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 sight of

they been inseparable these past days?

Elaine 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.

stumbled, her brows

saw Ludwik’s attention

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

papers,” Ludwik réplied

stone. Her slender fingers on the

18:24

Chapter 177

retreated

of color, she stumbled

your composure. This is a divorce settlement. You may review the contents, but Mr. Lippert’s time is precious.

felt as though it had been pierced by their sharp edges,

world around her darkened, obscuring Ludwik’s handsome features from her

and shook her head with

right do you have to refuse?” Ludwik’s voice was a cold

realizing he had changed since his return, Gone was the hysterical man from the day his mother had met with

violent, vulnerable man from his sick days.

an icily detached

had become the formidable Mr. Lippert

there was no trace of emotion she could discern.

sneered, “Our marriage was a sham,

her body shaking. “L, please don’t say that. I truly love

unwilling to waste

expressionless face concealed a deep, cold

saw the depth of his loathing for her.

marriage agreement originally included a compensation for bearing a child after a year, but Mr. Lippert has rescinded it. You’ll leave with nothing”

replied weakly, the irony of those billions hanging between them unspoken.

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

turned ghostly, “I didn’t… Orion called me out of the blue. I swear I never met with

none of my concern.” His flippant words were the cruelest, and

of hurt must a man endure to turn so suddenly heartless

heart and show him its purity, covered in wounds and