Love Beyond the Mask novel Chapter 16

Boom!

Whitney could not believe the nerve of this guy! The gall to be so arrogant!

She laughed, but it was a laugh filled with scorn and contempt. The chill in her heart broke free as she snapped. "You're despicable! Think you can use me? Dream on!"

"You..." Simon's face darkened; he was taken aback by her rejection and the way she shrugged him off. His pride wounded, he retorted angrily, "You'll regret this when you come crawling back to me!"

Regret?

Whitney's eyes danced with mockery, her laugh tinged with pain. Yeah, she would wait for that day!

Rain began to pour from the sky as she wandered, lost in her anger and dismay until she realized she was completely drenched.

Whitney hailed a cab and headed home.

As she stepped out in front of her upscale villa, she had not even had a chance to collect her thoughts when she ran into L returning home as well.

The tall, imposing man stood like a top-tier fashion model, his presence commanding and undeniable.

He frowned at her disheveled state, "Why are you wandering around like a lost soul? If you catch a cold, it's not just you - our baby's at risk too!"

His stern, reproachful words reminded her that the child was not a mistake. L cared about this baby, and there was no need to let Simon's words sting.

Somehow, Whitney felt a little less alone.

Under his formidable gaze, she retorted quietly, "Mr. L, embryos don't catch fevers, so even if I'm sick, it's just me feeling miserable."

Was she really debating pregnancy facts with him?

His face turned colder. "Go change!"

"Okay," Whitney mumbled, heading inside.

After changing, she walked into the living room to find Natalie, the matriarch, sneaking a spoonful of dessert. Fearing her son's rebuke, Natalie quickly offered a share to Whitney, scooping up a spoonful. "Here, have some, darling!"

"Mother, scrape off the whipped cream. It's not good for her during pregnancy," L commanded from his seat on the couch.

Whitney watched as Natalie complied, dutifully assuring, "Son, I haven't had a single bite, I swear."

He gave his mother a skeptical look.

Natalie pouted.

Watching their playful banter, the sweetness in Whitney's mouth made her feel a bit better.

As L finished his work, his long fingers loosening his tie, he noticed a dab of cream at the corner of Whitney's mouth.

"Got a little something there?" Whitney looked up, her eyes glistening with confusion.

"Right here." He gestured with a raised eyebrow.

"Where?" Whitney still could not find the spot.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, you two!" Natalie stepped in, guiding L's thumb to wipe Whitney's mouth gently.

"There, all clean!" She grinned mischievously, and before her son could react, she quickly pressed his hand to his lips.

Whitney watched in shock as he nonchalantly licked the remaining cream off his thumb with a glance that seemed to linger.

Her cheeks flushed warm.

Natalie nudged her son suggestively, "How's that taste, sweet enough?"

Whitney bit her lip.

His eyes locked on her reddened mouth, and he said vaguely, "Yeah, sweet."

It was unclear whether he meant the cream or something else, but his voice was undeniably seductive.

Whitney's heart skipped erratically, her tongue darting out to check for any remaining cream.

His gaze deepened at her action, and he abruptly stood, stripping off his tie.

Whitney watched his deliberate movements, her own face inexplicably heating up.

"You little temptress... Don't think you can soften me up like this."

"Bad boy, I know what you like most," Monica whispered coyly.

Simon was helpless against this tactic - innocent outside the bedroom, wild inside... Whitney was nothing but a wooden doll in comparison.

Yet every time, Whitney's stunning face would flash through his mind. If she had not been so prudish, if she had been close to him over the past eight years, maybe he would not have fallen for Monica.

Heh, Whitney talked a big game about purity, but now she was with some nobody and rejecting him! Simon clenched his fists, filled with anger and regret.

An hour later, Monica quietly closed the bedroom door behind her.

Yvonne waited outside, "Did you calm him down?"

Monica was smug. "Don't worry, Mom. Whitney hopes to drive a wedge between us, but Simon's been mine from the start, head over heels. You've got it all figured out, Mom. Your grasp on men is unrivaled," Monica had learned from the best.

Yvonne could not help but feel a touch of pride as she thought about how she had managed to secure Preston's affections.

"Oh my stars, you better take your medication. You don't want to risk the pregnancy. Thank goodness Simon hasn't suspected a thing about the procedure," Yvonne warned.

"Impossible, he's been so caring since my hymen repair surgery, thinking it was really my first time. He's been treating me like I'm made of glass," Monica gloated with a smirk.

"Simon may be illegitimate, but his father, Wyatt Perlman adores him. He's definitely the heir. It took you a lot of effort to win him over from Whitney. You've got to keep a close eye on him."

Yvonne's advice seemed to fall on deaf ears as Monica dismissed it nonchalantly. "The Perlmans may be one of the top families around, but they still don't hold a candle to the Lipperts."

"The Lipperts? That's a lineage way beyond our league. To mingle with the Lipperts, we'd need your cousin," Yvonne said with an unmistakable air of pride.

Monica was well aware that she had a formidable cousin who kept close company with the most important member of the Lippert family, their esteemed third son.

Sooner or later, their own family, the Valentines, would forge ties with the Lipperts, and as for Whitney, she was nothing more than a stray dog, already kicked to the curb by the Valentines.

As Monica recalled the day's humiliation, her fists tightened. "Plenty of people at the hotel got footage of my supposed miscarriage. That wretch made a spectacle of me in public. If that video gets to Phebe, my engagement to Simon could be in jeopardy. And Whitney has the gall to say she'll win the jewelry contest and take back Skye Gem. Mom, we can't let her get in our way anymore!"

"Don't worry, darling. I'll take care of her. Just you watch how I deal with her," Yvonne said, her gaze turning icy.

After a few seconds of cunning contemplation, Yvonne walked into Preston's study, ready to plot.