New World with Four Husbands

Chapter 396: Confirmation and assurance

"Remember what you told me before you left the village?" Jacques asked, turning around after she closed the door.

Coco froze, her hands getting warm and clammy, and slowly nodded her head, her reluctance and nervousness evident in her movement.

"I wasn’t sure if I would believe you or not at first.." Jacques said, walking over to the single couch on the corner and took a seat. "But you have changed a lot compared to how you were before so it made sense."

Coco remained standing, her feet planted on the floor like a nail was hammered on them, making her unable to move.

"You were a bad drinker.. An actual good-for-nothing drunkard in the village, but you changed and haven’t touched a bottle ever since you walked through the village gate carrying those fruits." Jacques continued, her eyes shifting to Coco’s tensed posture.

"When I first saw you, I thought that maybe.. Just maybe.. You’re finally changing for your husbands." She stated bluntly, her voice sounding a little cold.

"But no, I was wrong." She hummed, leaning back to the couch. "You’re a changed person.. Literally."

Coco’s eyebrows pinched together, her hands unconsciously moving and clutching the edge of her shirt, fumbling and fidgeting with the fabric to stop her anxiously beating heart.

Jacques was her second friend after she met Renaldo, but does Jacques think the same?

Is Coco the only one who thought that she could trust someone else other than the mediators who had no choice, but to be quiet about her situation?

Coco’s heart dropped to her stomach, her lower lip trembling slightly at the thought of losing a good friend.

"Was it hard? To take accountability for a person that you know nothing about?" Jacques asked, her own eyebrows furrowing at how silent Coco had been.

"Did you wish that you were someone else and didn’t become Coco Hughes, Coco— actually.. Is that even your real name? Coco?" She continued, her voice dripping with confusion.

However, Coco couldn’t understand what her motives were nor why she cornered her in her own room.

"Answer me, Coco." Jacques said, her tone now laced with slight desperation. "I want to believe you and I want to know the truth."

Finally, Coco mustered up the courage to look at Jacques.

Her eyes went wide when her gaze landed on the tears that welled up on the corner of her friend’s eyes, the frown on her face looking frustrated.

"Thank you." Jacques breathed out and the tears fell. "You finally looked at me."

Coco flinched, the tone of unexpected words that escaped Jacques’ lips caused her to involuntarily avert her gaze— a cowardly move that she does whenever she’s under pressure.

"Come sit with me." Jacques invited her, the sound of her hand patting the seat beside her following suit.

Coco moved, albeit forcefully and reluctantly, and made her way to the couch, but instead of sitting beside Jacques, she sat down on the other single couch across from the pink haired woman.

A look of hurt crossed Jacques’ features, but Coco didn’t see because she was looking somewhere else.

"Please don’t think that we’re not friends anymore." Jacques started with a shaky breath. "We are, okay? We still are. I just want answers.. I had a lot of questions the moment you left the village and it killed me that I couldn’t understand you."

Coco nodded her head, silently telling her that she understood what she meant, but deep down, Coco was having conflict.

"Please tell me that we’re still friends." Jacques said, her voice has an edge of pleading.

".. I don’t know.." Coco mumbled, her heart pounding in her chest. "I’m scared.. Your actions and words scared me.. And this is the first time it happened— at least since I arrived in this world."

"I’m scared, too." Jacques admitted, her eyes darting down to her hands that she placed in her lap. "But I want to try and understand you.."

Coco remained silent and just stared down on her own hands, her fingers fiddling with one another.

The silence between them was suffocating, but Jacques didn’t want to force Coco to answer her questions— not when she just told her that she was feeling scared.

"I’m sorry." Jacques apologized, her tears continuing to fall down her cheeks, "It was so inconsiderate of me.. You’re the one who became Coco Hughes and was forced into a world you probably don’t know.."

Coco bit her lip, her desire to assure Jacques overwhelming her senses and the fact that she apologized.. Coco couldn’t help, but do so.

"Yes, it was hard to take accountability for someone who was this bad towards others." Coco answered, her voice a little quiet and timid, but Jacques still heard her which caused her to snap her head up.

"You don’t have to answer!" Jacques said, standing up and kneeling in front of Coco, her hands hovering on Coco’s arms. "You don’t have to force yourself, okay?"

Coco reached forward, slowly and carefully, and touched Jacques hand, making Jacques flinch in surprise.

"It’s okay." Coco assured her and flashed Jacques a small smile. "I feel a little better now.. So I can answer your questions you asked me earlier."

Jacques held Coco’s hand gently, her fingers squeezing hers softly. "Just don’t force yourself."

Coco nodded her head and continued. "It was hard at first.. I don’t know anything about this world and I don’t know anyone.. I was just lucky that I was able to find my way to the village and met Zaque."

Coco paused, her mind racing with the possibilities if she told Jacques about Lala’s existence and most of the outcome seemed.. Bright.

So, she decided to just tell Jacques.

"And.. Well, I had someone with me at the time so I wasn’t that lost." Coco mumbled, her hands tightening around Jacques’.

"You don’t have to tell me everything." Jacques said, noticing the concern and hesitation on Coco’s face.

"But I want to.." Coco frowned, but she still felt anxious.