New World with Four Husbands-Chapter 666: A conversation to shake off the cold

Jacques had been watching Coco for a while now— her sharp, questioning gaze lingering on her furrowed brow, the way Coco’s fingers tightened and loosened against her coat sleeves, the absent gnawing of her lip. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

She was worried. Overthinking. And worse— she wouldn’t ask for help.

It worried her because Coco was the type to bury her thoughts deep— to carry burdens silently rather than reach out.

Well.. Not unless someone dragged it out of her.

"Coco." She called out to her friend, her voice low but deliberate, catching everyone’s attention.

Coco’s head snapped up, eyes wide, as if startled out of a trance, and she shot Jacques a puzzled look, but Jacques held her gaze.

"Whatever’s spinning in that head of yours.." Jacques started and trailed off, searching in the back of her for the right words. "Can you please tell us?"

Her inquiry left no room for evasion, no escape.

"Talk to me— to us." Jacques added, making Coco let out a soft, nervous laugh, brushing off Jacques’ concern with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"It’s nothing.." She murmured, her voice trailing off as she glanced back toward the wagon’s fluttering curtains. "I was just wondering how mama was able to adapt to this kind of weather."

Her fingers absentmindedly traced the fur lining of her coat, hoping the texture alone would distract her from the gnawing unease in her chest.

Jacques raised an eyebrow, her head tilted slightly in curiosity.

Her gaze never left her friend’s fiddling fingers, studying the other girl with a keen intensity that made Coco squirm slightly under it.

"Why?" Jacques asked, her tone mild with genuine curiosity. "What kind of weather were the two of you most familiar with? Is it not like this one? Mother seemed like she was used to this kind of weather.."

Coco’s eyebrows furrowed at the question, her fingers stilling on the fur lining of her coat.

She hadn’t expected that question, but the answer came easily— albeit with a soft sigh. "It was hot.. Wait, no.. Warm? Maybe.. Yeah, it was always warm."

A collective blink went around the wagon at her answer and it was Zaque who was the second to speak up after Jacques, leaning forward in his seat to fix his gaze on her.

"Just warm?*" He repeated, a small frown crossing his handsome face. "No rain? No snow?"

Coco fidgeted in her spot under his piercing stare, her fingers resuming their absent tracing of the fur lining her coat.

"Uh, it was just.. Constant heat." She murmured, eyebrows furrowing. "It was almost unbearable."

Silence filled the wagon, each of them letting the words settle on their brain. Then, Coco added, glancing at Zaque with a small shrug.

"Sometimes, it rains." She started, eyes switching from Zaque to others. "We have the rainy season and it lasts almost a month, but after that.."

She exhaled softly, her gaze distant for a moment. "Nothing. Just heat. It gets annoying, you know? Some days, it’s too hot to even step outside. Others.."

Coco paused and a small smile tugged at her lips. "It’s the kind of heat that makes you want to stroll through the city."

"That sounds awful." Alhai deadpanned.

Coco couldn’t help, but laugh. "Yeah.. Yeah, it kind of was, no?"

Coco fell silent for a moment, her expression growing faintly nostalgic when certain memories rose from the back of her head.

A smile softened her features. "But despite the heat.."

She stopped her a second, gathering her thoughts, before the words rolled out from her tongue. "Despite it being awful.. Those days were filled with happy memories. When it became too hot, my little sister, Carina, and I would always go to the convenience store to buy ice cream.."

She paused again, her gaze distant. "Then we would buy the large ones to share once mama and Corinne got home."

The wagon had gone quiet, the attention of the people inside attention fully focused on Coco.

They watched the rare openness on her face, the way her expression softened as she reminisced, they felt something stir within their chests— a mix of sadness and happiness.

Jonathan and Renaldo, despite just finding out that Coco came from a world so different from theirs.. They felt an odd tightness in their throats, a pang in their chests at the thought of her old home and of the simple, happy memories she carried with her.

Kairo watched Coco closely, his gaze tracing every line of her face.

The look in her eyes was one he had not seen before— one of soft nostalgia, tinged with sadness. It was a big difference from the usual expression on her face and it made his heart twist in his chest.

Then, Coco blinked, snapping out of her memories when she realized the silence that had settled over the wagon.

She swallowed hard, her hands twisting in the fur of her coat as she glanced around at the others.

"I— I’m sorry." She stammered, her voice dropping slightly as she looked down on the foam. "I didn’t mean to bring down the mood like this—"

Before she could finish, Jonathan scoffed loudly, a frown settling on his scarred face.

"You didn’t bring down anything." He countered sharply, his gaze piercing. "In fact, I believe all of us would want to know more about you."

A beat of silence passed and then, with a pointed look, he continued as softly as he could. "I.. I think it’s about time you open up yourself more to us, Coco."

Coco’s breath got caught in her throat.

She stared back at Jonathan for a long moment as she mulled over his words.

It was true— she had kept a lot of herself hidden, even from them, but still.. The thought of opening up made her stomach churn.

"I believe Coco can tell us about herself at her own pace." The hybrid stated, his voice soft, but firm, making Coco look at him.

He flashed Coco a small smile.