The Contracted Ever After (Cordelia and Ronan)

Chapter 29

This week, Cordelia had been going out of her way to keep Barney happy every day.

Barney always seemed to be pretty chuffed. Ronan would give her some money now and then,

Cordelia didn't care that much. The computer expenses were covered already.

On Sunday, Cordelia took a day off to join a CPA training course. However, she bumped into an old

colleague, Manda, in the hallway of the training center.

"Manda? You're studying for your CPA too? How come I didn't see you here before?" Cordelia asked.

Seeing Manda, Cordelia felt a pang of guilt. After all, she had taken Manda's position at Lumos

Enterprises.

"I just started a new job and enrolled in this course last Wednesday." Manda casually mentioned,

sipping her coffee.

"You found a new job?" Cordelia asked.

Manda replied nonchalantly, "Mr. Evans hooked me up with a CPA firm that pays double the salary of

Lumos Enterprises. If I pass the exams, I'll be a licensed accountant."

Cordelia breathed a sigh of relief at hearing Manda's words.

Just then, Jamie appeared from the opposite side, and Manda's face lit up with a smile. Jamie was

Manda's old classmate from Liberty University. They shared the same mentor and had bumped into

each other a few times. Manda had always had a soft spot for Jamie.

"Jamie, I got you a coffee." Manda said, handing Jamie a cup.

Jamie shook his head, saying, "Thanks, but coffee messes with my sleep. I'll pass."

Then, he pulled Cordelia aside, frowning. "Did Ronan do anything to you last time?" Jamie asked with

concern.

Cordelia blinked, shaking her head, "No. What's up?"

"I thought he seemed a bit off the rails. I'm glad you're okay. I was worried he might lay a hand on you!"

Jamie recalled the scene where Ronan had thrown his shirt out of the car.

Looking at Cordelia, he asked, "What’s the deal with you and Ronan? Why did you get into his car that

day?"

This question left Cordelia speechless. After all, her marriage with Ronan was supposed to be under

wraps. Although Ronan didn't seem to care much about this, she could tell that Ronan and Jamie were

not on good terms. If she spilled the beans to Jamie, Ronan would definitely be pissed.

"He’s my boss at work, and we are friends in private life." After some thought, Cordelia decided to

downplay it.

"Just friends?" For some reason, Jamie seemed relieved and even a bit pleased to hear this.

"Yep." Cordelia nodded, thinking to herself, “Sorry, I have to keep you in the dark for now, to avoid

ticking off Mr. Evans.”

They chatted for a while, whispering to each other. Manda saw this from a distance and clenched her

fists. Why did Cordelia always want to compete with her for everything?

Manda sneakily took a picture of Cordelia and sent it to her brother Lionel, with a message: [Look at

this girl. Do you like her? She's my classmate and she's really pretty! You can sneak a peek at her ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

when you pick me up tonight.]

Lionel responded with a smiley face emoji and agreed.

Manda knew her brother loved to play with women's feelings. It would be strange if he didn't stir up

some trouble!

The bell for class rang, and everyone headed to their classrooms. Jamie was teaching, but he kept

stealing glances at Cordelia. Manda saw this and felt a pang of jealousy.

After class, Cordelia lingered in the classroom to study a bit more.

As she walked out of the building, she saw a man approaching. He was reaching out to touch

Cordelia's face.

"You’re pretty." He said.

Cordelia looked at him coldly, "Who are you? There are cameras here, so don't even think about

harassing me."

“What are you doing?" Manda pretended to stop her brother, but she didn't really care. This was her

brother after all. She wasn't worried about the consequences. In fact, the more chaotic the scene, the

more entertained she was.

"Come on, let me buy you a drink." Lionel tried to put his arm around Cordelia without a second

thought.

Cordelia slapped Lionel hard across the face.

Lionel's face burned, and his eyes were bloodshot, "You dare to hit me? You bitch."

Manda saw that a fight was about to break out and was thrilled.

Just as Lionel was about to slap Cordelia back, his hand was caught.

"This is a place of learning, not for you to make a scene. Stop!” The one who spoke was Jamie. He had

just come downstairs to see the chaotic scene, and some punk was harassing Cordelia.

Seeing Jamie defending Cordelia made Manda even angrier.

"Who are you? Cordelia's boyfriend?" Lionel was rude.

"Mind your language." Jamie's eyes were red. No one had ever spoken to him like that before.

"I’m gonna kill you!" Lionel started, pulling out a switchblade from his shoe.

"Watch out!" Cordelia yelled.

Then, she instinctively grabbed her bag and smashed it hard against Lionel's head. The zipper of the

bag hit Lionel's head, and the heavy books inside caused blood to start flowing.

The crowd immediately called the police.