New World with Four Husbands-Chapter 183: She’s better

Clack.

The door was shut behind Coco as she walked out of the shop, her black hair swaying from left to right.

She waited for Coco to disappear from her sight before she marched her way to the back, her footsteps heavy and her eyebrows furrowed as she glared at her brother.

"What was that about, Drishti?" Mrs. Tani hissed, glaring daggers at the mediator by the couch.

Drishti shot his sister an offended look, his lips curled down into a sneer as he returned the glare that she gave him with the same intensity.

"I was merely saying what our father told me to do." Drishti huffed out and crossed his arms, "Baroness Hughes paid father a visit a few days ago and requested a private meeting with him."

"And? What did the Baroness want?" Mrs. Tani asked, approaching the other couch that was placed adjacent to the couch Drishti was sitting on.

"From what our father told me, she wanted to keep a close eye on her daughter due to the rumors that were circling in Amberwich City." Drishti answered truthfully, frowning deeply as he dragged his gaze down to the floor.

"I found it odd that a rumor about her daughter would circulate in that city when Yogusho is found in the west border of Archensheen City." He added on to his previous statement, his voice dripping with slight confusion and agitation.

"The disownment of the Hughes heiress was also sudden and no one knows why the daughter of the Baroness was disowned in the first place." Drishti looked at his sister and narrowed his eyes at her, "Did you know that the villagers of Yogusho Village are so tight-lipped?"

"I take it that someone tried to buy the information out of one of the villagers, but failed because they kept their mouth shut?" Mrs. Tani asked, more to herself than Drishti, "The villagers are loyal. They can’t be bought out with just money."

"Is that why you chose to settle here rather than Yolo Village and Yscehill Village? Because they are tight-lipped?" Drishti’s eyebrows furrowed, a puzzled expression on his face.

"Maybe." Mrs. Tani didn’t go straight to the answer and somehow dodged his question, "So, father sent you here to spy on Coco under the guise of vacation?"

Drishti did not answer right away and opted to stare at his sister for a moment, his eyes scanning her face for any sign that can give him a hint about the reason why she chose to stay in Yogusho instead of the other two villages in the north.

When he couldn’t find any sign, he slowly nodded his head, showing his reluctance to answer her question.

"That good for nothing head of the house." Mrs. Tani hissed under her breath, her eyebrow furrowing in annoyance as she glared daggers on the couch.

"So? What’s the catch? What will father get from the Baroness with all this?" Mrs. Tani asked, her face softening slightly and redirecting her gaze to the mediator who had an unreadable expression on his face.

Drishti couldn’t answer, his eyes shifting away from the merchant and instead, around the room.

Mrs. Tani’s eyebrows furrowed further and her eyes narrowed at that. "What will father get from the Baroness after all of this, Drishti?"

Once again, the mediator didn’t answer and continued with his little ministrations of looking around.

"Fine." The merchant grumbled and stood up from the couch, "If you won’t tell me, then you can just stay at the inn in the next building."

"What?!" Drishti hissed and sprung up from his seat, "Are you being serious right now?!"

"I’m serious." Mrs. Tani stated and walked past him to go to the kitchenette, "I don’t want someone who watch my husband’s friend inside our house. Joachim wouldn’t be happy to have you in our home if he knew the reason why you’re here."

Drishti scoffed and crossed his arms. "Your mediators are more important than your brother? This is unbelievable."

"Yes, they are more important than you are, Drishti." Mrs. Tani stated and smiled at him, but that smile didn’t reach her eyes and looked rather cold, "Not only that, Coco will become a friend of mine as well."

"Friend with someone who was disowned?" Drishti’s tone was filled with disbelief and disdain, "Are you throwing away your pride as a member of Tani?"

"I might be a Tani, but I was Demi first." The merchant shot back as she grabbed a cup from the dish strainer, "I chose to be myself instead of chasing some nonsense regarding a life I don’t want."

She prepared herself a cup of tea to remain level headed and avoid having an argument with someone as childish as her brother.

"I’m happy in this village and I built a name for myself." Mrs. Tani turned around and shot a pointed look at Drishti, "I made friends, had patrons, had connections, and built a business from the money I received from our father."

"Doesn’t mean you should be friends with Coco Hughes." Drishti insisted, an underlying tone of desperation in his voice.

"No." Too bad for Drishti, she’s stubborn as a mule and merely shook her head, "She’s better than any friend you will ever have, little brother, and I wish you would see that in the whole week you will be staying here."

"Better?" Drishti scoffed and clenched his hands into a tight fists, "There’s no way someone like her would be better than my friends—"

"Coco changed." Mrs. Tani had cut him off with a smile, "She changed so much that you wouldn’t believe me if I told you what she was like before you came here, Drishti."

"She called herself a monster." Drishti gritted out and glared at her, "How is that better than my friends?"

"She’s better than them because she knows what she did wrong and acknowledged it." The merchant’s words jabbed him where it hurts.

"She’s better because she took responsibility for all the things she did."