Love beyond the mask (Whitney) novel Chapter 861

She glared at Natalie, who stood there with a gentle smile on her face.

As Jason descended the stairs, his arm instinctively reached out to support Natalie. She shyly dodged, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

Jason found her skittish demeanor amusing, unlike any woman's reaction to him before. Of course, it wasn't like he had much experience with women in the first place.

"I didn't mean anything by it. Just didn't want you to trip," he explained in a low voice.

It was then that Natalie awkwardly extended her wrist to him, quickly explaining in a soft voice, "Mr. Lippert, I didn't think you had any other intentions... I'm much better now, you don't have to go out of your way to be polite."

"Where did you get the idea that I'm inconvenienced?"

Jason frowned slightly.

Natalie's cheeks turned a deeper shade of red. "Was it Ludwik who asked you to check on me? I know it's hard being caught in the middle because of your father, but you really don’t have to do this."

"It wasn't him who sent me."

Jason looked down at her, a bit more seriously.

Natalie looked up slightly.

Jason cleared his throat, somewhat embarrassed to speak further, covering his mouth with his hand, "Danny and Sammy have been staying at the Lippert family home for three days. Whitney might pick them up today. Since Whitney and Ludwik will both be there, I thought... maybe you’d like to join? After all, you're Ludwik's mother, and their grandmother."

Grandmother?

She was their grandmother.

And, Jason was their grandfather.

Natalie's heart was in turmoil, but she dared not dwell on it too much.

She quickly reined in her wandering thoughts, forcing a small smile, "So that's the reason. I haven't seen Whitney in such a long time. I miss her."

"So, you'll come to the Lippert family home?" Jason asked, seizing the opportunity.

Natalie hesitated, "Mr. Lippert, it's not appropriate. The matriarch and your family will be there. It just doesn't seem right."

"There's nothing inappropriate about it. You're a benefactor of the Lippert family, have you forgotten?"

Jason looked at her intently.

Natalie's face froze, remembering the $2 billion deal to save the Lippert Resort, a crisis she helped him navigate through. She was still bashful, "That was Ludwik's money."

"He didn’t intend to help the Lippert family at the time. I know, those funds were meant for your retirement. He's a considerate child."

Speaking of his son made Jason proud.

Natalie's heart warmed at his praise. After all, she was Ludwik's mother, and she had wanted to give him a life quietly.

These feelings had been buried in her heart for too many years, never daring to surface.

Natalie looked on, bewildered by Thea's boldness, feeling awkward and out of place as her own body seemed to be covered in goosebumps.

Even if Natalie wasn't versed in the arts of flirtation, she knew well enough that most men found such tactics hard to resist.

Especially since Thea was a head-turner, and also Jason's first wife.

Natalie felt a pang of dullness in her eyes, comforting herself that at least she never dared to hope too much. Maybe Jason would soften under Thea's charms after all.

Would they ever get back together...

“Ah!” Suddenly, Thea let out a shriek.

She was abruptly pushed away by a man's arm and nearly fell to the ground.

Jason's face was as cold as ice, his gaze piercing Thea who had stumbled and nearly fallen, the respect in his eyes replaced with a chilling disdain. His lips curled into a mocking sneer, “Thea, don’t think you can use the same tricks on me that you used on Wade.

You think I don’t know? Now that the Patrick Group is in crisis, you just happen to want to come back?

If I couldn’t see through that, I wouldn’t deserve to be Ludwik’s father, the head of the Lippert Group!

Get out. Get out of my sight. Don’t pollute my vision.

As for you, I will never forgive you, and we will never have anything to do with each other again.”

After he finished speaking, his gaze briefly landed on Natalie, who was standing there, dumbfounded. He remembered how this woman had desperately clung to him when he was critically ill, after Thea had forced him into a divorce and Wade had cruelly mocked him to the point of wanting to jump off a building. This woman had silently taken care of him, sneaking in to see him in the dead of night.