Time-Limited Love: A Contract Expired, Not Renewed novel Chapter 164

Noelle’s face drained of color in an instant.

“I already said it was the nurse’s fault! What does any of this have to do with me? Why should I be the one to apologize?”

Apologize—publicly, in front of everyone online?

What about her dignity?

She glanced at Zinnia, who looked utterly unmoved, completely immune to her pleas. Noelle’s eyes went watery as she turned to Landon with a wounded pout.

“Landon, are you really going to just let her keep badgering me like this?”

Landon’s hand rested lazily on the back of Zinnia’s chair, drumming his fingers in a slow, indifferent rhythm. He didn’t say a word; his whole posture was relaxed, almost careless. No one could guess what he was thinking.

But that silent indifference only made Noelle’s nerves coil tighter.

In the past, if Zinnia had dared confront her so aggressively, Landon would have stepped in right away—she’d never even have to ask. Yet now, even after she’d spoken up herself, he remained cold and detached.

At last, Landon’s drumming stopped.

He looked at Noelle, his tone leisurely but his words hitting like a sledgehammer.

“That million dollars in Quade’s account—you wired it to him.”

There was no hint of accusation in his voice, just a calm statement of fact.

But for Noelle and her whole family, the shock was seismic.

Especially Noelle—her face went completely white, as if all the blood had drained out.

“Noelle, is that what your brother’s life is worth to you? A million dollars?”

“You monster! How could you? You tried to kill your own brother!”

Noelle was stunned by the blow, completely at a loss. But soon she snapped back, clutching her cheek and shaking her head desperately.

“Dad, I’m sorry! I just wanted to play a prank on him, I never meant for him to get hurt. I just—just wondered what would happen if he didn’t take his medication, that’s all…”

Her excuse was flimsy—everyone could see right through it. But even the thinnest veil was better than admitting, in front of everyone, that she’d bribed a nurse to frame Zinnia.

As long as she insisted it was just a joke, just curiosity—plus with her “depression” as a shield—the whole mess could be swept quietly under the rug as a Jensen family affair.

Her parents would never turn her in for endangering her brother. If the Jensens chose not to press charges, no one else had the right to pursue the matter either.

And so, the person who suffered the most, and who was truly blameless in all of this, was poor Xander.

After his initial burst of rage, Juniper cooled down, just as Noelle had predicted. No matter how furious he was, he had no choice but to swallow it—because if he didn’t, his daughter would end up behind bars.