CHAPTER 546: COCO’S TEARS

"Coco!" Heiren cried out and was the first one to jump down from Konoha’s back.

Lala was quick to catch Heiren using a vine before he could hit the ground because if she didn’t, he would have landed face first on the dirt.

The brown haired mediator gasped in fear, but that didn’t stop him from squirming from the plant’s hold and once he was out of its grip, he quickly rushed to Coco who was running to him.

"Heiren!" Coco sobbed, tackling the mediator and wrapping her arms around him.

Heiren’s heart was beating so fast and loud as he quickly wrapped his arms around her, his eyes going wide in horror once he felt how dirty her clothes were.

"Oh, goodness—" Heiren breathed out, his eyesight blurry with tears. "I’m so glad you’re okay."

He hugged Coco so tight as if she would disappear from his arms if he ever thought of loosening his arms around her.

He didn’t really care when Coco Hughes didn’t come home for a day, he didn’t really care about the thought of Coco Hughes dying somewhere without their knowledge.

However, Coco? Their Coco? His Coco?

"I’m so, so, so, so happy that you’re alive." Heiren said, his voice barely above a whisper as he buried his face on her head.

Coco Coison— now known as Coco Hughes, the person who has possessed the dead body of their wife, is another topic to talk about because this is their Coco he’s talking about.

This is the woman who paid the debt that didn’t belong to her, the Coco who kept showing them respect and showed them kindness despite not knowing who they actually were— this is the woman who stepped up for them.

He will be damned if he ever lost Coco.

"Coco!"

Before Heiren could bask in Coco’s warm and shaking embrace, he was pushed aside and got his place taken away.

Zaque wrapped his arms around Coco so tight that he gave her a whiplash, but his tight hug was eagerly returned as Coco buried her face on his chest and let herself cry onto him.

The sound of her muffled cries not only broke the mediators’ heart, but also Lala’s and Richard’s hearts.

Coco wasn’t too keen on showing this side of hers to them and would always flash them a smile every time so for her to cry her heart out like this, in their presence and for everyone to see, is proof that she trusts them more than she let on.

Coco knew that she shouldn’t cry like this, like a baby, in Zaque’s arms while they were deep in the forest, but she couldn’t help it.

She thought that she had already grieved for the life she left behind on Earth, she thought that she was already moving on from the family who showed her how to love herself and everyone around her..

Oh, how wrong she was.

Cleora Coison was a woman who was kind, considerate, loving, and very nurturing towards her daughters.

Due to this, Coco became very dependent on her and not only Coco, but her own sisters as well.

They were dependent on their mother, but not so much that they couldn’t stand on their own feet— oh, no, rather, they were dependent on her in a way that whenever they were backed on a corner, all three of them knew that she would always be there for them.

Coco had to force herself to move forward in this world and not mope around because she knew that being sent back to Earth would be impossible.

She tried so hard to move on, to accept that this is a world where she has to start a new life, to not end the life that she asked for a compensation to not cause for Lala.

Was she kind? No, she wasn’t.

She’s a coward, that’s what she is— a coward and a pleaser, a combination that isn’t good together because it would lead to one’s destruction.

She knew this because Cleora said it.

"Coco.." Zaque mumbled as quietly as he could, his hand pressed gently on the back of her head as he let her cry on his chest.

It hurts to hear her cries, but it hurts more to not know what the cause of her anguish was.

He closed his eyes tightly and buried his face in her hair, pulling her closer and pressing her against him firmly— an action he unconsciously did to protect her from possible harm.

Though, was there really anything that could harm her with a fairy, king beast, and a magical companion around?

Zaque doesn’t know, but that doesn’t mean he will let her feel like she’s all alone.

"Come on, pretty girl." The mediator murmured and pushed her away gently to carry her in his arms instead. "Let’s go home, okay?"

Coco didn’t fight him and allowed him to haul her up, then once she was comfortably settled on his arms— she wrapped her limbs around his neck and hid her face from view.

The last time she cried like this, she was hugging Konoha, but for some reason, she couldn’t do that anymore.

"Please.. Don’t leave me alone.." Coco croaked out, her tears spilling from the corner of her eyes as she tightened her arms around him. "I don’t want to be alone, Zaque.."

"I won’t." Zaque answered, quickly assuring her. "You won’t be alone. We’re here."

Zaque turned in his heels and walked back to Konoha, his red eyes darting towards the large feline who lowered herself so Zaque could settle himself on her back.

The mediators didn’t know how they managed to do it, but while Zaque was holding Coco, Quizen was leaning against Coco and had his face buried in her chest— his back turned on Alhai as Coco held Quizen’s head close to her.

It was an awkward position for other people’s eyes, but to Coco and her husbands, it was warm and comforting.