Stolen Identity: Mute Heiress

Chapter 325: Therapy

Abigail had a broad smile on her face as she watched Jamal get ready for work while she lay in bed.

"Why are you smiling that way?" Jamal asked with a broad smile of his own.

"I guess I’m just happy to see you this way," she admitted. "It feels like we are married and I’m watching my husband get ready for work."

"But you are indeed watching your husband get ready for work," Jamal said, and she giggled.

"Now that Bella and the others have gone back to school and Lucy and Tom are busy with their jobs, is there any need for Josh and me to stay in that big house alone? Can’t we just live here with you now?" Abigail asked, and Jamal smiled, remembering what Lucy had said about the reason for their decision.

"Yes. There’s a need for you to live there with them for the time being. Meanwhile, you can spend the time looking for suitable schools for Josh. He can start school while you figure out what to do. You don’t have to just stay in that big house doing nothing," he reminded her.

She pouted, not pleased with his response. She had been hoping he would agree with her so they’d quicken everything. "I thought you kept talking about how you wanted us here," she muttered.

Jamal turned from the mirror where he was brushing his hair and looked at her with an amused smile. "If I remember correctly, on our way to Ludus, while I was objecting to their plan of having you move in with Tom and Lucy, you said you liked their plan, didn’t you?"

"I did. I do. But I like being here with you," she murmured, and he grinned.

"Well, I’m not going anywhere. The time is coming when we will be together forever. But for now, let’s get you established with your family. I’ll stay with you there as often as I can. And you need to start therapy," he said, and she rolled her eyes.

"You all keep talking about therapy. Why?"

"Who else told you about therapy?" Jamal asked with interest.

"Lucy mentioned it, Bella and the others did, too. And now you’re doing the same. I bet if I talk to everyone else in the family, they’d bring it up too. Is there something I’m missing?" She asked, and Jamal walked up to her and sat on the edge of the bed.

"You’ve been through a lot. Sometimes we think we are okay and have healed from the past, then something happens, and from nowhere we begin to unload our hidden trauma. Most of us in the family have had our fair share of trauma, and so we understand how it impacts us. Lucy had hers when she was abducted by a crazy stalker..."

"Yeah. Sonia’s half-brother. Lucy told me about it," Abigail cut in.

"My mom and Aunt Andy had theirs as a result of their past with my father and other experiences. I had mine from my Dad. For a long time, growing up, I couldn’t stand being around aggressive males. I used to cower whenever they raised their voice. Aunt Jade had hers from a toxic ex-boyfriend. I could go on and on. The point is, we all know that a person’s character is shaped by the sum total of their life experience. And you, the love of my life, have had one of the worst..."

"So, you mean I have a bad character?" She cut in, and Jamal chuckled, amused that was the conclusion she reached.

"No. You’re as sweet as an Angel. But we want you to remain sweet and angelic. So, therapy will be good for you..." He trailed off when his phone rang. "Give me a minute," he said as he went to the dresser to pick it up.

He smiled when he saw it was Callan. "It’s Cal," he told her as he received the call.

"Hey! What’s up?"

"I’m fine. So, quick one, are you up for a hangout today? Did Emily call you already?" Callan asked, and Jamal raised a brow when he heard the bubbling excitement in Callan’s voice.

"Is there something Emily is supposed to tell me?" Jamal asked, looking at Abigail, who had gotten off the bed and was now arranging it.

"We agreed to hang out with you today, so I wanted to make sure you’d be available. Even if you won’t be available, you can’t tell her that. Help a brother, okay?"

Jamal raised a brow, wondering if Callan had by chance talked to Emily about his feelings or was planning to do so today. "Is something going on?"

"I opened up to her yesterday. Since I did that, I feel like I’m going out of my damned mind. I can’t even think straight. I want to see her and spend some time with her, but she seems to only want to hang out with you," Callan said with a groan.

Jamal chuckled, but before he could say anything, he had a call notification. "This is so funny and interesting. I’ll call you on my way to the office so you can give me the details," Jamal said before hanging up.

"Tom is calling," Jamal told Abigail, who was now seated on the couch. "I’ve been wondering why I haven’t heard from him," Jamal said as he received the call.

Abigail sat up straighter at the mention of Tom. For some reason, his name seemed to have that effect on her, like she had to behave herself and be on her best behaviour.

After exchanging pleasantries, Tom went right to the purpose of the call. "How is Dawn? How did she react to Genevieve’s video?"

Jamal glanced at her, "She’s fine. She doesn’t like it, but she hasn’t really talked about it."

"I see. I spoke with Stefan and Genevieve earlier. That remind me, a reporter dug up the custody battle we had with Ryan twenty years ago, and we’ve been receiving numerous calls and interview requests to discuss everything. Although we planned to officially announce her return during her welcome party after she’s a bit more settled, I guess we have to do it much sooner. Ask her if she’d be okay with giving an interview..."

"Or you can just talk to your aunt directly and ask her yourself. I will give her the phone," Jamal said dryly and walked over to Abigail before Tom could protest.

"Here, baby, your nephew wants to talk to you," he said sweetly, and Tom muttered a curse, while Abigail bit back a giggle.

"I’ll go check on Josh and wake him up," Jamal said before walking out of the room.