Love beyond the mask (Whitney) novel Chapter 863

She was at her wit's end, muttering under her breath, "Why on earth would you say that to Sammy? You're setting a fine example!"

Ludwik retorted, "He started it with his choice of words. I'm curious, who taught him that?"

Sammy snorted, "Don't try to pin this on mom not raising me right. I picked it up from Danny.

And Danny’s been your shadow since he was a toddler."

Ludwik: "..."

Danny: "..."

Danny was baffled, wondering how he suddenly became the scapegoat in this situation.

He frowned, glanced at his dad, and saw Ludwik staring him down. He mumbled, trying to change the subject, "Come on, Sammy. Were you and dad archenemies in a past life or something? You can't seem to stop bickering!

Dad's not wrong, though. He doesn’t need to sneak around; after all, mom and he know each other inside and out. How else would they have us, right, mom?"

Whitney stared at her son, her face turning beet red.

While Ludwik watched with an unashamed grin, her heart skipped a beat, and she stuttered fiercely, "Danny, watch your words. Who have you been hanging out with these days?"

Normally, she'd leave the kids with their Uncle Yael Tennyson, who she trusted not to lead them astray.

But these past few days, they stayed with the Lippert family.

Danny innocently replied, "I was just watching some TV shows with great-grandma. Oh! And that goofball Justin Lippert, he loves his Western dramas."

"Ludwik." Whitney couldn't help but turn and confront him, "How could you let our kids hang out with someone like Justin?"

Whitney still had her reservations about Justin.

"I didn’t. Maybe grandma thought Justin needed some company, now that he's a bit...slow," Ludwik tried to explain.

"What’s wrong with our Justin?" Riley Lippert's voice sounded from behind, clearly displeased.

Whitney's face stiffened, and she quickly turned to Ludwik.

With a raised eyebrow, Ludwik signaled her not to worry and turned to face a stern-looking Riley returning home, "Uncle, Whitney didn’t mean it that way. She just had some past issues with Justin."

And not just minor issues; she narrowly escaped Justin’s charms…

Whitney thought to herself but kept her lips sealed.

Riley seemed to remember as well, showing a hint of embarrassment, but defended his son, "He's harmless now, his IQ’s about the same as Danny’s."

"That might still make Justin a bit more sensible than Danny!" Joanne Nelson couldn’t bear to hear her son being called simple and looked to Whitney to correct herself.

Whitney glanced at Riley and his wife, and then at Joanne holding Justin’s hand.

Indeed, Justin seemed to have lost his bearings, a sad outcome of Jarvis’s actions.

She cleared her throat, intending to clarify, but Ludwik’s firm hand stopped her as he turned to Justin with a slight smile, "Justin, did you bully Danny or Sammy when you played together?"

"I wanted to, but they always outsmarted me!" Justin pouted, drooling slightly, looking aggrieved.

"…" Well, that’s something.

Fate works in mysterious ways, doesn’t it?

Whitney sighed, nodding at Riley, trying to smooth things over, "I might have been a bit hasty earlier. I didn’t mean to accuse."

Ludwik gestured towards the house, "Whitney meant no harm, she’s just protective of the kids. Uncle, let's go inside and talk."

Riley patted Justin’s head, urging him to go inside first.