Time-Limited Love: A Contract Expired, Not Renewed novel Chapter 168

Elijah wore a pair of thin, silver-rimmed glasses, his hair neatly combed, though a touch of silver dusted his temples, adding to his understated, natural charm.

A crisp white shirt peeked out from beneath a light gray knit vest, paired with matching tailored trousers. Over it all, he wore a pale gray wool coat—quietly elegant, every detail meticulous.

He radiated calm restraint.

Zinnia’s mother, Jessica, carried an even stronger scholarly air. Her gentle demeanor was unmistakable; when she looked at someone, her eyes always held a soft, kind smile, making her seem easy to approach.

Zinnia had inherited both her looks and her temperament from Jessica.

“If we hadn’t come back when we did, who knows how badly you’d be getting bullied right now,” Elijah said, his tone low and steady. The warmth he showed his students had vanished, replaced by a sharper edge in his gaze.

He didn’t bother looking at anyone else—his eyes rested squarely on Landon.

Landon felt an inexplicable pang of guilt under Elijah’s scrutiny.

He lifted a hand and rubbed the tip of his nose, forcing a greeting. “Dad. Mom. Long time no see.”

At first, Elijah couldn’t have asked for a better son-in-law.

Just as Zinnia had once said, Landon was exceptional in every way—except, perhaps, as a husband. His education, looks, and family background were all things any parent would be proud of.

But everything changed when they found out, not long ago, that Landon had left their daughter alone for half a month to vacation with another woman. That image of the “perfect son-in-law” had been doused in ice water, their approval snuffed out in an instant.

Still, the incident had passed, and since Zinnia never brought it up, neither did they.

They’d barely stepped out of the lab today when news reached them: their daughter was being smeared as a homewrecker all over the internet.

Jessica and Elijah prided themselves on their emotional composure, but even they struggled to stay calm after reading the venomous comments directed at Zinnia.

“It has been a while,” Elijah said, his expression stone-cold. “If we saw each other more often, maybe we wouldn’t have to find out our own daughter’s being bullied like this from strangers online.”

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