Time-Limited Love: A Contract Expired, Not Renewed novel Chapter 49

“Mr. Ford, this surgery will take quite a while. Why don’t you and this young lady wait in the lounge? Once it’s over, I’ll come and let you know.”

“That won’t be necessary. I’ll stay right here.”

Landon refused without a moment’s hesitation.

At first, when he’d called Zephyr, it was just out of curiosity. He wanted to see what Zinnia was like when she performed surgery.

Now that he’d seen her—even from a distance—he felt an inexplicable urge to stay. He wanted to be here for her, even if all he could do was stand quietly on the other side of the glass. Somehow, just being present felt like he was fighting alongside her.

He couldn’t explain his own behavior, but deep down, he wasn’t ready to walk away.

“Graft attached to the root of the aorta.”

“Pause the heart-lung machine.”

“Aortic arch reconstruction.”

“Multiple branch reconstruction.”

“….”

Zinnia’s voice filtered out from the operating room every so often, calm and steady, never showing the slightest sign of fatigue.

Her tone was gentle, yet carried a quiet strength that made everyone listening feel at ease.

Landon lost all sense of time as he stood there. Somehow, just standing—doing nothing at all—made him feel as if he could shoulder some of Zinnia’s exhaustion.

The minutes ticked by. One hour. Two hours.

Five hours passed.

“Heartbeat restored. We can discontinue bypass.”

“Zeke, once you’re sure the suture line is secure and there’s no bleeding, you can finish the closing.”

When he reached the doors, the “In Surgery” light was still glowing red; Zinnia hadn’t come out yet.

Landon forced himself to wait a little longer. Finally, the light flickered off.

The doors slid open, and Zinnia emerged from the operating room.

As soon as she looked up, she saw Landon’s tall figure waiting for her, as if he had a thousand things to say.

She glanced at him, then at Noelle standing quietly nearby. Pulling down her surgical mask, she said, “The operation was a success, but the patient isn’t out of danger yet. There are still potential complications, so we’ll be transferring him to ICU for further observation.”

Even as she spoke, fatigue colored her voice.

Landon couldn’t take his eyes off her, wanting to say something. But Zinnia continued, “There are some post-op instructions that need a family member’s signature. Dr. Zuma will explain everything in detail when he comes out. If you have more questions, you can ask me later. For now, I need to get back to the staff room.”

With that, she turned and walked away without looking back.