Love Beyond the Mask by Adelaide Sinclair

That little bit of sweetness seemed to give him the courage he needed to finally open that locked drawer. Hudson Sheldon lowered his head, unlocked it, and with all the strength he could muster, carefully took out the photograph he'd cherished for years. "Whitney, look, this is a picture of your mom and me from back when we were classmates."

It wasn't just the two of them in the photo, though.

It was a group graduation photo, with several students standing in a row.

The young Hudson was indeed dashing, handsome in a boyish way, standing at the far left with an air of youthful innocence.

Whitney Valentine scanned the faces until she found her mother. Her beauty was undeniable, with her delicate features and almond-shaped eyes that seemed to sparkle with a mix of snow and ice. When she smiled, it was as if that ice was about to melt.

Her mother wasn't looking at her father, but in the photo, her father had slightly tilted his head towards her.

"Did you fall for her first?"

"Of course," Hudson reminisced, a rare hint of bashfulness in his deep-set eyes. "Parisa was never the type to make the first move. She didn't know how."

"I chased her for ages. At first, I even tricked her into pretending to be my girlfriend. It wasn't until we graduated that she finally started to like me back."

Talking about Parisa was like talking about a treasure.

Whitney was touched by the tenderness in his eyes. Back then, her father's unrequited love must have been sweet and sincere. He was from a wealthy family, and she remembered him saying that the Tennyson family wasn't quite up to par with the Sheldon family's prominence.

Prejudices like Emma's tore them apart.

Holly Walker, with her ruthless schemes, swooped in and stole what wasn't hers...

Whitney felt a whirlwind of emotions. They had been each other's first love, such a beautiful love. Her mother had been deeply loved, surely it had been sweet.

"If only mom were still here..." she murmured, heartbroken.

Hudson blinked away the emptiness in his eyes, forcing back tears. "If I could trade my life for hers, I would do it in a heartbeat."

"Dad!"

long enough, lived through the days without your mother. Back then, I was the suitable heir for the Sheldon family. Hugh Sheldon was disabled, and your grandmother was too traditional to let your aunt join the

I'm just a hopeless romantic. Whitney, now the Sheldon Group has you. I've decided, once I officially pass it on to you, I'll head to Banyan City and

In the soft light, she looked

stared, lost in thought, his eyes warm with affection. "How am I still middle-aged? This gunshot wound took a while to heal, but my heart's been

nothing!" Whitney protested, keen to lighten the mood. "You still look dashing. Don't talk about handing over the Sheldon Group to me just yet. You need to manage it for

Parisa in that

carefully framed it, but the years had faded its colors, leaving only a

Mom's gone now, but

'left her.' Maybe

years and has

People can't live only in the past; you

encourage him to move on, but Hudson replied, "I'm free now and

bordered on

to the

took her back out of

heard Hudson say he wanted to divorce Holly, but couldn't because of the family. This had been his thought for many

when Whitney began to understand

belonged to

to be, but circumstances tore them

your thoughts, I suddenly wish mom could come back

whispered, a

said, I'd trade my

back in his

a gentle resignation, his tall frame slumping into a weary posture. "I've lived long enough on my own. Even if she never tooks my way again, even if she

shared that

trip down memory lane had drained him emotionally. She