Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

Chapter 991

Her poor child had suffered even before it was born, all because Valerie had been trapped in a dark cloud of depression, living under Ashton's shadow. It was for the sake of the baby's health that she finally mustered the courage to divorce Ashton, hoping to escape his control and allow her body and mind to heal.

But in the end... the baby still suffered.

Now Valerie was struggling with the child's medical needs and the mounting bills, her savings dwindling fast...

Snapping back from her thoughts at the silence on the other end of the phone, Valerie propped herself up on her hospital bed, worried. "Nolan, why are you so quiet? Did your dad give you a hard time when you got home, or is he unwell?"

"Valerie, you know my dad has always been fond of you, always caring about you," Nolan seemed to hesitate.

"Yeah, I know," Valerie clutched her phone tighter, thinking of Beckford and feeling a warm sensation despite everything.

Ashton's hatred wasn't just about a childhood misunderstanding of her 'not saving him' but also involved resentment towards her mother. Valerie didn't know the details, only that her parents and Ashton's birth mother had died in the same car accident. Ashton blamed Beckford and Valerie's mother for having an affair, which he believed drove his own mother to death.

After Valerie married Ashton, he deliberately treated her coldly, wanting to hurt Beckford by hurting her.

Remembering these grievances made Valerie's heart sink, tears chillingly rolling down her cheeks. Her four-year marriage to Ashton had been anything but happy, a constant struggle of silently enduring unrequited love.

Ashton, cold and unyielding, was like a wild horse she could never tame. She had finally given up on him, removing him from her heart as painfully as if she were cutting out a piece of her flesh, yet she had survived. "Nolan, what are you trying to say?" Valerie, ever perceptive, knew Nolan wouldn't have mentioned his father without reason. A bad feeling suddenly surged within her. "Nolan, what did you say when you went home?" "I'm sorry," Nolan's voice was heavy, his breath visible in the night as he extinguished a cigarette.

"You...?"

my dad about the baby, that she's not well, that she has

turning even whiter, "You

why I've been going home so often? Because Ashton and my father froze my funds. I can't afford the baby's treatment, I can't give her the best medical care. I hate myself for not being strong enough. If I could bear it all, I wouldn't have gone back to the Fuller family begging. I wanted to be the strong man in front of you, to carry all this for you. I didn't want to let Ashton know because I love your child too!" His confession was just short

flushed with an awkward mix of embarrassment and gratitude. Nolan had done so much for her, more than she could ever repay or

these past few months, the baby might not have been born safely. But you know I don't want to hand my child over to them, I will not return to the Fuller family! That place, that man, will forever be a dark mark in my heart, a source of sorrow I can't

one surgery but potentially many, and that requires a superior medical environment to ensure she grows up healthy. We can't keep running around looking for doctors in our small town. I can work hard and earn a lot of money, but no matter what, I can't match the resources of the affluent Fuller family, and when it comes to heart specialists, the slightest difference

her eyes tightly, tears rolling down as her heart ached with mixed emotions. She hadn't expected Beckford to

an uproar. The last thing

ever be safe

her tears, it remained cool, "You meant well for the child,

keep it a secret, I would have for your sake. My father will definitely bring you back, but he means well. Once the baby is with the Fuller family, she'll have the best medical care, and you won't have to live in constant fear and worry.

moment I return, he'll know,"

with him at all. You two have gone your separate ways. Once you're back, just live your life, and

masking his own heartache at the thought of Valerie being

much he wished he could fall

-

the dead of night, at TriMed