Love Beyond the Mask novel Chapter 1270

Whitney glanced back over her shoulder, her lips curled in a smile that never reached her eyes. “Felix, I’ve always treated you well, haven’t I? Meddling in people’s marriages is dangerous business—you get that, right?”

Felix just stared, caught off guard. He mimed zipping his lips shut. “Alright, alright, you win, boss lady. I’m not crossing you.”

“Good. You’re done for the day.” Her smile warmed, brightening her whole face.

She was gorgeous, and her moods flipped in a heartbeat—Felix could only stand there, speechless.

Mr. Lippert had told Felix to keep trying to “talk some sense into Ms. Valentine,” but at this point, Felix was officially out. He shook his head and beat a hasty retreat.

At the door to Parisa’s hospital room, Whitney peeked inside. To her surprise, her dad was still there.

A flicker of hope lit up in her chest. But then she saw Hudson picking up his coat from the sofa—he was about to leave. She hurried over and knocked on the door. “Dad? Mom?”

Parisa was propped up on the bed, but didn’t react to the sound of Whitney’s voice. Her lashes cast shadows on her cheeks; her beautiful face was frozen in thought.

Sensing something was off with her mom, Whitney started to step inside.

But Hudson, gentle as ever, glanced at Parisa and raised a finger to his lips, signaling Whitney to keep quiet.

She stopped in her tracks.

Hudson’s brow furrowed, his gaze lingering on the woman by the bed. Finally, he let out a quiet, resigned sigh.

“Parisa, I’ll leave you be. I should get going now,” he said softly.

Parisa blinked, her lashes fluttering. He waited. After a long pause, she gave the faintest nod.

Getting his hopes up, only to have them dashed again—it was the cruelest thing of all.

She understood his longing, but she couldn’t betray her mother. Instead, she tried to comfort him. “Dad, look at it this way. Even if Mom does go back to England, she’ll be living her own life. The woman you love most is still somewhere in this world. Isn’t that enough to keep you going? You should live for yourself, and for her, too.”

He gave her a sad smile. “You’re right. You’re the best thing we ever did together. I’ll be strong, Whitney. I can’t keep her here, but I can’t let her down, either.”

He ruffled her hair. “Go on in. Take care of your mom.”

He glanced at his phone and sighed. “I have to swing by the old family house—Sheldon Manor. The housekeeper just called. Apparently your grandma jumped into the koi pond and said she wanted to end it all! I didn’t catch all the details—does this have anything to do with you?”

He hesitated, frowning.

Whitney, unsurprised—she’d figured her grandmother would pull something dramatic—just shook her head. Since her dad didn’t know what had really happened, she decided to tell him everything Sienna had done.