Love beyond the mask101-200

Novel Catalog

Chapter_117

Whitney stood frozen at the bathroom door, her heart still hammering in her chest, her mind a whirlwind of emotions. She hadn’t expected the kiss, hadn’t prepared herself for the way it shattered the fragile control she had been clinging to. For a moment, everything felt suspended in time, and then she realized that her hands were trembling, the heat of the kiss still lingering on her lips.

Ludwik’s voice was quieter now, his usual confidence softened by something unspoken. He was watching her closely, his gaze intense but laced with uncertainty, as though waiting for some kind of acknowledgment, some kind of reaction that might offer a glimpse into her feelings.

Whitney blinked, trying to process what had just happened. Her body felt a mix of warmth and confusion, and as much as she wanted to push him away for making her feel so vulnerable, a part of her—some deep, hidden part—wanted to pull him closer. The way he had kissed her, it wasn’t just a sudden act of passion; there was something more there, something raw and unguarded. It made her question everything she thought she knew about their relationship.

“I’m fine,” she finally muttered, her voice barely above a whisper. She wasn’t sure if she was trying to reassure him or herself.

Ludwik didn’t seem convinced. He studied her with a quiet intensity, his brow furrowing slightly. “No, you’re not,” he said softly, though there was a trace of something almost vulnerable in his tone. “What are you thinking, Whitney? Tell me.”

She could feel the weight of his words pressing against her chest, pushing her to admit something she wasn’t ready to face. She wasn’t sure how to articulate what she was feeling. There was so much—so much confusion, so many layers. The man in front of her was someone who, in some ways, she still didn’t fully understand, someone whose motives and emotions often seemed just out of reach.

“I… I don’t know,” she confessed, her voice shaking just a little. “Everything’s so complicated, Ludwik. I can’t just… I don’t know if I can just move past everything, even if… even if you’re different now.”

Ludwik’s eyes flickered with something unreadable as he listened to her, his gaze darkening, but not in the usual way. It wasn’t anger this time. It was something softer, something closer to regret. “You don’t have to move past everything,” he said quietly. “But you need to understand, I’m not like I was before. I’m not just some man who can brush everything off. I’ve changed, too.”

His words, though brief, held a weight she hadn’t expected. She had always thought of him as cold, calculating, almost unreachable. But now, in the silence between them, she was starting to see the cracks in that facade—the vulnerability he had carefully concealed all this time.

Whitney swallowed hard. “And… and what if I can’t keep up with those changes?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “What if I’m not enough to match whatever it is you’re becoming?”

Ludwik didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he shifted in the bed, his expression softening as he reached out toward her. For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Then, he spoke again, his voice low and steady.

“You’re enough, Whitney. More than enough. I never asked you to change. I just… I just need you to be here. With me.”

The simplicity of his words made her chest tighten. She hadn’t expected this—hadn’t expected him to drop his guard like this, to admit his own weaknesses, his own uncertainties. But there it was, raw and real, between them.

“I’m here,” she said softly, moving closer to him again, her hand hesitating for a moment before resting gently on his shoulder. “But we can’t keep going in circles. We have to be honest with each other. No more games.”

Ludwik’s lips twitched into a small smile, and for the first time in what felt like forever, his eyes softened with something akin to affection. “Agreed,” he murmured. “No more games.”

She exhaled deeply, feeling a small weight lift from her shoulders. Maybe it wasn’t a perfect resolution, but it was a start. A fragile, uncertain start, but a start nonetheless. And perhaps, just perhaps, that was all they could ask for.

As she lay back beside him, this time with her body slightly closer, she felt the steady rhythm of his breathing, the warmth of his presence anchoring her in a way nothing else ever had. She wasn’t sure where this road would lead them, but for the first time in a long while, she was willing to walk it—beside him.

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