didn't believe what she said before today. In fact, I even tried my best to defend you. I told her that you are different from the other men. I thought you would trust me instead of getting jealous so easily. But now I realize she is right!"

"Jean, if Maranda had already reminded you, then why do you still ignore my feelings?" Zed became angrier when he heard the rude tone in Jean's voice. Gritting his teeth, he looked at Jean and said, "I'm so disappointed with you!"

Swiftly, he turned around and looked away from Jean. Then he opened the door and rushed out of the car with anger reeking from his entire body.

It was not until Zed had stopped the car and rushed out of it that Jean suddenly realized that they had reached the yard of the Qi Mansion.

Jean watched Zed's tall back until it finally disappeared from her view. A helpless smile appeared on Jean's face.

'It's just a WeChat message. Moreover, it was nothing but greetings between two friends. You don't have to be so angry!

You have no manners at all.

You are such a petty man,' thought Jean.

Anger had consumed Jean and she found it hard to control herself. In a sour mood, she entered the house.

She changed her shoes in the hallway and walked into the living room. Looking around, she noticed that Zed was nowhere around.

Jean sighed helplessly and then she went upstairs to find him.

Shockingly, he wasn't present in the bedroom either. Now she understood that he must be in the study room.

There she found him sitting in his study. He was smoking with a gloomy look on his face.

Jean had no idea how many cigarettes he had smoked. His whole body was submerged in the white smoke.

Zed's handsome face was somewhat blurred yet she could detect traces of gloom on it.

"Zed..."

Jean felt a sudden heartache when she saw this scene. She rushed up to Zed in a hurry and shouted his name with concern.

Zed slowly raised his eyes and saw Jean, yet he didn't utter a word. He just stared at her with an indifferent expression.

Deep down, she wanted to calm herself down. She slowly walked behind Zed, hugged him and said in a gentle voice, "I'm so sorry. Please don't get angry with me. I care only about you and our child. I wouldn't even dare to think about another man. He is just an old primary school classmate. We've been apart for fifteen years." Zed sat there in silence with a burning cigarette in his hand.

Seeing Zed had broken down because of her, she felt guilty. "Zed, don't smoke anymore. I am really sad seeing you in this condition. You are my husband. We should trust each other, shouldn't we? Why do you doubt me?"

Jean released her hand from Zed's waist and walked in front. Then she stared at him straight into his eyes and said, "Are you going to keep silent? Do you know how harmful a secondhand smoke can be? Well, you can go on smoking then. You don't really care for me and our baby, do you?"☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐0