Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

“I never claimed to be a saint, but dragging you and your uncle into this mess. wasn’t part of the plan.”

Whitney couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.

“I’ve heard you were the golden boy, the apple of everyone’s eye. What did Ludwik have? Nothing. So why stoop to snatch away even the little he owns?”

“Do you even grasp the depth of a family feud? The pressure’s on me too, you know. Business is a cutthroat game. Sure, my brother had it rough growing up, but he’s outshone me in every way. That’s what really grinds.

my gears.”

Whitney nodded emphatically, “So, you’re just a bitter, petty man, jealous of him. But he’s not so easily defeated by the likes of you.”

“Is that so? Yet he’s the one in hiding now.” Orion stood up lazily, extending his hand, “Anyway, it was a pleasure doing business.”

Fuming, Whitney turned on her heel and left, her stomach churning with rage.

At the Ether Cafe downtown, Ludwik stared blankly at the ‘papers” before him, his strikingly handsome face lost in thought.

He glanced at his watch.

Sensing his impatience, Felix promptly made a call. Returning with a peculiar expression, Felix announced, “Whitney was just… just meeting with Orion, and she’s on her way here now.”

The pr

pen tip lightly dropped onto the papers, and Ludwik paused, then cracked a wry

smile.

He tossed the ‘papers‘ to the lawyer beside him, his features set in firm resolve.

Elaine sat nearby, observing every subtle shift in the man’s demeanor, a slight smirk playing on her lips.

Suddenly, there was the sound of hurried breaths.

Elaine turned her head. She was the first to see Whitney arrive.

Whitney’s gaze instinctively sought out Ludwik, who sat in a secluded booth, his figure svelte in a black suit. His face was still pale, his frame noticeably thinner and somewhat ill–looking, yet he appeared much improved from a week prior.

A flicker of emotion crossed her eyes. She hurried over, but Elaine sitting in a wheelchair near the entrance.

of her eye, she caught sight of

she here? Had they been

had been with Ludwik all this time. Elaine’s smile deepened as Whitney passed by, her voice laced with malice, “Whitney, make the most of this meeting. Cherish your final moments with

Whitney stumbled, her brows knit tightly with confusion.

was no time to ponder. She saw Ludwik’s attention

heart pounding with a mixture of dread and hope, Whitney took a deep breath and asked with a

papers,” Ludwik réplied curtly.

fingers on the table suddenly went limp,

18:24

Chapter 177

as they retreated

face drained of color, she stumbled backward,

please keep your composure. This is a divorce settlement. You may review the contents, but Mr. Lippert’s time is precious. You have five minutes,” the lawyer interjected, pushing the

of papers, her heart felt as though it had been pierced by their sharp edges, bleeding, a searing pain engulfing

Ludwik’s handsome features from her

down, and shook her head with a hollow laugh,

Ludwik’s voice was a cold blade, cutting through

the hysterical man

longer the violent, vulnerable man from his sick days.

he was like an icily detached statue,

become the formidable Mr. Lippert once

eyes, there was no trace of emotion

looked at her with undisguised disdain and sneered, “Our marriage was a sham, a farce. Nothing was real, much like you,

“L, please don’t say that.

sign the papers,” he said, unwilling to waste more words on her.

face concealed a

depth of

originally included a compensation for bearing a child

Whitney replied weakly, the irony of those billions hanging between

on his lips, “considering you’ve likely received a fair share of loot from Orion already. Were you dividing

didn’t… Orion called me out of the

on, even if you become the town’s harlot, it’s none of my concern.” His flippant words were the cruelest, and they were

must a man endure

him its purity, covered