The Contracted Ever After (Cordelia and Ronan) novel Chapter 668

Outside the nurse's office, Ronan leaned against the cool, painted brick wall, chatting with Callum.

"How did Jayson get hurt?" Ronan asked, his voice calm but curious.

"Aiden threw a stone at him," Callum replied, kicking at a loose pebble on the ground. "And he said I have a sister named Edith. Dad, is that true?"

Ronan rarely spoke of Edith, but seeing the earnest look on his son's face, he couldn't avoid it. "Yeah, you had a twin sister named Edith. But your mom had complications during the delivery, and she didn't make it," he said, his voice tinged with a sorrow he seldom showed.

"Oh," Callum said, as realization dawned on him.

"You said Blake got hit because he was shielding you from the stones?" Ronan asked, steering the conversation in a different direction.

"Yeah, I didn't want him to," Callum admitted, scuffing his shoe against the ground.

"Hmm," Ronan murmured, a slight smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth despite the gravity of the situation.

"Dad, is Blake really your illegitimate kid? People keep talking..." Callum hesitated, finally mustering the courage to ask.

After a moment of silence, Ronan gestured towards the door. "Come with me."

Inside the nurse's office, Ronan instructed the doctor to take samples from both him and Jayson for a paternity test. It was as much for Cordelia's peace of mind as it was to silence the gossipmongers of Millstone.

"Why bother? I believe he's not your child," Cordelia said when she found out. She thought it unnecessary since Jayson was adopted and worried the boy would feel out of place knowing such tests had been conducted.