The Contracted Ever After (Cordelia and Ronan)

Chapter 3

Cordelia looked around, finding no one else in the office.

"I'm talking to you." said Ronan.-

"What?"

"Marry me." Ronan repeated.

Cordelia's mind slowly returned to the topic "Marry me." She was a bit shocked. She had thought about

marriage before, but with only a month left until her college graduation, she wasn't even considering it.

Cordelia wondered, was Ronan testing her? After all, for a CEO, having a relationship with an intern

was not necessarily a loss, but it wasn't a good thing either. He might have wanted to know if Cordelia

had any plans of crossing the line.

Cordelia felt conflicted. For her, Ronan's warm embrace and his gaze, plus their unexpected romp in

the sack, set him apart from other men. But she knew, whether in this life or the next, they could never

be together. The reason Ronan proposed to her, a woman who wasn't his social equal, was definitely

not because he liked her. Thinking back to Ronan's warning when he returned her phone, Cordelia was

certain that he was just worried she would cause him trouble.

So, she lied, "I have a boyfriend."

"Are you two planning to get married?" Ronan asked. Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

"Oh, not yet. We haven't graduated yet, no financial foundation," Cordelia responded, keeping her cool.

"So, how far have you two gone?" Ronan seemed unexpectedly interested in Cordelia's personal life.

Unsure of what Ronan was thinking, Cordelia answered, "We...are living together already."

What she meant was that she had a boyfriend, they'd done the deed, she didn't want her boyfriend to

overthink, and she wouldn't go around talking about sleeping with other men. She would keep what

happened at the team building event a secret and put Mr. Evans' mind at ease.

"Living together?" Ronan frowned slightly. She was clearly a virgin that night.

Seeing his reaction, Cordelia knew what he was thinking. She quickly added, "We have been dating for

several years and only moved in together after the team building event. After all, we just moved out of

the dorms and found a suitable place."

"Don't you want to know why I want to marry you?" Ronan was not particularly shocked to hear about

Cordelia's boyfriend.

"Why?"

"My grandfather is very ill and wants to see me married before he dies, but I don't have a girlfriend. As

for why I chose you, you know better than anyone. I looked around, and you were the best fit." Ronan

sat in his office chair, confident.

"You're the best fit," was, no doubt, a blow to Cordelia's pride. They'd hooked up, which made her the

perfect fit. If he asked someone else, there would have been a lot of hesitation, but with Cordelia, he

could have skipped that step.

Although she knew Ronan didn't want to marry her because he liked her, hearing his reason, Cordelia

couldn't help but feel disappointed. It seemed he not only remembered that night but remembered it

very clearly. Ronan's voice revealed his disdain for Cordelia. Even though he was asking for her help,

he still looked down on her.

In his eyes, she was just a calculating woman trying to hook up with her boss. She'd slept with him and

deliberately left her phone in his room. She clearly wanted a rich husband but pretended to be innocent

and pure. How could she expect him to respect her?

"Name your price, whatever you want," Ronan said dismissively. "But try not to go over five million."

Five million was indeed a large sum, but for Cordelia, it was not irresistible. After a silence, she

delicately suggested, "Mr. Evans, you could consider a fake marriage."

"If my grandfather found out, it would be a big problem."

"Besides, the marriage license is secondary. The important thing is to find someone. Only when my

grandfather sees this person will he be at ease." Ronan answered Cordelia's question with surprising

patience.

Cordelia slowly nodded, then bit her lip in thought, considering how to turn him down.

Seeing Cordelia's hesitation, Ronan added, "This marriage has a time limit. If you agree, we can get

the marriage license tomorrow. As for the end date..."

"I disagree!" Cordelia firmly declared.

Ronan's unfinished sentence never got the chance to be spoken. He just stared at Cordelia. This was

the first time someone had rejected him, with no bargaining whatsoever.