Love beyond the mask (Whitney)



Hating him was better than him being absent from her heart, she reasoned.

At that moment, with a satisfied curve to his lips, he earnestly declared, "Whitney, I just want to tell you something I'm never giving up again. It was the thought of you that pulled me through the brink of death.

From now on, I'll lead the Lipperts back to glory, and we'll topple the Patricks and beat Bryce at his own game.

I'm going to win you back from Bryce.

I love you, through life and death. I was wrong before, but I won't make the same mistakes again."

Ludwik enunciated every word, then turned to leave without lingering, his handsome silhouette breathtaking under the moonlight. His aura of strength and stability seemed to be woven into his very bones.

Despite his injuries, he walked away with an air of grace and power.

Whitney watched him go, her mind a whirlwind.

What did he say? He's going to win her back from Bryce?

That devil... has he lost his mind?

A Lamborghini pulled up in front of her, and Shane, clearly impatient, honked the horn. "Everyone's gone. What, you're just going to stand there drooling?"

Whitney glared back at him. "Excuse me?"

Since when had she been drooling?

Shane tapped on the steering wheel, teasing, "Alright, change of topic then. What did he want to tell you? Did he realize after a brush with death that you're the most important thing to him and now wants to rekindle the romance or something?"

"

"

Whitney rolled her eyes, wishing Shane would just drive away. She'd think he had been eavesdropping if he hadn't been in the car.

Seeing her speechless, Shane wore a 'just as I thought' expression of gossip.

"So, what do you think? Getting back together or no?"

"Stop it. I'm a married woman, remember?"

Whitney said irritably as she got into the car, urging him to drive faster to avoid further gossip.

"Okay, but look over there" Shane nodded towards the roadside where Ludwik's tall figure walked alone, the moonlight casting his wind-blown shirt in a lonely silhouette.

Brew Hill was a neighborhood of wealth and grandeur, not a place one would find taxis easily.

Whitney glanced over, her feelings mixed.

The man who had once been a hero in her heart was now reduced to walking home from a party without a driver?

Impossible. Where was Felix?

"Should we give him a lift?" Shane asked, clearly enjoying the drama.

Whitney looked down, "Let's not. I don't believe he can't afford a driver. Maybe it's some sort of scheme."

"Mm-hmm." Shane smirked and accelerated.

Just then, Whitney couldn't help but look back, only to see the swiftly passing man, showing no pitiful longing to hitch a ride. He walked with a dignity untouched by his fall, his steps firm and solitary.

Suddenly, the man collapsed to the ground.

Whitney blinked, thinking she was seeing things. She tapped Shane urgently, "Check the rearview, did Ludwik just faint?" Shane looked and muttered, "Damn, he did."

Instead of stopping, he slowed down. Seeing Whitney's conflicted face, he teased, "Going back or what?"

Whitney was torn, wary of Ludwik's cunning. Could this be another of his tricks?

"Let's speed up then, this might just be another of Ludwik's schemes." Shane hit the gas.noveldrama

"Wait...!"

"Jesus," Shane cursed under his breath, exasperated with her indecision. "What now?"

"Let's just... go back and check. If he really did faint and we're the only ones around, the police might end up blaming us."

Whitney blushed, fabricating a reason.

Shane, trying not to laugh, turned the car around.

They quickly reached Ludwik. Whitney rushed to his side, finding him collapsed in a heap, his attire disheveled but his posture still somehow elegant. His eyes were closed, his lips pale.

"Ludwik..." Whitney sensed this was no act. She checked for his breath.

There was none.

"He's really in trouble!" Whitney looked up at Shane, hastily tying her hair back. "He might be in shock. Lift his head; let's see what's wrong."

Shane, taken aback but remembering Whitney's medical knowledge, complied.

Opening Ludwik's shirt revealed a dark bruise on his chest, turning black.

"He said he was hit by a beam, might have inhaled debris, could be blocking his windpipe."

Whitney frowned, "His Adam's apple isn't moving, could be an airway blockage."

"There are two options: tracheotomy or mouth-to-mouth to suck out the obstruction."

Shane glanced around, "We don't have the tools for a tracheotomy. What are you waiting for? Mouth-to-mouth, obviously."

Whitney hesitated, looking at him.

Shane froze, "Why are you looking at me?

... You don't expect me to do it, do you?"

Whitney's face flushed, "What's wrong with that?"

Shane was incredulous, "Why don't you do it? You're his ex-wife, after all. How many times have you exchanged saliva? Don't look at me; even if Ludwik was the last man on earth, I couldn't do it. I'm straight, man! I'm into Sandy!

You said you guys kissed before, right? Come on, drop the act. I don't mind."

Caught, Whitney was mortified, especially with Shane watching.

Shane turned away, giving her space.

Whitney looked down at Ludwik's striking features, those thin lips that would make any woman eager to perform mouth-to-mouth.

Whitney's face was slightly flushed, her eyelashes trembled as she lowered her head, prying open his lips with hers, her actions filled with a mix of nervousness and earnestness as she tried to breathe life into him.

After several attempts, the man suddenly coughed loudly.

Whitney quickly drew the obstruction from his mouth...

"Whitney..." Ludwik's eyes fluttered open in confusion, focusing on her.

Whitney immediately spat the obstruction to the side, her pale face turning a shade of crimson as she tried to get up.

His gaze shifted, as if piecing together the situation, his hand reaching to cradle the back of her head, pulling her down for another kiss, her lips meeting his once more. His breath carried the hint of a smoky bar, "How did I end up on the ground? Were you... giving me CPR?"

The scene, stripped of its original cultural trappings, now unfolded in a more familiar setting, punctuated with the universal signs of emergency and concern, wrapped in the intimacy of a moment shared between two people caught in the whirlwind of unexpected circumstances.