The Contracted Ever After (Cordelia and Ronan) novel Chapter 79

Janice was hustling around the kitchen, preparing dinner.

Cordelia was all mopey and down in the dumps, so she spoke to Barney, trying to excuse herself. "Grandpa, I'm not feeling too hot. I think I'll just head upstairs."

"What's up with Della?" Barney asked Ronan.

Just the two of them were left at the table.

Suddenly, Ronan felt a sort of gloom hanging over the dinner.

"Work trouble." He said.

"Can't you help her out?" Barney reprimanded Ronan.

Ronan didn't say it, but he was the cause of Cordelia's setback.

"Go make Cordelia some pasta." Barney instructed him.

"Grandpa!" Ronan protested adamantly.

"Ronan!" Clearly, Grandpa wasn't like Ronan's subordinates, who would quiver at his glare. "Just do it. I'm watching you. What if Della starves?"

With no other choice, Ronan went into the kitchen and cooked up a plate of pasta for Cordelia, complete with a fried egg.

If it were the old days, he would never stoop to doing such a thing.

But this time, he even carefully picked out the yolk.

He had Janice deliver it to Cordelia.

Cordelia was sitting at her desk, reading. She didn't bring back Jamie's notes or the book he had recommended, fearing it would stir up unnecessary drama at home. She only brought accounting textbooks home.

But at this moment, she couldn't focus on anything and was just staring blankly at the book.

Janice brought in the pasta. "Ma'am, Mr. Evans cooked this himself."

"Him?" Cordelia couldn't believe it.

"Yes. This is the first time in all these years that I've seen Mr. Evans cook. Eat up, Ma'am." Janice stirred the pasta a bit, making sure it didn’t stick together.

Cordelia was puzzled, but she figured Ronan probably felt guilty for not being able to help her.

She was touched by his attentiveness after noticing that the egg was halved with the yolk removed. This reminded her of the times when her father would occasionally come home. Cordelia would offer to cook for him, but he would pat her head and say, "Daddy will cook for you."

When her dad cooked eggs for Cordelia, he would boil them, slice them open, and replace the yolk with stir-fried minced meat and vegetables before placing them in her noodle bowl.

Ronan didn't do that, but his gesture was enough to move Cordelia.

As she wolfed down the noodles, tears streamed down her face.

She missed her dad.

Although her dad had left her, she felt like he wasn't far away. He was right by her side.

Downstairs, Ronan emailed Emily from HR. "Keep a spot open for an assistant in the Audit Department."

"Got it."

After sending the email, Ronan went upstairs.