Time-Limited Love: A Contract Expired, Not Renewed novel Chapter 179

In the end, he was the first to give in, though he still couldn’t help but ask, “What does Dapper have that I don’t?”

Zinnia stared at him. Was this man out of his mind? Why was he always competing with a dog? And now he was comparing himself to Dapper?

What did he lack?

Her Dapper was warm, affectionate, and always managed to make her laugh. If he really wanted to compare, Landon was nowhere close.

Landon could read the exasperation on Zinnia’s face and knew exactly what she was thinking. Before she could say anything, he cut her off.

“Enough. You don’t have to answer.”

He gave a wry, self-deprecating smile. “I get it. In your eyes, I’ll never measure up to your precious Dapper.”

Zinnia actually found herself surprised that Landon was this self-aware. “As long as you know.”

She left that stinging remark hanging in the air and turned to walk away.

Landon didn’t try to stop her, but he trailed quietly behind, his six-foot-three frame and striking good looks drawing plenty of attention as he followed her like a scolded puppy. Passersby stole glances, and Zinnia even noticed a few young women nearby snapping photos with their phones, whispering excitedly as they eyed Landon with open admiration.

Zinnia stopped abruptly and glanced sideways at the man beside her. “What exactly do you want?” she demanded, her patience at its end.

Landon’s eyes were clouded with frustration and hurt as he looked at her, his voice softer now. “Get in the car. Let’s talk.”

She met his eyes in silence, her hand already on the door handle. “If you don’t want to talk now, I’ll just go. I’ve got work this afternoon and I’m short on time.”

She reached for the door, but Landon caught her wrist. “No, we’ll talk. Right now.”

She withdrew her hand from the handle. “Alright. Go ahead. How do you want to do this?”

As far as Zinnia was concerned, as long as she could get those divorce papers signed, she was willing to cooperate with almost anything that wasn’t outright unreasonable.

Then a thought struck her. “If you’re about to ask me to drop my demand that Noelle issue a public apology and clear things up online, don’t bother. If that’s the price, forget it. I’d rather drag this out forever than let her off the hook.”

She caught the sudden chill in Landon’s expression and figured she’d guessed right, so she added, “And just so we’re clear, Mr. Ford—so long as we’re still married, Noelle is still ‘the other woman’ in the public eye. If you’re fine with seeing her get trashed online day after day, then we can drag this out for as long as you want. Makes no difference to me.”