Love beyond the mask101-200

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Chapter_166

Ludwik’s eyes, clouded with disbelief and a storm of emotions, flickered over the jade half-ring now lying in his palm, the other half still clutched tightly in Elaine’s trembling grasp. His mind spun, struggling to reconcile the woman he had once known with the person standing before him now, speaking of a night he had almost forgotten—a night that had changed the course of his life forever.

The night she had saved him.

Elaine’s soft sobs filled the room, the sound of them breaking through the heavy silence as she grasped his hand with desperate urgency. Her frail form shook in the bed, the pain in her voice undeniable. Yet, even as it tore through him, it only deepened the conflict inside Ludwik. He had always known Elaine to be caring, selfless—but now, standing before him, she was the woman whose machinations had nearly ruined Whitney. His thoughts collided, each one pulling him in different directions.

“Elaine… you really… you were there that night?” Ludwik’s voice cracked, the weight of the revelation pressing down on him like a stone.

Elaine nodded, a tear slipping down her cheek, her weak smile a shadow of what it once was. “I did it because I loved you, Ludwik. I’ve always loved you. I couldn’t bear seeing you in pain. But when I saw you with Whitney… when you became so distant from me, it shattered me. I thought… I thought if I just showed you how much I cared, maybe you’d finally see me the way I see you.”

Her words dug into him like a blade, each syllable a twist of the knife. The tenderness in her confession quickly warped into something darker, more suffocating in his mind. Was this love—or obsession? Had she always been like this, and he’d been blind to it? He couldn’t tell anymore. His understanding of everything he thought he knew crumbled.

The harsh beeping of the monitor broke through his thoughts as Elaine’s breathing became shallow, her chest rising and falling in desperate rhythm. She winced in pain, her hand clutching at the bloodstained cloth beside her, and Ludwik was at her side in an instant, panic surging through him.

“Elaine, stop talking. You need rest,” he said, his voice hoarse with emotion, trying to steady himself.

But Elaine refused to be silenced. “I can’t rest until you understand… why I did what I did… why I’ve fought for you all this time. You’ve always been my world, Ludwik. But Whitney… she took you from me. And now, you’ll see how far I’ll go to prove my love for you.”

Ludwik clenched his jaw, the air around them heavy with tension, suffocating. “Elaine, this isn’t love. You’ve crossed too many lines. This isn’t the woman I once knew. The woman I knew would never hurt anyone like this.”

Elaine’s face crumpled in anguish, her tears spilling freely, streaking down her pale cheeks. She reached up with a trembling hand, desperately clutching his wrist, pulling him closer. “Please, Ludwik… Please don’t leave me. I can’t… I can’t live with the thought that you’ll never love me like I love you. I’ll do anything for you. Anything…”

Ludwik’s heart twisted, a sickening ache swelling in his chest. His emotions were raw, a chaotic storm still raging in his mind, but amidst the whirlwind, one thing stood clear—Elaine’s obsession had gone too far.

“Elaine,” he began, his voice low, steadying himself, “this has to end. I can’t keep living in this tangled web. I don’t love you anymore. I never did the way you wanted me to. What you’re doing—it’s destroying everything.”

Elaine’s body stiffened, the words hitting her like a physical blow. Her hand fell from his wrist, her eyes wide with disbelief, her face contorted with the agony of his rejection.

“You… don’t love me?” she whispered, the words seeming impossible to process. “Then… it’s over.”

Ludwik’s throat tightened. The finality of his words hung between them, cold and unyielding. He wanted to soften it, to ease her pain, to offer comfort—but nothing seemed right. The woman before him, the one he had once cared for, had become a stranger. The love they had shared, if it ever truly existed, was now lost, consumed by the darkness of her obsession.

Elaine’s sobs became quieter, her breath more erratic. “I’m sorry,” she whispered through the tears. “I thought… I thought if I just gave you everything, if I fought for you enough, you’d see me… You’d see me the way I saw you.”

Ludwik swallowed hard, his chest tight with regret. He wanted to reach out, to offer something—anything—to ease the suffering in her eyes, but he couldn’t. Not when he knew what her love had become.

“Rest, Elaine. You need to rest now,” he said softly, though the firmness in his voice never wavered. “I’ll stay with you, but you have to let go. For your own sake.”

His gaze lingered on the half-ring in his hand, the connection to that fateful night when she had saved him, yet in doing so, had also set them both on a path that had led them here—broken, consumed by desires that had torn them apart.

Elaine’s hand fell limp once more, her breath shallow, and Ludwik sat in the silence, his heart heavy with sorrow and uncertainty. The road ahead was clouded, and yet one thing was certain—there was no going back.

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