Love beyond the mask ( Whitney )
Chapter 827

But he was the picture of cool, a sly smirk playing on his lips as he glanced at her. His voice was steady, "I'm going down to find Cherry."

Huh? Tiana's mind was a whirlwind of confusion until she realized her daughter wasn't even in bed!

After he left, she quickly jumped out of bed and headed to the wardrobe to get dressed.

The wardrobe was next to the window, and just as Tiana opened one of its doors, she heard a tiny whimper coming from the window sill, "Mommy... you pinched my finger! Oww..." "Cherry?" Tiana was taken aback, shocked, she quickly shut the wardrobe door.

"It hurts so much." The little voice clearly came from outside the window.

"Cherry! Where are you hiding?" Tiana, fuming, yanked the window open to look outside.

There she was, the little tyke boldly perched on the sill, her small body trembling precariously.

Tiana was terrified!

"What are you doing out there? Don't you know it's dangerous?"

This was the second floor, for heaven's sake. She quickly pulled her child inside.

"Oww, it's so cold." Cherry had been out in the chilly air for a while, her little face quivering. Back in her mom's arms, she snuggled close like a little quail, knowing she did something wrong but unwilling to admit it. Quickly finding an excuse, she sighed, "Tiana, why can't you play along?

I even hid myself so you and Daddy Parker could be alone, thinking it would give you a chance to fall in love.

It's for my own good, you know. I did it so I could have a dad, so I wouldn't be teased at kindergarten like Danny and Sammy, called a fatherless child!"

Tiana's face went stone cold.

She finally understood the evening's events.

The mastermind behind all this was her own daughter, who lured Parker up and then hid!

"You're quite the strategist, aren't you? Plotting against your own mom. Do you know he saw everything?" She glared at her daughter, her face flushed, "And what's this 'every man for himself' talk? Where did you learn that?" "Sammy taught me."

"Sammy taught you to be selfish?" Tiana couldn't believe it; Sammy was such a gentle soul, "You can't just sacrifice your mom for a dad. Besides, Mr. Doonan and I are impossible.

He's engaged; he can't be responsible for your mom.

Silly girl, even if you were to matchmake, it would just mean your mom getting taken advantage of, get it?"

"I don't get it. You think too badly of people.

Just now, Mr. Doonan was about to hit you but ended up not doing it and just left you on the bed.

Mommy, I heard Mr. Doonan say he wants to take responsibility for you. Why do you always misunderstand him?

I think, Mr. Doonan likes you a little bit!"

Cherry smirked cunningly, squinting her eyes.

Tiana: "..."

Ignoring her daughter's messy talk about being left on the bed and hit, Tiana blushed deeply, her heart fluttering, "He likes me a bit?"

"Of course! Aren't you an adult? Can't you even tell?"

Tiana looked at her daughter, who seemed disdainful, and felt lost herself.

Just now... there was a moment of affection, and indeed, he mentioned taking responsibility for her. The condition being, if he had truly touched her.

He also said, if he had touched her, he wouldn't regret it, and even asked her, how did she know he wouldn't be happy about it?

Could it be... if he had touched her, he'd be happy?

Wouldn't he see it as an annoying burden?

Did he like her at all? Or did he prefer Endora? After all, Endora was the woman who saved him three years ago, holding a special place in his heart. For three years, he had treated Endora as his fiancée... Can a man's words in bed be trusted?

Tiana held her cheeks, lost in thought.

Just then, her phone buzzed. She picked it up to find a message from Parker downstairs, "Couldn't find Cherry, guessing she's hiding in your room. Don't be too hard on her, warm her up and let her sleep with you. Tomorrow I promised to buy her toys, good night." "..." Tiana pursed her lips, reading his message over and over.

"Mommy, did Daddy Parker text you?" Cherry leaned in.

Tiana gave her a wary look, "You can't even read, stop guessing."

"I'm not guessing! Your mouth is all puckered up. You only do that when you're looking at Daddy Parker, half-smiling, half-angry."

"..." Tiana was shell-shocked. She had no idea she acted like a lovestruck daughter around Parker?

Embarrassed, she immediately ran to the bathroom to look in the mirror. Damn it... why was she smiling?

She read Parker's message again, telling her not to scold the child.

And then, "Good night."

"Ah, Parker, you jerk, you total player," Tiana groaned, hugging her head, her mind in turmoil. She refused to be fooled by his tricks; they were all lies to deceive women! She had learned her lesson from Ludwik. Stay calm, Tiana...

-

The next morning in a luxurious villa, Bryce stared gloomily at the assault report Whitney had released.

The news of him abusing Whitney had hit the headlines that morning.

Whitney had also called the police, and now several officers were waiting outside.

For Bryce, this was no big deal. The police, ha, he'd just get Wade to handle it.

This assault report must have been released by Ludwik on Whitney's behalf.

Just thinking about those two, openly together after the scandal, made Bryce's expression darken.

But Ludwik was down and out now, only able to make such feeble attempts.

If Ludwik had any real power, he would have come after Bryce himself.

Bryce wasn't worried about Ludwik's ability to harm him.

"Get everything in order, and while you're at it, call Florence over. If we don't hear back from Whitney, it means she's out of options and about to throw in the towel with the Sheldon Group's current crisis! Perfect timing for me to take over the reins at the company." Bryce stood up, giving orders to his assistant nearby.

Suddenly, there was knock on the door.

The assistant went to open it, only to find Cody from the Sheldon Group accompanied by a team of legal advisors!

"Cody? What a surprise. How's Ms. Valentine doing? Too shy to come see me herself, to beg, perhaps?" Bryce said with a smirk, striding elegantly into the living room.

Cody instructed the legal department to place a contract on the table, responding with a sneer, "Whitney couldn't come because you've injured her; she's still recuperating! As for your desire to manage the Sheldon Estate project, Mr. Lutz, Whitney and the shareholders had a day-long argument, resulting in this investment contract. Take a look, Mr. Lutz, see if it's to your liking."

"Investment?" Bryce frowned darkly, "The contract signed by my father-in-law himself is still in effect! Why would I need to invest anything more?"