Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

Chapter 749

"Can't you see?" Whitney grumbled, awkwardly pinned beneath him. Every word she spoke brushed his lips in an all too intimate way, flushing her cheeks an even deeper shade of red. "I can barely breathe with you on me, let me up!"

"Right... Sorry." Ludwik eased off her gently.

He winced as he got to his feet, softly patting her back. "Feeling better?"

"..." Seriously, she should be asking him that, considering he was the one who needed rescuing.

Whitney was a bit dazed. His sincere and graceful care for her was just like it had been three years ago.

Her heart skipped a beat, swatting away his hand, "Now that you're awake, you're obviously fine.

Be more careful next time. Inhaling smoke from a fire is no joke. And don't try to play the hero; you could have died."

"Thank you, Whitney... Did you really stop because you couldn't bear the thought of looking in the rearview mirror and not seeing me there, finding me passed out on the side of the road?"

"..." She really regretted saving this shameless man again.

"Ha! As if I was the one who found you. Shane did! He was about to give you CPR, but it was too embarrassing, so I stepped in," Whitney glared at him.

At that moment, Shane, lurking nearby with his tall frame, made his presence known.

Hearing her, Ludwik glanced at Shane's disparaging look, his playful smile morphing into embarrassment. "Why are you always everywhere?"

"..." Shane was on the verge of exploding.

Grinding his teeth, he managed a smile, "I should've just given you that CPR, disgusted you a bit. If it weren't for me convincing Whitney, she wouldn't have stopped to help you."

"Yeah. All thanks to Shane's generous heart," Whitney quickly disassociated.

a shadow of disappointment in his gaze as he looked

back to the car, "Shane,

throat still hurts," Ludwik feigned

his crumpled shirt, his posture

this man could turn on his

might still have smoke inhalation issues, she sighed and turned to Shane, "Just let him in the car. We'll drop him at the hospital and leave him there." Before Shane could respond, Ludwik hobbled into the car,

do you have no shame? Do you even know whose

it matter whose car it is? Are you really going to refuse a ride to someone who's injured?"

his strategy had worked on Whitney but not

he thought, it's a tactic worth

the

pretended to admire the scenery or checked her phone, giving Ludwik no chance to start

look, Shane couldn't

break the awkward silence, Shane, ever the peacemaker, started, "Ludwik, why were you out there alone? Where's your driver?" "Lost my phone in the explosion, can't contact anyone right now," Ludwik replied, his dark eyes frequently darting

with your assistant, or maybe Jason. I'll drop you off at the hospital, and they can pick you up," Shane

man, and my grandma's sick. No one's around to care. And the one person I do care about doesn't seem

car filled with a tangible sense of

nearly hit

Whitney: "..."

pretend to look outside, her face turning

nearly failing to suppress

him, but held back from retorting, not

soon arrived at

of relief; finally,

my wallet and phone in the blast, can't pay for treatment." Whitney stared at him incredulously, "Ludwik, do you think I'm an idiot? You're a Lippert, for heaven's sake. Even if you've hit rock bottom, any hospital would

thinking Whitney was being a bit heartless. It was clear Ludwik was trying to get

lying. This isn't a Lippert-owned hospital," Ludwik pointed