Time-Limited Love: A Contract Expired, Not Renewed novel Chapter 7

“Landon, your photography skills are amazing! Every shot makes me look flawless. I don’t even need to edit them before posting to Instagram.”

Below the message, a stream of photos appeared—Noelle posing beneath the northern lights, smiling brightly in each one.

Landon barely glanced at them. He closed WhatsApp with a sigh.

“Well done, Zinnia. Just brilliant,” he muttered through clenched teeth, tossing his phone onto the seat beside him.

...

Meanwhile, high above the clouds on a flight to Austerland, Zinnia was trapped in a nightmare she wouldn’t soon forget.

Darkness. Cold. Fear. Despair.

It was as if some monstrous beast from the depths of hell had opened its gaping jaws, threatening to swallow her whole.

Clutching the armrest with white knuckles, she begged, “Help… help me, please…”

She could feel someone tugging at her hand, gently shaking her, trying to haul her out of that endless abyss.

“Are you all right? Miss, can you hear me?”

A soft, concerned voice echoed in her ears, calling her back from the brink.

She jolted awake, her heart racing, breath ragged. Sweat clung to her forehead and cheeks, her eyes still wide with terror.

“Are you okay?” The same gentle voice from her dreams.

Zinnia turned her head. Beside her sat a round-faced girl with black-rimmed glasses, watching her with genuine worry.

“Were you having a nightmare? I heard you calling for help in your sleep,” the girl asked softly.

Zinnia offered an apologetic smile. “Sorry, did I disturb you?”

“Not at all, but you look pretty shaken up. Was it a bad dream?”

A nightmare?

Once, she’d believed that even if Landon didn’t love her at first, their time together would eventually draw them closer. As his wife, she thought proximity would win his heart in the end.

But reality was cruel: if a man doesn’t love you, he truly doesn’t. He won’t even believe you’re in danger when your life is at stake, he’ll just assume you’re lying.

A stranger could tear up hearing what she’d been through, asking if she was scared. But Landon?

Zinnia let out a bitter laugh. “It’s all right. Guess surviving something like that means I’m in for some good luck now.”

“Definitely. You’ve got a bright future ahead,” the girl assured her.

Twenty hours later, the plane landed at the capital’s international airport.

After saying goodbye to the round-faced girl, Zinnia dragged her suitcase out of the terminal.

The moment she turned her phone back on, a message from Landon popped up:

Seen the northern lights yet? Why didn’t you send me a picture?