Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

Chapter 359

"I think..." His lips parted slightly, his eyes deep like the ocean, gazing at her. The air was thick with heat and sweat, an intoxicating mix that made one's head throb. Whitney's heart was beating erratically, out of control. What was he thinking, looking at her with such

intensity?

I want to be with you, Whitney.

Ludwik almost blurted out, his eyes misting over, but the last shred of rationality held him back. He couldn't just skip the wedding tomorrow. There were things that could no longer be said, paths that could no longer be taken. With a bitter smile, he closed his eyes, "Whitney, why did it have to come to this? If three years ago, you hadn't sided with your uncle to betray me, to betray me over and over again... We wouldn't have ended up like this."

Whitney's heart stopped, and the blush on her cheeks slowly faded to pale. Three years ago, a taboo, never to be mentioned. Turning her head, she saw that he seemed to have fallen asleep. Once again, Whitney took out a silver pin and gently pricked his neck with it. He slumped to one side. Rubbing her almost crushed limbs, Whitney forced herself to quickly get out of bed. Looking at the clothes and sheets scattered all over the floor, she had no choice but to pick up the oversized men's shirt and put it on. She tiptoed out of the room in haste.

hear her own heartbeat, growing louder as she approached the desk drawer. She put on her gloves again, opened the drawer, and saw 'that document' hastily shoved in, peeking out from a corner. Whitney hid it under other documents, making sure he would never find it. But her heart ached sharply. Ludwik's words of pain and regret echoed in

her fingers whitened from the tight grip, her mind torn. After a moment, she closed the drawer, rearranged the documents in the folder, and quickly left the desk. She quietly returned to the dressing room, intending to take the damaged clothes away. But the man had woken up! He was rubbing his numb neck, taking a call.

leave me, I'll become the nation's laughingstock. Everyone in the aristocracy will look down on me. I... know you can't be intimate with me, and I hate myself for it. Why do

froze, realizing where he was and what had happened with Whitney. Guilt filled his eyes. The woman was pleading, humbly promising to remain chaste for him, and here he was, betraying her trust on the eve

you... husband,"

face losing all its color. The man turned, and his eyes darkened upon seeing her, all the emotions quenched by a single phone call. Ludwik knew he was in the wrong. He pulled out a card, his gaze cold and deep, and approached her, offering it with a low, detached voice, "Let's not speak of tonight. Whitney, we're both adults. Let's pretend tonight was stolen. Sorry. But I won't sleep with you for free. Take this

on her lips. Her heart felt pierced, throbbing painfully with each beat. A chill rose from her feet. 'I actually don't want to get married anymore, believe me?' Ha. She almost softened at his pleading look, the moment he tried to coax her. Falling for his lies, indeed. A man's tenderness in bed is just to woo you, to sleep with you. All lies. Turning to Elaine, he was infinitely affectionate. Sleep with you then push money your way, trying to buy peace of mind?

The card fluttered down from his chiseled face. Ludwik bore her fury and mockery silently. He

incredulous, took the document bag she threw at him, sighing, "Women's hearts are indeed the most poisonous. If it