Time-Limited Love: A Contract Expired, Not Renewed novel Chapter 6

“Landon, are you thinking about Zinnia?”

Noelle tilted her head, her eyes wide with childlike innocence as she studied his face.

“This is all my fault. If I hadn’t relapsed and called you back to help me, Zinnia wouldn’t be mad at you. She’d still be talking to you.”

Noelle’s expression clouded over. She looked up at Landon, her voice soft. “Landon, I bet Zinnia’s still upset. Why don’t you reach out first and apologize?”

Noelle knew Landon too well—aloof and proud, he’d always been the one people tried to please. The idea of him making the first move, swallowing his pride, was almost unthinkable. The more she pushed, the more stubborn he became.

Sure enough, Landon’s face iced over. He replied, voice low and cold, “If she’s really angry about something as serious as this, then let her be angry.”

He shoved his phone into his pocket, took the camera from Noelle’s hands, and said, “Come on. Let me take your picture.”

“Alright!” Noelle’s mood shifted instantly. She grinned, bouncing over with a lightness that almost made him smile.

But Landon’s expression remained tense. He couldn’t stop thinking about Zinnia’s silent WhatsApp profile, untouched for days. His frustration tightened into a knot between his brows.

He tried to reason with himself: Noelle hadn’t meant to trick him with the kidnapping scare. It was just her depression flaring up. When things get that bad, people do desperate things. He’d come to help her, to watch the northern lights together, hoping it would lift her spirits. Zinnia shouldn’t be acting petty over something so serious.

He’d done the right thing. He was sure of it.

But if he was so certain, why did unease twist in his chest?

Even after the aurora faded and they returned to the hotel, the feeling only intensified, growing into a silent, restless panic.

Back in his room, Landon stared at his phone, thumb hovering over Zinnia’s WhatsApp profile. Their last conversation was from two weeks ago, the night before he left. She’d mentioned picking up another shift at the hospital.

After that, nothing.

“Of course.”

She switched her phone off and leaned back, closing her eyes for a moment’s rest.

Landon waited all night for a response that never came. His frustration simmered, laced with a restlessness he couldn’t quite name. Finally, he tossed his phone aside and headed for a shower.

Ten minutes later, towel draped around his shoulders, he saw his phone light up on the nightstand.

He froze, heart leaping—a message at last. He didn’t even bother to dry his hair, rushing over, a smile starting at the corner of his lips.

But as he picked up the phone, the flicker of hope vanished.

Zinnia’s name was nowhere to be seen. The new message was from Noelle, sending photos from their night beneath the aurora.