Time-Limited Love: A Contract Expired, Not Renewed novel Chapter 65

He knew he shouldn’t have confronted Zinnia like that.

It was his decision to visit Noelle—Zinnia couldn’t have stopped him even if she tried. And if she had, he would’ve only blamed her anyway.

He was perfectly aware of all this, yet he still pressed Zinnia for answers as if he had every right.

Maybe that was the only way to quiet the gnawing anxiety in his chest, the constant fear that something precious was about to slip away.

“I…” Landon opened his mouth, his voice rough and uncertain. “I actually wanted you to come with me.”

He could almost picture the look on Zinnia’s face as those words left his lips.

A quiet, almost amused laugh drifted from the other end of the line. “That’s not a good idea.”

If Noelle saw her show up with Landon, her depression would probably spiral even further. Zinnia couldn’t bear the weight of that responsibility.

“Zinnia—”

“If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up.” Before he could say another word, Zinnia ended the call.

Landon stared at his phone as the steady drone of the disconnect tone filled his ears, leaving him emptier than before.

That hollowness in his heart only grew, confusion pressing in alongside it.

Outside, cold rain lashed the window, seeping into the room—or at least, it felt that way. The chill seemed to pour straight through the crack inside his chest, filling it with an aching cold until it was overflowing, raw and sore.

After she hung up, Zinnia sat for a moment, her gaze lost in the rain-blurred city lights outside. Landon’s words still echoed in her mind.

Generous? Was she supposed to be generous?

Who, in their right mind, would want to watch the person they’d loved in secret for a decade choose someone else, time and time again?

She was always the one left behind, always the one not chosen. She’d grown afraid of being left.

And yet, every time, she could only forgive him, try to understand him.

Hearing this, she finally felt a bit of relief loosen the knot in her chest. She stood by the kennel, gently brushing her hand over the puppy’s soft head, speaking to him in a low, tender voice—

“Dapper, you have to be good for the doctor, okay? Once you’re all better, I’ll bring you home.”

The puppy whimpered softly, as if he understood, the little sounds far stronger now than when she first found him.

The tiny whines tugged at her heart, making it ache and melt all at once.

Zinnia stayed with Dapper for nearly an hour before leaving the clinic.

Outside, the rain hadn’t let up at all.

She hailed a cab, and by the time she made it back to Royal Bay, it was past ten.

She walked in, pausing for a moment in the entryway, surprised by the glow of the living room lights.

“You’re back?” Landon’s voice came from the direction of the sofa, deep and low.