Love beyond the mask ( Whitney )
Chapter 789

Whitney shook her head with a pragmatic tone, "Divorcing him means I'm done with marriage. I really don't care what others think. To be honest, Uncle, the real reason I married Bryce was to save Sammy. Sure, I had some fondness for him, mostly moved by what he did,

feeling I couldn't let him down. I thought he could be someone I could rely on for the second half of my life, so I married him."

"But I've recently realized that I don't truly know him. Being with him is exhausting, and I can't get close to him. As a result, he's shown sides of him that I never knew existed. Of course, I'm at fault too. Now, I'm not even sure if he's a good person."

Keegan was taken aback, his gaze turning frosty, "If he's not a good man, then your uncle won't stand for you being miserable with him. How can a decent man ever lay a hand on a woman? You're my niece, and I'll support you in whatever you decide. I believe your dad feels the same. Even if you decide to stay with the Sheldon family for life without marrying, your dad can surely take care of you."

Keegan didn't care if his niece was at fault or not; she was a Sheldon, and what man wouldn't want her? He had liked Bryce before, but the moment he learned Bryce had hit Whitney, he was disgusted.

"Uncle, I know you're worried about me," Whitney's eyes warmed, "You and my dad are my strongest supporters. But please, don't go to my dad with this. I don't want to worry him. I'll handle it and gradually divorce Bryce."

"Ah, well, if you say so, I won't speak of it then. Just be careful," Keegan sighed helplessly.

Outside the study, Danny and Sammy hid, overhearing Yael's footsteps approaching and quickly dashed back to their room. The brothers locked eyes, fury blazing in Danny's, as he punched the bed, "I can't believe Mom's face was swollen because of that jerk Bryce! I've always said Bryce was no good, and nobody believed me."

Disbelief and pain flashed in Sammy's eyes, filled with regret, "From now on, I won't even call him Bryce. If he dares to hit Mom, he's dead to me." "Danny, I've hated him for a long time!"

"Me too," Sammy's usually bright eyes darkened, his small fists clenched. He had been fooled into thinking Bryce cared for their mom; was it all a lie? Ludwik had warned them; Bryce wasn't as simple as he seemed.

Had both he and Mom been wrong about him? The thought that he had once tried to bring Mom and Bryce together gnawed at Sammy with remorse. Anyone who dared hurt his mom deserved to pay!

For the first time, Sammy hated his own weakness, not being strong enough to protect his mom immediately.

Bryce was far from a good man, even worse than Ludwik in his betrayal.

Sammy's heart made a final verdict against Bryce, his eyes reddening, "Danny, we have to grow up fast, to protect Mom."

"We should make him pay! Are we just going to let Mom's suffering at Bryce's hands go unavenged?"

Danny growled, pulling out his phone, "I'm calling Dad right now to tell him everything!"

The call went through quickly.

Sammy watched closely, not stopping him.

"Danny, what's happened since Mom brought you guys home?" Ludwik's deep voice came over the line, mixed with the sound of flipping pages, making Danny's eyes well up. He quickly complained, "Dad..."

"What's wrong, why does your voice sound choked up?" Ludwik's voice cooled, "Did Bryce go after you guys again?"

"It's not us he went after; it's that Bryce hit Mom! She wore a mask today because her face was so swollen from his hit..." Danny said, heartbroken.

"What? Bryce dared to hit her?" Ludwik stood abruptly, nearly smashing the phone in anger.

He recalled seeing Whitney with a mask that afternoon, finding it odd. She had mumbled something about having a cold.

He never imagined she was hiding bruises.

His heart, usually so cold, ached suddenly. She had been hurt by Bryce, and she hadn't told him.

The woman he had cherished, never raised his voice to, let alone his hand, had been struck by Bryce.

At that moment, Ludwik's gaze was lethal, wishing he could tear Bryce apart.

"How is she now?" Ludwik's voice was hoarse, filled with concern.

"Mom's really upset and in pain. She even told Grand Uncle she's considering divorcing Bryce. She said she actually..."

"Danny, stop talking," Sammy whispered, covering the phone.

Danny turned, annoyed, "Why shouldn't I say? Those private things Mom and Grand Uncle talked about... if you tell Ludwik, he might think Mom's divorcing and see it as his chance. Then he'll shamelessly pursue Mom, and if she hasn't divorced yet, it'll just give Bryce more leverage against her."

Danny, often naive, didn't immediately buy his brother's reasoning.

He sulked, "You just don't want Mom and that jerk to get back together..."

Sammy rolled his eyes, "Do you think Mom jumping back into the fire with Ludwik after divorcing Bryce will make her happy? Unless Ludwik undergoes a complete transformation, why should he deserve a second chance with Mom? I'd rather she stays single, and we'll take care of her ourselves."

Danny found this argument reasonable. Their dad had to change, not be the unfaithful, arrogant man he once was.

"Alright, you make sense..."

Just as Danny nodded, Ludwik called back urgently, "Danny, you just said your mom is considering divorcing Bryce. Is that true?"

Hope and anxiety tinged his voice.

Sammy made a silent plea with his eyes.

Danny coughed, "Dad, let's not talk about that now. Mom's in pain, and we need to be there for her."

He decisively hung up the phone.

Ludwik, standing tall in the Lippert family's skyscraper, faced the sprawling night outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. The darkness seeped in, reflecting in his chilled gaze, slowly filling with a deadly intent. Bryce dared to mess with his treasure, damn it, he was going to find Bryce and make him regret it.

But first...

The priority was to get Whitney her medicine.

Ludwik's slender fingers clenched as he grabbed his coat and immediately called Felix, "Felix, run to the pharmacy and get the best first aid ointment you can find, along with bandages, rubbing alcohol, all of it." "Mr. Lippert, what happened..." Felix's worried voice was cut off as Ludwik hung up.

The man strode out, heading to the garage to get his car, and drove straight to Delight Mansion.

Within half an hour, pushing the speedometer to 110 mph, Ludwik made what was a 30-minute drive in just fifteen, pulling up at the mansion's entrance. He then pulled out his phone with a rough, cold tone, "Whitney, come out."