Time-Limited Love: A Contract Expired, Not Renewed novel Chapter 35

She didn’t react dramatically. Instead, she simply kept eating, answering Landon’s questions as if they were just having an ordinary lunch conversation.

Her casual, unruffled manner made it all seem routine, but Landon’s silence was heavy. The sharpness in his presence was so intense that Zinnia felt it pressing down on her, reigniting the restlessness she’d only just managed to suppress.

She thought to herself that maybe it was time to see a therapist; she didn’t want to become someone who couldn’t control her emotions.

“Aren’t you here for Chandler? He’s back,” she said.

Zinnia watched as Chandler stormed past, his face dark with anger. Clearly, his ‘chat’ with Zoey hadn’t gone well.

Seeing Chandler like that, Zinnia couldn’t help but feel a spark of satisfaction. Serves him right, she thought—a cheater deserves to get divorced.

But Landon didn’t move. He simply looked at her, his gaze complex as he watched her nonchalance. He hesitated, then finally spoke.

“Who told you I came here for him?”

Zinnia paused mid-bite, genuinely surprised. “So… you’re sick?”

If she remembered right, Ford Medical—owned by the Ford Group—was the most exclusive private hospital in Veridian City, staffed by the country’s top medical experts and catering to the elite.

If Landon was ill, why would he come to her hospital instead of Ford Medical?

The truth was, she’d been avoiding spending time with Landon. Part of her doubted he was serious; if he got busy, he’d probably just cancel at the last minute. Why bother getting her hopes up?

After all, she’d asked him out before. He’d always agreed at first, but then something would come up—a business emergency, or Noelle needed something. Even when Noelle wasn’t in the country, Landon would find time for her.

That’s the difference between caring and not caring, she thought. After being stood up enough times, she’d stopped asking.

“Oh, sorry. I was tied up this morning with a long surgery, didn’t check my phone,” she said, forcing a smile to hide the sting of disappointment.

She gestured at her nearly empty plate. “I’m almost finished, so I can’t join you now. But if you don’t mind, you can grab something in the cafeteria here. The food’s not bad.”