Love beyond the mask (Whitney)



"Lay her flat, Ludwik, on her back!" Whitney shouted at him.

Obligingly, though somewhat slow, Ludwik did as he was told, kneeling anxiously by his mother's side, cradling her head in his hands.

Whitney swiftly broke open a pack of syringes, quickly inserting one into Natalie's head, right at the carotid artery.

Then, she pried open Natalie's mouth with a stick, stacking her hands and pressing down heavily onto Natalie's chest.

With each push, she gritted her teeth, putting all her might into it.

Under the dim light, Ludwik, in a daze, looked over at the woman working meticulously. She was as determined as she was delicate, her clear, powerful eyes showing a mix of compassion and resolve.

Despite her slender frame, her hands wielded such strength in this moment of emergency...

Before long, Whitney was sweating profusely.

Ludwik bit his lip, wishing he could offer his help, knowing his strength would be beneficial.

But he feared his lack of precision.

Suddenly, Natalie jerked forward, spitting out a mouthful of dark blood.

It was black.

Whitney let out a sigh of relief. "The congestion in her lungs has been cleared. She can breathe normally now."

Ludwik froze, the sight of the black blood eerily familiar.

Three years ago, Elaine had shown him a video on the night Whitney supposedly kidnapped his mother, where she also spat black blood.

Anger had consumed him then, convinced Whitney was to blame...

"Ah..." Natalie's weak breathing grew steadier as she slowly opened her cloudy eyes.

"Mother, you're awake?" Ludwik, snapped back to the present by Natalie, wiped the blood from her lips with his sleeve.

"You... you guys..."

As Natalie's vision cleared and she saw her son and daughter-in-law, she couldn't tell if she was dreaming or awake, her weak smile betraying her confusion.

Whitney gently examined her throat, feeling around carefully.

Natalie, overjoyed yet struggling for breath, attempted to speak.

Whitney soothed her breathing, preparing to insert another needle, her gaze shifting complexly towards Ludwik. "Natalie's lost her voice due to blockages in her vocal cords and nerve degeneration in the speech area of her brain. I can try acupuncture..."

Ludwik's gaze darkened.

The next words Whitney spoke were with a cold, clear determination, "But do you trust me?"

He hesitated, his distrust since Natalie's awakening, his extreme sensitivity, and the turmoil in his eyes all becoming clear.

Now, knowing his other son and Whitney were alive changed everything for Ludwik. It was as if a thorn in his heart had finally been removed; his feelings for Whitney resurfaced.

He nodded, letting go, "Go ahead, Whitney."

Without another look at him, Whitney proceeded with the treatment on Natalie's throat.

The procedure was quick. Whitney carefully helped Natalie drink some water mixed with medicine from her bag.

With her throat soothed and her mind clearer, Natalie tried to speak, "My son."

"Mother, you can talk?" Ludwik was overjoyed.

But Natalie, sighing, immediately grasped his hand, her breathing labored as she explained, "Listen to me. I don't know if I have much time left... The misunderstanding between you and Whitney needs to be cleared."

Natalie's voice was heavy with emotion, her eyes filled with love and guilt for Whitney.

In her occasional moments of lucidity, especially during her recent unconsciousness, she had pieced together the situation between her son and Whitney through snippets of conversations around her.

Natalie knew the root of the problem, hating herself for being unable to speak up.

She grabbed Ludwik, her voice filled with anger, "Three years ago, Whitney didn't harm me. You have to understand... It was Elaine, it was her...!" Natalie's breathing became labored as she recounted the events of that night, the fear still palpable.

In a gentle voice filled with hatred, she revealed, "That night, indeed, it was Whitney's uncle who kidnapped me first. Whitney... She knew her uncle had made a grave mistake and followed to rectify his wrongs. She managed to distract her uncle and, despite being pregnant and sick, carried me down the mountain herself. But on the way down, weakened as we were, Elaine ambushed us. Elaine took me away, knocked Whitney unconscious, and no one noticed! After taking me down the mountain, she injected me with a large dose of poison, causing renal failure overnight, making my life worse than death. She secretly took me to the hospital, where, over three days, she first removed my failing kidneys and then transplanted a new one. I was somewhat conscious after the surgery. I knew she hadn't donated her kidney, it was likely someone else's. When she realized I knew this secret, she..."

Natalie gasped for air, her anger making it difficult to breathe.

Ludwik was paralyzed, his face frozen in shock as the reality sunk in.

Whitney immediately attended to Natalie, helping her breathe and drink water.

Natalie, fighting through her pain, clutched Whitney's hand, her eyes brimming with tears, "My dear, I was unconscious that night, unable to explain to Ludwik, leading to three years of misunderstanding. You remember, don't you? That night in the meadow, I begged you, even if he wrongs you time and again, to bear him a child and care for him. I know you're a good person, Whitney..."NôvelDrama.Org copyrighted © content.

In that moment, Whitney's heart, stagnant for three years, collapsed.

Tears welled up in her eyes, eventually spilling over as she released all the pent-up grievances, helplessness, and the humiliations of the past.

She realized she hadn't grown stronger; she simply had no one to share her burdens with.

Whitney was a mess of tears and pleading, her voice cracking under the strain of her own defense. "Mom... just tell him, please. I'm innocent! I would never hurt you, you're too good. Why would I ever want to hurt you?"

Ludwik stood frozen, as if the trails of tears on Whitney's cheeks were slicing through his heart.

His emotions plummeted, replaying the few words his mother had managed to say.

Elaine.

Elaine, who had supposedly injected poison leading to their mother's kidney failure, and then proceeded to extract and donate a kidney, which wasn't even hers.

It was all a lie.

Had he been wrong?

He had been terribly wrong!

The moment he heard the truth from his mother's lips, Ludwik felt his world turn upside down. He shivered, looking at Whitney's fragile, innocent face. For the first time, he realized just how innocent she looked.

And to think, his misunderstandings over the past three years had caused her how much pain?

Ludwik felt his heart stop, each breath he took seemed to add to his pain. The irony of the situation mocked him, he had been completely wrong!