Time-Limited Love: A Contract Expired, Not Renewed novel Chapter 196

Zane caught Landon staring and met his gaze head-on, not backing down.

What are you looking at?

You can’t even keep your own wife from leaving—now you want to use your old man to win her sympathy? Not a chance. Zane wasn’t about to play along with that kind of emotional blackmail.

Off to the side, Lydia and Brian were quick to pick up on the resentment simmering in Landon’s eyes.

They exchanged a knowing glance before Lydia turned to Zinnia, her tone bright and matter-of-fact.

“Zinnia, it’s really no big deal for you to stay over tonight. Worst case, Landon can just drive you to the hospital in the morning.”

She straightened her back, convinced she was helping Landon’s cause.

“If you ask me, whether you go to work tomorrow or not doesn’t really matter. The Ford family could easily support you, and the hospital job keeps you so busy. You and Landon have been married almost three years, and you’re still not expecting. Zane’s been dreaming about a great-grandchild every single day.”

As she spoke, Lydia glanced over at Zane with a hopeful smile.

“Isn’t that right, Dad?”

Of course, at his age, Zane looked forward to having a great-grandchild. But he wasn’t some old fossil who’d pressure the younger generation to have kids, and he certainly wasn’t shameless enough to ask his granddaughter-in-law to quit her career just to have a baby. Hearing Lydia’s comment, he shot her a fierce glare.

“Whether they have kids or not—that’s between Landon and Zinnia. Who asked for your opinion?”

Lydia deflated a little, stung by the rebuke.

“Dad, come on. Landon’s my nephew. Can’t I be concerned about the family line?”

He and Zinnia would have been married three years next month. It’s not as if they’d never shared a bed, or that he was some monk immune to temptation. But deep down, he’d always thought that once they crossed a certain line—once things got truly intimate—it would be almost impossible to end things cleanly. He’d even convinced himself that Zinnia, after they became intimate, would cling to the marriage and refuse to let go.

So he’d restrained himself, tamped down his own desires, thinking he was doing the rational, responsible thing. When it got to be too much, he’d just deal with it himself.

He’d always felt a twisted pride about it—that he was a man so disciplined he could even master his own instincts.

But now, he regretted it. Now he was the one who didn’t want a divorce.

He couldn’t help but wonder, if only… If only he hadn’t tried so hard to be tough. If he and Zinnia had had a child together, would everything be different now?

His gaze drifted helplessly back to Zinnia.