CHAPTER 442: COMFORT

"Welcome home, Coco—" Heiren paused his greeting and flinched when he saw the grimace on Coco’s face. "Coco..?"

However, as soon as Coco saw Heiren approach her, the grimace on her face vanished and she found herself reaching out towards the second husband.

"Coco?" Heiren called, but blinked in surprise when Coco’s hand grabbed ahold of his wrist and suddenly pulled him close to her, her arms immediately going around his torso to hug him.

Coco couldn’t help herself and ended up seeking comfort from someone.

Heiren, of course, took this chance to return the embrace because who knows when he will be able to get another chance like this again?

He hugged Coco like she was glass, his hand going straight to the back of her head with his fingers carding through her black locks, untangling the knots and smoothing her strands in an attempt to offer comfort.

It was quite obvious that Coco had a bad day so Heiren didn’t dare try to ask about it.

If Coco wanted to tell him, she would do so at her own pace.

Unfortunately, Coco doesn’t seem like she wanted to talk so all he could do is hug her tight.

They stayed by the front door for who knows how long, but the sun was still peaking through the clouds in the sky so none of the residents, temporary or not, wouldn’t come home in another hour.

By the time Coco had let go of Heiren, her face was streaked with dried tears and she was sniffling as quietly as she could.

"Thanks.." She croaked out, her hold on Heiren still tight.

The mediator frowned once his eyes landed on Coco’s tears stained cheeks, the sight of her distressed and saddened self pulling harshly on his heart strings.

"Do you want something to drink?" Heiren asked, his voice barely above whisper.

Normally, people would want something to eat or drink to drown their sorrows down and Coco might be one of those people who would eat anything to their heart’s content until her sadness had subsided.

Unfortunately, Coco didn’t answer, but she did look like she was contemplating his question.

"Okay, think about it for now." Heiren mused softly and raised his left hand to her face, his thumb wiping the tears from her cheek. "But if you want, I can go ahead and make your chocolate drink that you love so much."

This time, Coco perked up and nodded her head.

However, she still didn’t let go of Heiren so he grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers instead.

Heiren felt like he was overstepping Coco’s boundaries, but Coco didn’t make any move to pull away from him and only stared at their hands.

Then, Coco squeezed his hand.

The simple action brought a fluttering sensation in Coco’s stomach and she found herself squeezing his hand again to get the same feeling in her stomach.

"We can hold hands while I’m making your drink." Heiren offered and smiled at her, his heart beating fast at how affectionate Coco seemed towards him today— something that he’s sure the other husbands will get envious of.

Coco looked at him and then at his hand before she flickered her gaze back up to his eyes.

"Okay." She agreed, her hold on his hand tightening.

She felt scared and the only thing that may calm her down is clinging close to Heiren’s side.

She couldn’t help, but think that Quizen, Alhai, and Zaque working would be the cause of them finding their own new loves and falling for that person.. Which would complete the quest.

Was the person Quizen fell for his coworker..? Coco wondered as she got led by Heiren inside the kitchen.

True to the mediator’s words, he let Coco hold his hand to her heart’s content and didn’t shake her off, not caring if making her chocolate drink became a little difficult with one hand.

He would rather make Coco feel better by letting her be as touchy as she wants than break her heart and tell her to let go of him.

Besides, he doesn’t hate the feeling of her skin pressed against his.

However, as Heiren and Coco walk around the kitchen, Coco’s mind starts to wonder about the worst case scenario that may happen soon.

It wasn’t impossible for Zaque and Alhai to fall for someone— she had heard stories back from earth that even if someone had liked a person, they still fell for the person in their working environment.

From that single thought alone, Coco’s heart beat painfully again.

With Quizen’s quest being done, Coco now knows that he had fallen in love with someone that he may want to have as his spouse.

Alhai and Zaque may be next because the two of them may have expressed and shown her that they like her, but the percentage of them liking someone else is never zero.. Which means that it will happen whether she likes it or not.

She knew that Zaque liked her, then Alhai came clean and confessed to her.

But that’s not enough, isn’t it..? They can still like someone, right? Coco thought, her eyesight getting blurry as she tightened her grip on Heiren’s hand.

Heiren felt this and turned away from the chocolate drink he was stirring— the drink was about to be done anyway— to look at what Coco could possibly want, but when his eyes landed on her face..

"Hey, hey, hey.." He quickly hushed her and faced Coco fully. "It will be okay, my love."

The brown haired mediator raised his free hand and pressed his palm on Coco’s cheeks, wiping the tears that escaped her eyes. "You’ll be fine.. It’s okay to cry, but you need to know that everything will be fine in the end."

It’s hard to comfort someone without knowing the reason, but Heiren is truly doing his best.

"Just let it out for now." Heiren murmured and leaned forward, placing a kiss on her forehead. "Cry it out for me, love."