Love beyond the mask (Whitney)



In a darkened room filled with the ambiguous fragrance of scented candles, the sheets whispered secrets as bodies tangled, spilling a chaos of strawberries and whipped cream in their wake.

Whitney, her energy sapped by too much bourbon, couldn't muster the strength to fight anymore.

But her spirit remained unyielding, her beautiful eyes wide open, staring at the moonlight outside the window, tears streaking her face.

"Please, Ludwik, I can't do this to Bryce..." Her hands were captive in his.

His gentleness was as fleeting as his patience was thin.

Those dark eyes, wild and relentless, ensnared her completely.

Whitney sobbed, "You've branded me, and I'll hate you for all my days, never forgiving..."

He pulled off his tie, no longer wanting to see her face twisted in remorse, softly blindfolding her.

His heart ached, so he masked it with a smile, insisting, "Then hate me. At least you'll never forget me, not in this lifetime or the next."

"Whitney..."

"Darling...I'm sorry, I love you too much.

I can't lose you."noveldrama

His words, hot and desperate, echoed in her ear, surrounding her with pain.

All night long, his whispers, his sighs, his frenzy, shifted her gaze from resistance to resignation, slowly sinking into despair. Bourbon betrayed her resolve, leaving her with nothing but endless resentment.

Towards herself, towards him!

Only when she finally succumbed to exhaustion did he relax his embrace, changing the bed linen, carefully tending to her before tucking her back into the warm covers.

Ludwik rose as the moon traveled westward.

The pale moonlight caressed his sculpted back, etched with startling scratches.

He admired his reflection, then glanced at her flushed face, a deep smirk playing on his lips.

He kissed her forehead, smoked a couple of cigarettes.

Ludwik moved across the room, extracting a complete video from the camera mounted above their bed.

His gaze turned icy as he clipped a particularly intimate segment, sending it to Bryce.

No man could tolerate such a humiliation on his wedding night, his wife in the arms of another.

He felt no guilt.

Bryce, this was your doing, your underhandedness provoked this!

Once you see this video, I don't believe, you can pretend nothing happened and keep Whitney.

You used dirty tricks to win Whitney, I used mine to take her back.

No one can take her from me!

Dawn was breaking, nearly 5 a.m.

In a suite at the Banyan City Hotel.

Bryce had spent the night awake, his eyes bloodshot, standing on the balcony, a night's worth of cold winds chilling his bones, cigarette butts piling up beside him.

Behind him, the wedding room was draped in red, an atmosphere of warmth despite the grandeur.

The bed was adorned with symbols of fertility, red dates, and peanuts scattered across it.

Bryce turned, staring blankly at the decor he had painstakingly placed, believing tonight, Whitney would fully become his wife.

It was supposed to be their wedding night, yet Ludwik had taken her.

Where could she be?

Bryce had exhausted all means to find Ludwik's whereabouts.

In the silence of the night, what was she doing? Could it be... Bryce couldn't stay calm at the thought, rage boiling over. Suddenly, his phone beeped.

An anonymous message arrived, Bryce slowly picked up the phone, opening a video.

The dimly lit luxurious room, the bed

et

barely visible in the darkness, but the figures under the covers, and... Whitney's familiar voice! Her pain, her restraint, but unmistakably, her moans of despair and allure

sw now

Bryce, a man of the world, couldn't misunderstand the scene before him.

His gaze fixed, his heart felt as though it had been cleaved in two.

Heartbreak and towering rage twisted his features into something fearsome.

He wasn't a fool; he knew what was happening!

He had clung to hope, unwilling to believe.

Tonight was supposed to be filled with sweetness with Whitney, how long had he anticipated this day? Planned and dreamed for how long?

When he first saw Whitney three years ago in his mother's hospital room, her clean, pretty face had captured his attention.

He had told her, at her 18th birthday gala, he was deeply impressed by her.

Reuniting, he used his mother's name to commission jewelry designs from her.

After several encounters, he fell for this girl.

His confession was met with rejection, only then did he learn she was secretly married.

He was despondent for a while, but when she went to South City to help Ludwik escape legal troubles, their paths crossed again. He helped Whitney, treated Braxton Tarrington.

Following those times, Whitney suffered greatly at Ludwik's hands. Bryce was there, helping, comforting, aiding her escape abroad. Returning after three years, she spoke of no love, only revenge against Ludwik and Elaine, he agreed, heart aching.

He realized to win her, he needed to be stronger, so he set his sights on Emperor City.

Using her father's background to his advantage, he finally won her acceptance to his proposal.

How happy he was then, the woman he'd loved for years finally his.

The Banyan City wedding was meticulously arranged, every detail for her agreeing to Wade's terms for a grand affair despite his preference for privacy, vigilant against Ludwik's interference.

Yet, in the end, on this night, his wife was with Ludwik!

Hatred. Such deep hatred.

"Ludwik, I swear by the heavens, I'll make you wish for death, I'll grind you to dust!"

Bryce screamed into the dawn, losing control, overturning everything on the balcony, his fists smashing against the wall, blood beading.

"And Whitney... why do this to me! If

you hadn't allowed it, how could be

have touched you? Shameless

moaning like that... Damn it, all

swamn it

Bryce roared in agony, his eyes filled with a chilling resentment.

Back then, when she and Ludwik were getting close, he always said he didn't mind; it was her soul he cherished.

But at that time, she hadn't agreed to date or marry him.

Now, she had become his wife, and yet she shamelessly spent the night with another man.

Unforgivable!

Bryce's hands gradually curled into fists, the love in his eyes replaced by hatred.

At this moment, his hatred for Ludwik reached its peak, and he found himself equally despising Whitney!

He wouldn't let them get away with this, he wouldn't...