Love beyond the mask101-200

Novel Catalog

Chapter_186

The atmosphere in the room was suffocating, thick with the weight of Whitney’s humiliation. She stood there, trapped in a sea of jeering men, their crude remarks cutting through her like a thousand daggers. Each sneer, each mocking word, only served to deepen the wound. The crowd’s laughter seemed to mock her very existence, and she could feel their eyes on her, judging her every move. But she refused to let them see her break. She would not show weakness, not in front of them.

Maddox’s grip on her arm tightened, pulling her closer as he continued his advances, his words more venomous than ever. The sting of his touch was nothing compared to the weight of Ludwik’s cold gaze across the room. She searched for any sign of movement, a flicker of emotion, but he remained distant, unmoving. His eyes were fixed on her, but there was nothing in them—no sympathy, no recognition. Just cold, indifferent silence.

He’s leaving me to this, she thought, her heart sinking with a mix of betrayal and bitterness. His silence was the final blow, confirming the truth she had been too blind to see before. He had chosen his path, and she was nothing more than a forgotten chapter in his story. As the crude laughter and whispers continued to flood the room, Whitney felt like she was being consumed by the very crowd she once commanded. The walls were closing in.

“Let go of me!” she snapped, her voice shaking with anger and humiliation as she tried to free herself from Maddox’s grasp. But the men surrounding her only tightened their hold, pulling her further into their grip. Her coat, once an emblem of her carefully constructed defenses, was halfway off, exposing her vulnerability to the cruel world around her.

“Pregnant? Is it Lippert’s?” one of the men sneered, his words dripping with malice.

Whitney’s breath caught in her throat. She wanted to scream out that the child was Ludwik’s, that it was his, and that he should be the one standing here protecting her. But the words choked her. The humiliation was overwhelming. She couldn’t find her voice, couldn’t make them see the truth that seemed to slip further and further away with each passing second.

“Isn’t he the one who abandoned you?” Maddox taunted, his fingers digging into her sleeve, tugging it further off her shoulder. “Why bother protecting you now?”

Her heart raced, her chest tight with frustration. She wanted to lash out, to fight back, but the truth was, her power was slipping away. She was caught in a game she hadn’t even known she was playing. The laughter from the crowd seemed to mock her every move, pushing her further to the edge. She felt herself unraveling, the carefully constructed façade crumbling piece by piece.

She had believed in Ludwik, had hoped, against all odds, that he might care. But the man she had known, the man she had fought for, was gone. What remained was a cold, imperious figure, unwilling to lift a finger. The man she had once loved was nothing more than a shadow, watching from the balcony as she crumbled beneath the weight of his indifference.

“Whitney!” Nyx’s voice broke through her haze, sharp and insistent. “You’ve got to stay strong. Don’t let them win.”

But what was left to fight for? She glanced once more at Ludwik, his cold gaze still fixed on her. The love, the promises, the shared moments—they felt like distant memories now, slipping away like sand through her fingers. All she had left was the child inside her, the only piece of him she still carried. But even that felt insignificant in this twisted game.

Maddox’s voice broke through her thoughts, cutting through the haze of emotion. “I’ll teach you some respect, Whitney. You’re going to regret trying to play me.”

Whitney’s eyes flickered back to Ludwik, her heart heavy with sorrow and anger. The bitter taste of betrayal clung to her. She would show him. She would make him see the truth, see how wrong he was. One day, he would regret this. She would make sure of it. But for now, all she could do was hold her head high and endure the storm.

Next Chapter