Love Beyond the Mask novel Chapter 1312

“The Fuller family and Nolan will take care of the kid’s illness,” Whitney assured. “You need to relax and focus on yourself for a few days. Joy is still so little—she really needs her mom right now.”

“We just went upstairs to check on her,” Tiana added gently.

Valerie’s eyes, previously unfocused with exhaustion, sharpened with worry at the mention of her daughter. “Joy… How was she this morning? Did she cry at all?”

Tiana rubbed her eyes and sighed. “Of course she cried, Valerie. She misses her mom. That’s why you need to put yourself back together—for her sake.”

“She’s all I care about. My only reason to hold on,” Valerie murmured, almost to herself.

Tiana shot Whitney a worried glance.

They stayed with Valerie for a long while, but she barely spoke after that, her silence heavy and unsettling.

Back out in the hallway, Tiana’s anxiety spilled over. “Valerie seems half here and half somewhere else… What really happened at the dam? I want to get Ashton to tell us the truth.”

“No need,” Whitney replied, shaking her head. “Actually, Ashton saved Valerie at the last moment and pushed Elaine off instead.”

“What? Ashton did that?” Tiana looked flabbergasted.

“People only realize who they truly love when they’re staring death in the face,” Whitney said, glancing out the window at the bright, cloudless sky. “Valerie’s been through years of torment because of Ashton, and her feud with Elaine goes way back to their childhood.”

“Now that Elaine’s gone, Valerie needs time to process everything.”

But Valerie’s fragile state still worried her.

After checking in on Valerie, Whitney and Tiana headed over to Tiana’s place—mostly because Whitney wanted to see Cherry.

“Whitney! It’s been ages!” Cherry squealed, grabbing her hand as soon as she walked in. “This house is one Daddy Parker bought for us. Grandma wants me to live with the rest of the Doonan clan at their big old family home, but Mom said no. I don’t want to go, anyway—Grandpa’s always grumpy and treats Mom really bad…”

Whitney couldn’t help but smile at Cherry’s chatter, but her eyes flicked to Parker, who stood tall in the living room, his wire-rim glasses giving him an air of quiet sophistication. But Whitney knew better—underneath that calm exterior, Parker had the stubborn backbone of the Doonan family.

Before she could say anything, Parker threw up his hands in mock surrender and shot an embarrassed look at Cherry. “Don’t listen to what kids say. And honestly, you can just ignore my old man. He’s not worth the trouble.”