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.

her eye, she caught

she here? Had they been

met Whitney’s uneasy glance, her gaze confirmed it: Yes, she 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

that? Whitney stumbled,

ponder. She saw Ludwik’s attention shift

a deep breath and asked with a tinge

Ludwik

as if turned to stone. Her slender fingers on the table suddenly went limp, then clenched tightly,

18:24

Chapter 177

as they retreated beneath the surface.

face drained of color, she stumbled backward,

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 papers toward her

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

world around her darkened, obscuring Ludwik’s handsome

slowly covered her chest, sat down, and shook her head with a hollow laugh, “No,

you have to refuse?” Ludwik’s voice was

the hysterical man from the day

vulnerable man from his

he was like an icily detached statue, indestructible.

formidable

trace of emotion

in his chair, he looked at her with undisguised disdain and sneered, “Our marriage was a sham,

“L, please don’t say that. I truly love you…”

he said, unwilling to waste more words on her.

face concealed a deep,

the depth of

up. “Ms. Valentine, the marriage agreement originally included a compensation for bearing a child after a year, but Mr.

money.” Whitney replied weakly, the irony

said slowly, a cruel smile on his lips, “considering you’ve likely received a fair share

gaze turned ghostly, “I didn’t… Orion called me out of the blue. I

do from now on, even if you become the town’s harlot, it’s none of my concern.” His flippant words were the

man endure to

she could tear out her heart and show him its purity, covered in wounds and grievances. She had