Time-Limited Love: A Contract Expired, Not Renewed novel Chapter 120

But as soon as she realized what she was feeling, Zinnia frowned at herself. “What do I have to be anxious about?” she muttered under her breath. “It’s not like I’m staying at his house.”

At that moment, Dapper—now free from his crate—seemed to pick up on her mood. He lifted his head from his bowl of premium dog food and nudged his nose against her leg, as if to say, *You’re right, Zinnia.*

Zinnia couldn’t help but smile, her spirits lifted by Dapper’s silent reassurance. Just like that, whatever confusion Landon’s odd phone call had left her with faded from her mind.

Behind the animal hospital, there was a sprawling yard—over five thousand square feet—set up as a play area for all the dogs being boarded there. Since Dapper was nearly recovered, Zinnia took him out back to romp around for a good half hour.

When it was about time for her shift, she headed back inside.

In the staff lounge, she scrolled through her phone, picked a few cute photos of Dapper from earlier, and posted them on Instagram with the caption:

*Just adopted this little guy. Isn’t he handsome?*

She set her phone aside and turned her attention to the bookshelf, pulling out several patient files for upcoming surgeries to review.

A little after eight, she followed her usual routine and made rounds in the inpatient ward.

Her phone, tucked in the pocket of her white coat, started to buzz. It was a call from the nurses’ station.

“Dr. Quinn, where are you?”

“I’m in the inpatient wing. What’s up?”

“There’s a problem with the patient in room V2002. You need to come right away.”

“Okay, I’ll be there immediately.”

V2002? Wasn’t that Xander’s room?

She coordinated the emergency response, calmly directing the team as they stabilized Xander.

Shortly after, Xander’s parents and Noelle arrived, having been notified of the crisis. By then, Xander’s condition had stabilized, but Zinnia’s face was still clouded with concern as she stepped out of the room.

The surgery itself had been flawless—so why would a cardiac clot develop so many days later?

If the operation hadn’t been the issue, was there a problem with his post-op care?

Her gaze shifted to the attendant—a quiet, seemingly reliable woman with years of experience at the hospital. Zinnia had worked with her before; she would never have expected such a serious oversight.

In the days right after Xander’s surgery, he’d been weak and sleeping most of the time. His anticoagulants were administered intravenously rather than orally, making dosing errors unlikely. Besides, the nurses on this floor were all seasoned professionals—there was no way they’d make such a basic mistake.

So, what exactly had gone wrong?