The Contracted Ever After (Cordelia and Ronan) novel Chapter 125

Ronan lit up a smoke downstairs; considering his grandpa's health, he hardly ever smoked in the living room. But now, he was in a funk, his view clouded with smoke.

Seeing his grandpa walk out of the bedroom, Ronan called out, "Gramps." He snuffed out his cigarette in the ashtray.

"Did you have a spat with Della just now? There was quite a racket upstairs," Grandpa said, "Cut her some slack. She's younger than you."

"Got it, Gramps," Ronan said, "I'll stay out for a few days. Take care of yourself."

With that, he grabbed his car keys and headed out the door.

"Ronan..." Grandpa called out.

Cordelia woke up at two in the morning, feeling sore all over. She looked around, but Ronan wasn't beside her.

She changed into her pajamas and went downstairs,. The living room was dead quiet, and he wasn't there. In his garage, there was one car missing—the Maybach he drove daily.

In all their time married, this was his first time not being home.

Cordelia wanted to shoot him a message on Messenger, but thinking about what happened yesterday afternoon, she set her phone down. He might be in Deanna's bed.

Cordelia tried to steady her breathing, closing her eyes, but in the dead silence of night, she couldn't fall asleep. Recalling the scene from this afternoon, she felt heartbroken.

The next day, Cordelia got up and Ronan didn't show up at the breakfast table. She wanted to ask Barney and Janice where on earth Ronan had gone but couldn't bring herself to ask, she just sat there, her emotions in turmoil.

"Della, did you have a row with Ronan yesterday?" Barney asked Cordelia.

Cordelia lowered her head to sip her oatmeal, and she nodded.

"Good, you finally managed to kick him out," Grandpa chuckled at Cordelia, "He can't always bully you."

"Grandpa..." Faced with Barney's jest, Cordelia felt a little overwhelmed.

On that day, Cordelia didn't leave the house. She was busy tidying up her clothes and washing the bed sheets. Suddenly, she realized that without him, the home felt like it was missing a lot. In his absence, the bed seemed larger and lonelier.

The next day, Cordelia went to work in the Audit Department.