The Contracted Ever After (Cordelia and Ronan) novel Chapter 659

After climbing the stairs, Ronan laid down beside Cordelia. “Not too thrilled about this, huh?”

Cordelia turned to face him, “You’ve already brought him home. Do I have a choice?”

After a pause, Cordelia added, “This boy… he’s probably your love child, isn’t he?”

“What nonsense!” Ronan snapped, clearly irritated. “Don’t jump to conclusions.”

“Well, I’m not planning on having another child, but it looks like you’ve already taken care of that,” Cordelia said sulkily, turning away from Ronan.

Ronan kneeled on the bed next to her and gently lifted her up from beneath. “Could he ever mean to me what our child does?”

“How are they different? Aren’t they both your kids?” Cordelia fumed. Jayson's arrival had left her feeling quite upset, and the whispers and glances didn’t help. How could she face the world knowing that her man might have been involved with someone else, who even had a child with him?

“Forget it, let’s not talk about this!” Seeing Cordelia’s ‘conversation over’ expression, Ronan dropped the subject.

What he wanted to say was: He had made many enemies in his lifetime, and it was possible that one day an unexpected foe would emerge. Having this child could act as a shield from some misfortunes. Like Tabitha, when she got out of prison, she’d surely hold a grudge against Ronan, but if Jayson was living with them, that grudge might be neutralized. He learned this lesson from Jordan’s own troubles, and he knew he needed to take preventative measures.

But if he told Cordelia, she would undoubtedly feel sorry for the child’s fate. Although she didn’t like the idea of this boy receiving the same treatment as their own child, deep down she believed that all people deserved equal consideration. Ronan shouldn’t use a child as a shield against calamity.

Fearing that Cordelia would accuse him of being heartless and unethical, Ronan kept these thoughts to himself.

That morning while Cordelia was doing her makeup, she noticed she was missing one of her precious pearl earrings. She didn’t pay it much mind, thinking it was simply misplaced. She had plenty of jewelry, mostly gifts from Ronan, so she just put on another pair and moved on.

A few days later, Ronan made arrangements for both children to enroll in an international preschool. They would be in the same class, and the tuition for a year was hefty, costing about a quarter of a million for both kids.

When Jayson first arrived at the Evans household, he found the environment much more welcoming than Petra’s. His new parents were kind, and he had already started calling Cordelia “mom,” albeit awkwardly. Cordelia responded just as hesitantly, but their relationship was slowly taking shape.

Jayson had become the Evans family’s second son.

However, Ronan had yet to change the boy’s last name.