New World with Four Husbands

Chapter 428: Is she evil?

"She’s.." Zaque spoke up, wracking his mind of memories of his mother-in-law. "She’s quite a woman."

"Yeah.." Heiren agreed, nodding his head.

"Is she evil?" Coco asked, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion because if she’s evil, then the husbands wouldn’t look like they were amazed by original Coco’s mother.

"She is." Quizen confirmed.

"But evil can be subjective." Alhai retorted and frowned. "She’s evil because she made us marry her good-for-nothing drunkard of a daughter—"

"But she got us out of trouble—" Zaque had cut off Alhai, snapping white harshly.

"Only to put us in another trouble." Alhai hissed and shifted his frown to the first husband. "If it weren’t for the Baroness, I wouldn’t have been beaten by her daughter that she disowned after she married us off to her!"

The atmosphere immediately got tense because everyone knew that Alhai was right.

"Do any of you know why.. Coco Hughes became like she was towards all of you?" Coco asked, choosing her words carefully to not set off the ticking time bomb called Alhai Hughes.

"As if we know." Alhai scoffed, crossing his arms and leaning his back on the chair.

"Yes, that’s true." Zaque agreed with Alhai’s answer, frowning. "Coco wasn’t like that when I married her.. She was completely commendable as a noble’s daughter, but after two months.."

Zaque avoided Coco’s gaze, a lump forming in his throat. "She came home less and less, then Heiren arrived— I wasn’t even aware that the Baroness gave her daughter another husband until I met Heiren back in the village.. Looking confused."

Coco turned her attention to the brown haired mediator, her heart dropping to her stomach when she saw the pained expression on his face.

".. I agreed to marry Coco Hughes because the Baroness had my father working under her." Heiren started as soon as Coco’s gaze landed on him. "I refused first, but then.. I received the news of my father being thrown into prison."

"What?!" Lala exclaimed, her head whipping to Heiren’s face. "She’s so evil!"

Of course, her words were incomprehensible for the mediators’ ears so she was technically ignored as Heiren chose to continue.

"The day I sent the letter of my agreement, I was immediately dragged to the church." Heiren mumbled, his voice getting quieter the more information she revealed to Coco. "I wasn’t even allowed to change into a suit.. I just.. Said "I do" to make the wedding fast."

Coco’s mouth parted from the pain she could hear in Heiren’s voice, the mere sound of it breaking her heart.

"Then before I knew it, I was shoved into Yogusho Village." Heiren stated bluntly, the hurt in his voice vanishing in an instant like it didn’t exist in the first place.

It was silent after that, none of them having the heart to say anything after hearing such a devastating story.

However, Alhai— the so cold and indifferent mediator— spoke up. "I felt sad for Heiren when he first said what happened to him.. But that’s all I can feel for him because my grandmother died as the Baroness’ physician."

Coco closed her mouth, swallowing the lump forming in her throat, and nodded her head solemnly, urging Alhai to continue with his story.

"I became an orphan after my grandmother died." The silver haired mediator stated as he looked away from Coco. "And my grandmother’s wish was for me to get married with the Baroness’ daughter.."

Just what’s wrong with the Baroness..?

Coco wondered, feeling pained just from hearing the husbands’ stories.

"I didn’t want to marry anyone and wanted to follow my grandmother’s footsteps— to become knowledgeable enough to help others." Alhai croaked out, his voice getting slightly shaky.

"But the Baroness.. She.." Alhai stopped for a moment, pausing as he took a deep breath. "She told me that I’ll reach that dream if I married Coco.. So I did."

Alhai’s hands curled into fists, his eyebrows furrowing in both fury and frustration. "I sold myself so I can reach my dream because what can a commoner like me do? Nothing! Nobody like me wouldn’t achieve anything if I don’t start on something!"

A bitter laugh escaped him. "I thought to myself.. Maybe if I refuse her, she would lose interest in me, but.."

He kept laughing, shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe what he had done. "But that good-for-nothing drunkard of a wife kept forcing me, day and night! Beating me when I refuse and we couldn’t do anything to stop it."

"Alhai.." Zaque mumbled, his eyesight getting blurry with tears, unshed and just barely hanging on the corner of her eyes.

"If it wasn’t me, it would be Heiren or Quizen!" Alhai hissed, causing Coco to stand up.

"Her life was messed up and we were dragged into it! And us?! We can’t do anything!" Alhai was yelling at this point, his chest heaving up and down as he sneered at Coco.

Then, he stopped, his throat hurts from yelling.

".. So stop acting like you care." Alhai said, his voice dripping with disdain, only to flinch a second after when Coco reached out and placed her palms on his cheeks.

"I’m sorry." Coco muttered, her own voice breaking and shaking with something unnamed— a sound that shouldn’t escape her lips because she wasn’t the one who experienced those horrible things.

Alhai froze in his seat, his breath caught in his throat as his eyes stared deeply on Coco’s emerald irises that were clouded with unspoken sadness, an emotion that he felt strange seeing.

Coco’s thumbs caressed the underside of Alhai’s eyes towards the side— and just then, did he realize that he was crying.

"I’m so sorry.." Coco apologized, those three words were the only thing that seemed to be able to pour out of her mouth.

Coco doesn’t know what to do, doesn’t know how to comfort someone who has been abused— forced to do things that they don’t like, but she’s trying.

However, it still hurts so bad to not be able to do anything.