Love beyond the mask (Whitney) novel Chapter 1201

She fired off a barrage of anxious questions, but no one bothered to answer her.

Instead, Parker Doonan shot a look at the woman—wide-eyed and jumpy like a startled bunny—then glanced at the sly Ludwik before turning slightly and stifling a laugh.

Whitney Valentine was even more horrified. She pointed at Parker. “Hey, what’s so funny?”

Seriously, at a time like this he could still laugh? Was Ludwik Lippert suffering from some post-op infection?

Why else would the doctor say there was something unusual?

Whitney’s nerves were fraying, and the whole situation at the funeral home slipped her mind. She turned back to Ludwik, who was wearing that unreadable poker face. “What did the doctor just check you for?”

“I’ll tell you in a minute,” Ludwik answered, cool as ever. “Parker.”

If Parker couldn’t figure out that Ludwik was about to pull something sneaky, he’d have to be an idiot.

Parker shot Whitney a jealous glance. He was still tangled up in the mess back in New York, and who knew when Ludwik would let him go see Tiana Melford? But if Ludwik was keeping him here, he must’ve gotten lucky—maybe even found himself a new girl.

Parker tugged at the confused Dr. Horatio and said meaningfully, “Alright, Dr. Horatio, whether you made a mistake or not, we both gotta get outta here. You go find a real specialist—Ludwik Lippert’s health is nothing to mess around with. Can’t have any misdiagnoses.”

Dr. Horatio wasn’t stupid. He could tell Ludwik wanted everyone gone—except the lady.

Catching Whitney’s suspicious stare, Dr. Horatio quickly said, “Right, right, I’m no expert in this field. Best to get a top surgeon. I’ll go call one right now!”

And with that, Dr. Horatio was out the door faster than anyone.

By the time Whitney looked up, Parker had ushered out the nurses and even shut the door behind them. The palatial, two-bedroom hospital suite was suddenly just her and Ludwik.

She turned, her pretty eyes wide with confusion. “What are they doing?”

It took Whitney three seconds to process what he meant.

Men’s health. Oh God. She couldn’t help but remember his… well, his “injury”—the one Bryce Lutz had given him out of revenge. Dozens of doctors had checked him over these past months, but nothing had really improved. Even Shane Nelson had joked she’d end up a widow…

Wait. Was that what Dr. Horatio was stammering about earlier—*that* area?

“You—” Whitney’s clear eyes flicked down to his abdomen, her face turning instantly red, tongue tripping over itself. “You mean… there’s something wrong… down there?”

“There is,” Ludwik replied, with a sly smile.

Whitney swallowed, losing her composure. “What… what’s wrong?”

“Why don’t you check for yourself, Dr. Valentine?” he murmured, slowly guiding her soft hand downward—