New World with Four Husbands-Chapter 134: First step

"Good morning." Coco greeted the woman, Ruby, behind the desk with a small smile.

Ruby blinked, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion as she watched Coco approach the desk. "Good morning..? Do you need help with anything? What can I do for you?"

She has been nothing, but a rude person towards Coco Hughes, but despite all that, Coco still managed to be civil and treat her like everyone else, not caring if she was being arrogant or disrespectful.

It was hard to stay in character when the person whom she needed to be rude to was so kind and thoughtful, often offering her a couple of fresh fruits that she would take home to her children and watch them enjoy every juicy bite.

Since she can’t be rude to Coco without feeling guilty or remorseful, she decided to treat her differently from others and be true to herself.

"Is Mr. Tani still here? I need to speak with him." Coco asked politely while keeping the friendly smile on her face.

"Ah, yes." Ruby nodded her head and turned around, "Let me call him for you. Please wait here for a moment. I’ll come back with him."

"Take your time." Coco called out, her eyes shifting from the woman’s back to the window.

The surroundings are still dark, but she could see a little bit of sunlight peeking from the clouds in the horizon and the birds have been singing nonstop, their noises seeping through the gap in the window.

The door to the staff room creaked open and caught Coco’s attention, making her head snap to look in that direction.

"I heard from Ruby that you needed me?" Joachim questioned, a look of surprise evident in his eyes as he approached the desk with the woman trailing behind him.

"Yes, I came here to give this to you." Coco said and raised her hand she was using to carry the bag filled with citrus fruits, "Please accept this as my apology for being.. An ass towards you despite you trying to befriend me."

Coco forced out the words from her mouth, her eyes staring at the side quest scroll.

The quest specifically said that she needed to ask forgiveness by offering something good to Joachim and she did just that, right?

Joachim’s eyes went wide after hearing what she said. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

So, it wasn’t completely hopeless for him? She can be his friend after all?

"I.. I— Than.. Thank you? Thank you." Joachim sputtered out while he accepted the bag from Coco, the look of surprise, disbelief, and relief clear on his face as he smiled softly at the woman who gave him fruits.

Coco swallowed thickly, feeling guilty for giving him false hope because of the quest.

To be honest, the only reason why Coco was reluctant to befriend him was because of the unpaid debt of Coco Hughes and her predecessor’s trash reputation in the inn, having destroyed a lot of things in the pub when she was drunk.

She doesn’t want people to talk about Joachim being pitiful for being Coco’s friend despite all the things she did so she decided to set a boundary.

For his own good.

Though, she could see that it was making the man who wanted to be her friend sad from all her strict sense of responsibility.

She let out a sigh and came to terms that she will come clean to him right there.

No more running away or being a coward.

"I didn’t want to befriend you because of my debt.. I don’t want people whispering stuff about you, but we can start by being acquaintances for now until my debt is paid off." Coco said, slowly telling him the reason why she refused him.

However, the reluctant expression that crossed his face made her feel bad.

It was just a quick moment, but the reluctance was clear.

"It’s not like I didn’t want to be your friend. I just don’t want them to start a bad rumor about you. We can be friends after all the matter about the debt being done." She assured him with a small, but genuine smile creeping to her lips, "Does that sound alright with you?"

"Is that true..?" He asked, frowning.

"It’s true." Coco stated, her smile vanishing from her face for a moment to show that she was serious.

"Then.. It’s more than alright with me, Coco!" Joachim exclaimed, a happy expression settling on his face with the reluctance gone into thin air.

"I’ll just have to wait until you pay all the debt off, then we can be friends, right? I’ll wait." He mused to her, a giddy smile on his face as he clutched the bag tightly to his chest, feeling relieved.

"Yes, only until my debt is paid off." Coco reassured him once more before lowering her head, "Again, I’m sorry for being an asshole to you. Please forgive me. I’ll do better. I do want to get to know you and be your friend for real."

"Please, raise your head. No need to bow." Joachim laughed nervously as he placed the bag on the desk and rounded it so he could go to Coco.

He grabbed her hands and gave them a squeeze. "I know that you have four mediators that you need to take care of and I hear from my sister how great of a person you are. I also know that you’re being sincere with your apology so let’s put our past behind us."

He said those words with hopeful eyes, gleaming with so much delight and excitement that it’s making Coco feel giddy herself.

It makes her want to befriend him right then and there!

"I can’t put the past behind us just yet, but I’ll try." Coco laughed wholeheartedly and squeezed the man’s hands back to let him know that she wasn’t kidding.

"I guess that’s the first step." Joachim sighed with a satisfied smile on his face, "I can’t wait to be your friend."

"Likewise, Mr. Tani."