The Contracted Ever After (Cordelia and Ronan) novel Chapter 692

"Harold, buddy, you've got visitors. Cordelia and Victoria are here, and Mr. Evans is with them," Samantha whispered gently.

Harold had barely caught some shut-eye when the commotion stirred him awake. But for an ex-military man like him, being roused for a midnight drill was nothing out of the ordinary, so he sprang up instantly.

"They're here already?" Harold recalled a message from Ronan on Messenger. He had thought they'd swing by the next day, not in the dead of night.

"Yup."

Just thinking about Victoria was enough to rile Harold up—he blamed her for the end of his bachelorhood, and let's just say their night together had been anything but blissful.

Shrugging into his shorts and pulling on a tank top, Harold stepped out to greet his guests.

"Ronan, what brings you by at this hour? And Mr. Evans?"

"Just checking in on you, man. Have you been job hunting?" Ronan lounged on the couch, clearly steering the conversation.

"Oh, yeah, the hunt's on, but it's tough out there." Harold dropped onto a chair and, aiming to irk Victoria, he turned to Samantha with a purposeful tenderness, "You should get some sleep, sweetheart."

The term of endearment left Samantha momentarily stunned, her heart fluttering with sweetness. Harold's romantic side was truly touching. She guessed he'd said it for Cordelia's or Victoria's benefit, and with a demure nod, she agreed, "Okay."

With that, Samantha retreated to Harold's room. Yes, she went back to Harold's room. And then, she closed the door.

Cordelia and Victoria watched Samantha with wide eyes, clearly taken aback as she smiled and closed the door behind her. Cordelia's brow furrowed slightly, while Victoria clenched her fist, a storm of emotions swirling within her.

"Still no job?" Ronan circled back to the earlier topic.