Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

Chapter 181

Rain pelted against the open window of the study, extinguishing the dying ember of the cigarette between. Ludwik’s slender fingers.

With a silent curse, he flicked the extinguished butt away, his gaze smoldering with an unspoken fury, as cold and inert as the depths of a still lake.

His eyes were fixed on the defiant figure below, battling the downpour, struggling to remain upright despite the odds against her.

No gazebo stood beside the ornate front door, no shelter from the storm in sight.

What was she playing at? Some sort of sympathy ploy to soften his heart?

Ludwik stared at her bump, his eyes hardening. The thought that it was all a calculated move, even the child, made his gaze grow colder.

In the next moment, he yanked the curtains shut and sank into his armchair, surrounded by a graveyard of spent cigarettes.

Elaine’s mood was as dark as the clouds above. There Whitney stood in the deluge, stubbornly refusing to leave, playing the damsel in distress.

Ludwik was up, for sure. He was in his study, probably even watching her.

The longer Whitney held out, the weaker she’d become, and maybe, just maybe, he’d soften up.

Elaine prided herself on her cunning. Tonight, when Whitney claimed their divorce was a sham, if Ludwik had truly cut ties, he would have forced her to sign the papers.

She was powerless to resist, but Ludwik hadn’t.

Whitney wouldn’t leave, and he hadn’t driven her away. Maybe he was testing whether her feelings we genuine. This was dangerous; Ludwik couldn’t be allowed to go soft.

Touching the welts on her face, a flare of anger passed through Elaine. She dialed with a smirk, “Jaxon, send some guys in an hour to nab Whitney, and make sure you find her needle kit and bring it to me.”

With that medicine in hand, she could cure Ludwik without Whitney’s threats hanging over them. As for Whitney, alone at night in the outskirts, anything could happen.

Ludwik would have to sleep eventually.

Elaine planned to make her move around three or four in the morning.

རྣ ཟ ü ཆེ ༢ཅཋ

that meddling old maid had

unable to harden her heart completely. Convinced the master would never come down, she worried he’d never forgive the young mistress. Seeing the young mistress near fainting, belly swollen and drenched, the baby could be

and Taryn felt an aching fondness for the unborn life.

umbrella and fresh clothes, “Ms. Valentine, put these on and take the umbrella, leave quickly. You can’t afford to be

do, I’m abandoning

won’t forgive you? He’s furious, and standing here won’t help.”

or I’ll stay out in the

He doesn’t want you, just wait a bit… Ah, fine,

Chapter 181

choice left, Taryn, shivering and feverish, knew they couldn’t go on like this

into her own

was modest, with a single bed on the ground floor’s backyard. Taryn had Whitney lie on the

ajar upstairs, eyes gleaming with a cold

stiff with cold, felt a prickling pain as warmth finally enveloped

had helped her into dry clothes and piled several blankets over her did she start to regain some strength.

her, voice chilly, “Check on the baby’s movement; make sure there’s nothing

was very active

wronged the master, and Natalie is in

seeing it as a release for both of them.

what if I told you I didn’t hurt Natalie, would you believe

Natalie, and I saw

kidnapped Natalie, but it’s also true I didn’t hurt her. There are too

house? Please let

her hand, skepticism in her gaze, “The master has ordered that you’re not allowed near Natalie’s room. Don’t make it hard for me!”

he should

Natalie under the same roof as

you mean by that?” Taryn asked, puzzled.

please, tell Xandra to watch out for Elaine in the

a kidney to Natalie. You can’t

“Taryn, I will find

at dawn, and don’t get me in trouble with the young mistress!”

Whitney lay