The Contracted Ever After (Cordelia and Ronan)

Chapter 5

When Cordelia left the hospital, it was already past eight in the evening. The sky had started to drizzle,

and she took the bus back to the office. As soon as she stepped into the office lobby, she spotted

Ronan, tall and straight, with one hand in his trouser pocket and the other holding a mobile phone,

chatting with the receptionist. The bright and dazzling lights in the lobby made him look even more

superior and aloof.

Suddenly, Cordelia felt a rush of nerves. Over the past few months, she hardly had any face-to-face

contact with him. Why did she keep bumping into him lately?

As he walked past her while on the phone, Cordelia quietly said, "Mr. Evans," but wasn't sure if he

heard her. After taking the elevator upstairs, she turned around to find that Ronan had disappeared into

the deep night.

The rain was heavy tonight. She wondered if he had an umbrella.

Her father used to forget his umbrella when he went out, and she had to run after him to hand it over.

He would pat her head and say, "Della's all grown up and starting to take care of her old man now."

Tears blurred Cordelia's vision.

Cordelia worked till four in the morning. She didn't plan to go back to her rented room, but to take a

short nap in the office and then continue working. No sooner had she laid down on the desk than her

phone rang and woke her up.

Seeing that it was Dr. Devon calling, Cordelia immediately picked up. Over the past two years, when

Dr. Devon called, it was either about her mother's deteriorating condition or a reminder to continue

paying the hospital bills.

"Cordelia, after you left yesterday, your mother started to have a fever. Our preliminary suspicion is that

there is phlegm accumulation in her lungs..."

"Is it serious?" Cordelia asked anxiously, standing up from her seat.

"Calm down. We've already given her emergency treatment, and her condition is temporarily stable.

But the surgery from yesterday and this month's hospital bill adds up to over sixty thousand. Can you

pay for it all at once? You've been delaying payment, and it's hard for me to defend you at the

hospital... Also, your mother's situation is quite unusual. You and your brother are both working. Can

you hire a caregiver? Regular turning and cleaning can prevent a lot of infections..."

Cordelia was stunned. After working all night, her eyes were lifeless. The news hit her like a bolt out of

the blue. Forget sixty thousand, she couldn't even come up with six thousand right now. She felt

trapped.

Her monthly internship salary at Lumos Enterprises was only six thousand five hundred, and she had to Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

pay rent. Plus, her salary wouldn't be paid for another half a month. Even if she could get her CPA

certificate and earn a lot of money, that wouldn't happen until next year.

She also knew that Dr. Devon had done everything he could to help her. If it weren't for him vouching

for her, her mother might have been kicked out of the hospital long ago.

Sixty thousand was a fortune. She had already borrowed money from all her relatives, and no one was

willing to lend it to them now.

Feeling helpless, Cordelia suddenly remembered what Ronan had said last night. Compared to five

million, sixty thousand was a drop in the bucket.

Cordelia's resolve began to waver. She had once believed she could earn five million, but now it

seemed like nothing more than a pipe dream.

Her mother needed a caregiver, something Dr. Devon had mentioned before, but she had been unable

to afford it. Now, the consequences of not hiring a caregiver had become apparent; her mother's lungs

were accumulating phlegm due to a lack of proper care. Therefore, hiring a caregiver was a necessity

for her mother.

Cordelia knew that Ronan was well-off and that he could easily find a woman to marry. Last night, he

said that he had "already asked many people." She wondered if anything had changed since last night.

With that thought, Cordelia anxiously got up and went to the door of Ronan's office.

It was just past five now, and Ronan's office was still empty. Cordelia stood at the door, waiting for his

arrival. Just as Cordelia was so tired that she could barely stay awake, Ronan arrived.