Time-Limited Love: A Contract Expired, Not Renewed novel Chapter 52

Zinnia could feel her irritation mounting as she caught him staring at her in silence.

“You had a nightmare just now,” Landon said suddenly.

His eyes were still fixed on her, his deep voice carrying an unreadable undertone.

Her face tensed for a split second before she smoothed her expression back to normal. “Yeah, I haven’t been sleeping well lately. Just a lot of weird dreams, that’s all.”

She brushed it off, her tone casual, almost indifferent.

But Landon didn’t let it go. He just stared at her, his gaze heavy and unrelenting. After a moment, he spoke again.

“Is that really all it is?”

He stepped closer without warning.

Zinnia instinctively backed away, only to bump into the desk chair behind her. She stumbled and dropped right into the seat.

The next second—

Landon bent down, his tall frame casting a shadow over her.

He braced his long, strong arms on either side of the chair, trapping her between them.

Zinnia’s frown deepened.

“Landon, what are you doing?”

Her voice had turned noticeably cold.

The rejection in her tone made something flicker in Landon’s eyes—a faint, startled confusion.

Only then did he realize that ever since she’d gotten back from her trip, she hadn’t called his name the way she used to, with that easy closeness.

He stared at her, searching her eyes for any trace of the warmth he remembered.

“Okay.”

She watched as Landon left.

As he turned toward the door, his gaze drifted to the boxes of medication on her desk. Before he could get a good look, Zinnia quietly gathered them up and slipped them into a drawer under the pretense of tidying up.

“Take care,” she said, her voice neutral.

Landon glanced back at her. The chill in her tone made his brow crease, almost imperceptibly. He looked at her a moment longer, then left the room.

Only once he was gone did Zinnia finally let out a long breath and slump back in the chair, closing her eyes.

Luckily, the ER was quiet for the rest of the night—after the earlier emergency with Xander, no one called for her again.

Maybe it was the medication Naomi had prescribed, or maybe it was just sheer exhaustion from being on her feet for nearly six hours straight, but Zinnia slept deeply for once, blissfully free of nightmares.

After pulling a grueling overnight shift, she finally had the next day off.