Time-Limited Love: A Contract Expired, Not Renewed novel Chapter 372

Yuri didn’t say a word. He just looked at her, eyes crinkling with a quiet smile, gaze lowered in her direction.

Zinnia felt awkward under that expression. She forced herself to go on, even though her cheeks were burning.

“My mom probably thinks that after my divorce, having someone as amazing as you like me should make me really happy. That’s why she said what she did. I hope you’re not offended.”

To her, Yuri was a lifesaver and a good friend—she didn’t want her mom’s wild assumptions to scare him off.

She kept her eyes down, fumbling for words, rushing to explain—only to be interrupted by Yuri.

“But are you happy?”

Zinnia froze, caught off guard. She looked up at Yuri, startled.

“What?”

“After your divorce from Landon, if I tell you I like you, does that make you happy?” Yuri’s tone was gentle but utterly serious. His question left Zinnia momentarily speechless.

It took her a beat to find her voice. “Are you here to cheer me up too?”

She didn’t wait for his reply. Instead, she gave a short laugh. “Come on, Yuri, you sound just like my mom. It’s just a divorce—it’s not like the world’s ending.”

She looked at him, all sincerity. “Yuri, don’t start in with Mom’s routine. I really don’t care about Landon anymore. I’m not the least bit upset about the divorce.”

Yuri didn’t answer. He just watched Zinnia as she tried so hard to prove she was fine, his gaze distant and a little unfocused.

After a while, he nodded with a small, lopsided smile. “Alright. As long as you’re okay.”

When Yuri didn’t make a big deal out of what her mother had said back in the hospital room, Zinnia finally let herself relax.

How was she supposed to answer that? The tangled history between Yuri’s mother and the Ford family stretched back more than twenty years. She was an outsider—how could she pretend to know what really happened?

She hesitated, and Yuri seemed to sense her uncertainty. “It’s alright, just say what you think. I’m just curious.”

Zinnia pondered for a moment before answering. “Honestly, I’ve only known Zane and the others for about three years. We haven’t spent that much time together, but every time we have, I just never got the sense that they’re cruel or ruthless people…”

She paused, searching for the right words. “I just don’t believe Zane could’ve done something that vicious to your father.”

To torture someone and then dump them at sea—that kind of hatred was unimaginable. Unless Zane had been putting on a perfect act all this time, hiding that kind of malice from everyone.

Yuri gave her a thoughtful look, and he understood what she hadn’t said out loud: “Even Landon.” Even though Landon had once left her stranded in the snow, she didn’t see him as someone capable of true cruelty.

“You make a good point,” Yuri said quietly. “Zane tried to explain it to me the other day, that he had nothing to do with my father’s death. I was too upset to listen at the time, but later, I kept thinking—maybe there’s more to what happened back then than I ever realized.”