Love beyond the mask101-200

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Chapter_193

Ludwik walked through the front door, his movements stiff, as though the weight of his emotions had taken on a physical form. His mind churned with confusion, his thoughts tangled in a web of anger, guilt, and reluctant curiosity about Whitney’s actions. The house seemed eerily quiet, and the emptiness gnawed at him. He had spent so many years filling the space with power, control, and calculation, but now, it felt hollow—like the walls themselves were watching, waiting for him to face the truth he had so desperately avoided.

Felix followed him inside, lingering by the door as Ludwik moved further into the house. The silence between them was heavy, yet Felix felt the tension in the air shift. Ludwik was unraveling, but whether it was from physical pain or emotional exhaustion, Felix couldn’t quite tell.

“Mr. Lippert,” Felix began, his voice cautious, “I’ll get the information you need. I’ll speak with the people from that night, but…” He hesitated, not sure how to proceed. “But you need to take care of yourself first. This… this isn’t something you can control alone.”

Ludwik didn’t respond immediately. He simply stared at the space ahead of him, as though searching for answers in the shadows of the room. His fingers absently brushed over the polished surface of a table, tracing the edges as if grounding himself in the familiar.

“I don’t know what to believe anymore, Felix,” Ludwik muttered under his breath. “She saved Braxton… but was it for me? Or was it for herself?”

Felix’s gaze softened, though his voice remained steady. “Maybe it’s not just for you or for her. Maybe it was because she still cares, in her own way.” He paused, taking a careful step closer. “And maybe, deep down, you care too.”

Ludwik’s expression hardened, a defensive wall rising in response to Felix’s words. He turned sharply, his eyes locking onto his assistant’s with a flicker of warning. “Don’t tell me what I feel, Felix.”

But Felix didn’t flinch. He had seen the cracks in Ludwik’s armor, the subtle shifts in his demeanor that revealed the turmoil beneath the surface. “You’ve been fighting this battle for years, sir,” Felix continued, his tone unwavering. “Fighting it on your own. But this time, it’s different. You’ve never been this close to losing everything—everything that matters.”

Ludwik stood silent for a long moment, the weight of Felix’s words settling in. He wanted to argue, to deny the vulnerability that Felix had so clearly identified. But a quiet part of him knew that Felix was right. The battle had shifted from one of control and power to one of lost connections, broken trust, and uncertain redemption.

Felix broke the silence again. “You don’t have to fix everything at once, Mr. Lippert. But you have to start somewhere.”

The words hung in the air, soft but firm. Ludwik’s heart thudded painfully in his chest, the tightness still there, as though his very soul was constricting. He knew he couldn’t keep running from the questions that haunted him—especially when it came to Whitney.

“I’ll make the calls,” Ludwik said, his voice thick with something unspoken. “Find out what happened that night.”

Felix nodded, but before he left, he added one final word. “You’ll have to face her sooner or later. And when you do, you’ll have to decide if you can forgive yourself for the choices you’ve made.”

Ludwik didn’t answer. He simply stood there, staring at the dark hallway that led to the rooms where he and Whitney had once shared their lives—before the lies, the misunderstandings, and the pain had taken hold.

As Felix left to gather the information Ludwik had requested, Ludwik sank into a chair, running his hands through his hair in frustration. His thoughts spiraled, the ache in his chest growing stronger with each passing minute. He had to find the answers, had to understand what had happened that night—why Whitney had acted the way she did.

But more than that, he had to answer the question that had been gnawing at him for so long: Could he still trust her? Could he trust himself to open his heart to her again, to let down the walls he had built? Or was it already too late?

The silence in the house deepened, and with it, Ludwik’s uncertainty.

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