Love beyond the mask (Whitney) novel Chapter 601

"Absolutely, it's wonderful! But I can't wait to marry Whitney. Her dad will forgive me, right?" Bryce Lutz said with a soft, embarrassed smile.

Whitney Valentine, her thoughts with her dad, glanced towards the direction of the operating room and spoke calmly, "I believe dad would be happy for me too."

"Whitney, your dad's out!" Bryce immediately went over, fussing over the doctors, ensuring everything was taken care of, and even handed over a generous tip, asking everyone to look after Hudson Sheldon with extra care.

Tiana Melford watched him bustling about, her feelings mixed. She pulled Whitney aside, teasing, "Bryce is already acting like your husband, isn’t he? He’s quite considerate in handling things.

So, we're heading back to Banyan City tomorrow, right? You still need to try on your wedding dress, and you have to notify some of our old Banyan City friends, especially Valerie Bartels."

Whitney nodded. "I'll coordinate everything here in Emperor City with Nyx and Cody tonight."

"That's great! I really miss Banyan City. Emperor City feels like a luxurious crystal prison, lacking warmth.

But... you're not inviting Natalie, right?"

Whitney paused, then smiled softly, "No, let her focus on recovering."

Tiana sighed, "Cherry's been nagging to invite Parker Doonan, and I didn't dare to send him an invite either!

It’s best if we don’t tell them the wedding date. I heard Ludwik Lippert has been abroad for over a fortnight, hasn’t come back once.

You should be at ease then..."

Whitney was silent for a moment, then smiled, "Have you picked out your bridesmaid dress?"

Tiana got the hint, that Whitney wanted to completely avoid mentioning Ludwik, and she responded with a playful wink, "I'm just the backdrop; what does it matter what I wear? I'll ask Valerie for her opinion tonight!"

-

On the first of August, in the afternoon, Ludwik returned to the country.

His private jet landed directly on the spacious tarmac of the Lippert Group, bringing along the entire 'WisdoChip Co.' chip development team.

Ludwik, along with the team leader and subordinates, walked into the president's office of the Lippert Group.

The meeting went on until eight in the evening.

The 'WisdoChip Co.' chip, now under contract with the Lippert Group, was the company’s most anticipated, soon-to-be-released smart chip. It boasted a globally advanced intelligent system. Its release meant the Lippert Group could potentially become the world's wealthiest family.

Jason Lippert, moved by the progress of WisdoChip Co., attended the meeting as the chairman.

After the meeting, the WisdoChip Co. development team was directed to a lab prepared especially for them.

The final phase of the chip's development would be completed at the Lippert Group, with the most crucial part already finished in Tech Haven of Amoria Country.

At ten, after Ludwik met with his father Jason, he returned to his apartment.

For the past half-month, Parker had been taking care of Natalie.

Ten days ago, Natalie was discharged, and Parker helped settle her into Ludwik’s apartment.

Upon his return, Ludwik found his mother, now mobile and looking healthier, had prepared dinner for him - warm dishes and soup, soothing his weary heart from days of constant travel.

Yet, his heart remained cold, struggling to find a place to rest.

His face was expressionless.

Natalie, seeing her son like this, was anxious. He was always inscrutable, his emotions never showing on his face.

Several times, the words "Whitney is getting married tomorrow" nearly slipped out.

But Natalie couldn’t bear to say it.

Did Ludwik know?

It seemed no one dared to tell him, but Natalie felt he must know.

That’s why he barely touched his food; his soul seemed absent, leaving behind only a rigorous working machine.

Natalie turned back to the kitchen, choked up, then returned to see Ludwik had already put down his chopsticks, his plate untouched.

Natalie was on the verge of breaking down, whispering, "Ludwik, you look so tired. If you’re tired, go to bed early."

"Goodnight, mother."

The man stood up, his lean figure more pronounced under his shirt.

"Ludwik..."

Minutes later, Ludwik had his answer.

Natalie was in a light sleep, dozing off and on when a knock at the door roused her.

She wrapped herself in a robe, shuffled to the door, and opened it to see her son's tall, imposing figure. His hand was casually tucked in his pocket, and his brows were furrowed in a stern expression, but she could tell his mood wasn't all that bad.

Natalie wondered, why was he up so early?

Could it be... did he know about Whitney's wedding today in Banyan City?

"Ludwik?"

He began, "Are you feeling alright? If you're up for it, get dressed. I want to take you to meet someone."

"Meet who?" Natalie asked, staring at his composed and deep expression, her heart inexplicably starting to race.

-

Around 6:15 a.m.

A Rolls-Royce pulled up outside the Ryan family's mansion.

Ryan hurriedly got dressed and stepped out of his bedroom, nervously waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

Ludwik's long legs stepped out of the car, his presence imposing, almost suffocating from a distance.

Ryan approached, only then noticing the middle-aged woman Ludwik was assisting.

Ludwik got straight to the point, "Is he in his room?"

Ryan nodded, "Yes, I just checked on him."

"How is he, really?" Ludwik's voice was cold, barely concealing his excitement, "Can he recognize me?"

Ryan internally rolled his eyes.

Sammy was perfectly lucid and had his wits about him.

Now, for whatever harebrained scheme, he'd decided to reach out to his dad?!