The Contracted Ever After (Cordelia and Ronan) novel Chapter 165

Cordelia was setting off fireworks in the yard for the whole evening, never once stepping foot inside the living room.

"Why isn't she coming in?" Ronan, having shed his coat for comfy clothes, asked.

"Mrs. Evans likes it out there. Let her have her fun," replied Janice.

Ronan eyed her crouching figure in the yard. He had a hunch that it wasn't so much about her liking the outdoors, but rather fearing his mockery if she came in.

Well, if she hadn't done anything wrong, what was there to be afraid of?

At dinner, Cordelia and Ronan weren’t exactly joined at the hip. They sat at opposite ends of the long dining table. Sure, it signified they were the hosts, but it was also the furthest they could possibly be from each other.

"First year. Cheers." Ronan's gaze swept past Cordelia to the rest of the guests.

Cordelia was clueless about what he meant by "first year," but she still downed a large glass of red wine, her cheeks flushing.

"Della, come here." After dinner, her mom summoned Cordelia to her room.

Her mom's room was on the first floor. After dinner, Judy headed home for the New Year, leaving behind only a few maids from the Evans family. Barney also retired to his room for a rest.

"What's up?" Cordelia asked as she closed the door behind her.

Her mom took out a vintage dress from her suitcase.

"Della, I bought you this dress. Try it on. Isn't it pretty?" Her mom beamed at Cordelia.

"I'll be 24 before I know it," Cordelia muttered to herself as she changed.

"Right, Ronan is 32 this year, isn't he?" Her mom asked. "I remember he was 25 then."

Cordelia paused, "Sounds about right."

"You don't know how old he is?" Her mom asked.

Cordelia collected herself. "Who remembers ages these days? I can't even remember my own half the time, how am I supposed to remember his?"

"You silly girl. Ronan's not getting any younger. Aren't you planning to..."

Cordelia knew where this was heading and cut her off, "Mom, I'm studying for the CPA exam. We've agreed to discuss this after my exam."

"I still think..."

"Mom, what do you think of this dress on me?" Cordelia quickly changed the subject.

"Beautiful, everything looks good on you, Della."

Exiting her mom's room, Cordelia saw no sign of Ronan in the living room. He must've gone upstairs.

"What is it?"

Deanna gave a small frown in Cordelia's direction, signaling that it wasn't appropriate to talk about it in front of her.

"Cordelia, why don't you go upstairs for a moment?" Ronan suggested to Cordelia.

Hearing her name, Cordelia looked up in confusion, noticing the way Deanna and Ronan were looking at her, like she was an outsider.

"Sure." After replying, Cordelia turned to go upstairs, not giving the scene downstairs another glance.

They were a couple having a conversation, and her presence might have been a disturbance. She really had no sense of timing and found herself playing the third wheel downstairs. Was she really an outsider?

Ronan's eyes followed her. The vintage dress, her slender waist, and full hips from behind, and the sway of her walk all made Ronan's heart flutter.

As Cordelia disappeared around the bend of the staircase, Ronan finally took his eyes off her.

"Ronan, there's something I lied to you about..." Deanna confessed.

Being an actress, Deanna was adept at crying on cue.

"What is it?" Ronan asked.