The Contracted Ever After (Cordelia and Ronan) novel Chapter 606

As soon as they crossed the threshold, Ronan pinned Cordelia against the door, his voice low and tinged with accusation. "Am I really that terrifying?"

"In what way?" Cordelia was genuinely puzzled by his question.

"The whole charade—pretending to be pregnant, faking a miscarriage, the dramatic blood loss. Was it all just to trick me into revealing the truth about Petra and me getting married? What was all the blood for?" He demanded an answer.

Cordelia's mind raced. How had he managed to unearth the whole saga after merely dealing with someone else's case in Birchwood?

While she was still grappling with her confusion, Ronan whispered in her ear, "Let's have a second child."

Cordelia was speechless.

Without another word, Ronan swept her off her feet and carried her to the bed.

After a tumultuous night, it was already two in the morning.

Ronan got up and lit a cigarette.

Cordelia, lying on her side, frowned slightly. "Can you quit smoking from now on?"

"Does it bother you?" He turned to look at her.

She nodded, "Yeah, it's not good for you either."

"True, especially if we're planning on that second kid." He conceded, snuffing out the cigarette in the ashtray.

"How did you even find out about all this?" she asked, still curious.

"There's an old saying, 'If you don't want anyone to know, don't do it at all.'"

Cordelia was exhausted, her eyelids heavy with the need for sleep, and soon she drifted off.

"Cordelia, come out here..." Adrian began angrily, "Does your husband think he can do whatever he wants just because he's loaded? What right does he have to hit someone? He slapped me so hard I bled. I told him it wasn't me, that Daisy doesn't even know me. My sister Cordelia can vouch for me. Also, I told Ronan about what happened at the school."

"The blood pack too?" Cordelia's eyes widened in shock.

"Yeah, it's a crucial piece of evidence to prove my innocence, and you're a vital witness," Adrian stated.

Cordelia sighed, a heavy feeling settling in her chest. One bad deed, and Ronan had discovered it in such a manner. No wonder he was so insistent on having a second child with her.

Adrian had just returned from Birchwood, and though he was no stranger to trouble, this was his first time being formally questioned by the police. They had inquired about his whereabouts at the time of the incident and found discrepancies. After investigating the person who had called him, they let him go.

Now, the police were pursuing another suspect—Jordan, a former subordinate of Ronan's.

In a panic, Adrian had shown up at Cordelia's doorstep.

Over the years, Adrian's car dealership hadn't seen much improvement, likely due to his laziness. He was just scraping by, and since his split from the Colby family, Jamie Colby had seldom helped him out financially. Now that Jamie was married to Marian, their contact had dwindled even further. The last time he'd caused trouble at the school, he'd had to borrow clothes; he'd never owned anything presentable. Today, knowing Ronan was at work, Adrian had hoped, perhaps out of a sense of shared history, that Cordelia might pity him enough to lend him some money.