The Contracted Ever After (Cordelia and Ronan) novel Chapter 461

The next morning at ten, the group headed out to the southern suburbs. Cordelia, who didn't own a car, nor knew how to drive, took a taxi there.

When she left, the skies were clear, but by the time she arrived, a soft, drizzling rain had begun to fall. Standing out in the wide, open fields of the suburbs, people had to squint their eyes against the wetness. And there, she saw Harold standing next to Peter, jotting down everything he said with an expression of intense concentration. When he saw Cordelia, he only glanced at her for a second.

What happened between her and Harold had fizzled out, much like the firecrackers she had lit at Pearl Palms years ago.

Cordelia held up an umbrella, with hands stuffed in her jeans pockets, followed the group’s pace, and listened to Peter’s explanation.

There was a woman in her forties, presumably Talia, who didn’t recognize Cordelia and whom Cordelia had never met before. Out of the entire group, she seemed out of place, probably because she was the only representative from Lumos Enterprises.

“Don’t underestimate the southern suburbs. It has a promising future. Once our residential area is built, all kinds of facilities will follow, and property prices will increase. Acquiring this piece of land was no easy feat…”

As Cordelia stood under her umbrella, listening to Peter’s speech, a figure emerged in the distance. It was Ronan.

Against the vastness of the sky and the open fields, he made his way towards them, step by step.

Cordelia’s thoughts went back to that snowy Christmas when he had trudged through the snow to see her. Something inside her fluttered. She had always thought that at her age, she was past the “young love” stage, but seeing him made her heart flutter like a teenager's.

Time changed a lot, but some things never changed.

“Mr. Evans is here,” Talia announced. “Shall we wait for him before we continue?”

“Sure.”

Cordelia looked down at her feet, absentmindedly squishing the mud beneath her. She seemed slightly bored.

Once Ronan arrived, Cordelia took in his attire. He wore a waterproof brown jacket with droplets of rain simply rolling off it – clearly a high-quality fabric.

He was without an umbrella.

As Cordelia found herself unconsciously staring at his clothing, Ronan shot her a glance. Cordelia quickly looked away.