Stolen Identity: Mute Heiress

Chapter 327: Exchange

Since Tom and Lucy were away in Sogal with their kids, Jamal saw no need for Abigail and Josh to return to Tom’s house until their return.

He had a wide smile on his face as he watched them wave at him through the side mirrors as he drove off.

Seeing them standing outside that way and waving until his car disappeared made him very excited about the future when he eventually married Abigail.

He hoped that with him in her life, she would never feel alone again. And more than that, he hoped she would have a circle of her own.

Remembering his promise to call Callan, Jamal took a deep breath as he picked up his phone and dialled Callan’s line.

He picked up the first ring.

"I thought you weren’t going to call back," Callan muttered impatiently.

Jamal’s lips spread into a slow grin. "Alright. Talk. What’s going on with you?"

"I told her," Callan said quickly. "I told Emily everything. And now I can’t think straight. I feel like I’m losing my mind. I could barely sleep last night. I kept thinking about her. Her smile, her scent, her voice, everything!"

Jamal burst out laughing. "You do sound like you’re losing your mind. I’ve never heard you sound that crazy."

"Shut up," Callan snapped, but he sounded too worried to be fierce. "I’m serious."

"Oh, I know," Jamal said, still laughing. "That’s why it’s funny."

"It’s not funny!"

"It is," Jamal teased. "A Casanova who suddenly can’t breathe because he confessed his feelings to her? Come on. That’s comedy gold."

Callan groaned loudly. "You’re not helping! And I’m not a Casanova."

"Okay, okay," Jamal said, still smiling so wide his face hurt. "Tell me everything."

Callan went on to tell him how he’d taken Emily out and told her the truth about his past, then confessed his feelings to her.

"Don’t you think you should have tried to become her friend for real first and build trust before proposing a relationship?" Jamal asked thoughtfully.

"You think so?"

"Yeah. But the deed is done, though. I hope she forgives you. Is there a way I can help you?" He offered, happy to get two of the people he loved together.

"As I said, she wants to hang out only with you, so you have to make out time. You don’t have to spend the entire evening with us, though. So, when we meet, you can just... you know..." Callan paused, thinking. "Maybe leave early. Give me time alone with her."

Jamal laughed again, keeping his eyes on the road. "Gladly. I don’t want to stand in the middle of whatever electric storm you and Emily are building."

"It’s not a storm," Callan muttered.

"Oh, it will be," Jamal said. "But good luck anyway."

Callan hung up with another groan, and Jamal was still smiling as he dialled Mari’s line, eager to gossip with her.

Mari picked up after only one beep. "Finally!" she said excitedly. "You’ve remembered your poor, lonely cousin."

Jamal raised a brow. "If you wanted to hear from me, you could have called. Why didn’t you?"

"Well, I wanted to, but I didn’t want to be a bother," she said softly.

A frown settled between his brows. "Since when have you ever been a bother? Did I ever say anything to imply that?"

"No. You didn’t, but I would be an idiot not to adjust, seeing how things have changed for you. I was only trying to be considerate. You always worry about everyone else but yourself, and I know it can be overwhelming, so I didn’t want to add worrying about me to the list."

Jamal sighed. "That’s true. But I can never be too busy for you. Now talk to me. How are you doing?"

Mari smiled, warmed by his response. "I’m okay. I’ve missed talking to you more than I care to admit," she said.

"Me too. I’ve missed you. Wish you were here. It’d make things easier in a way."

Mari’s brow arched. "How so?"

"I’ll have a neutral person to talk to. And Dawn would have your positive energy and vibe around her. Without Brenda and Bella here, she’s going to be bored. She doesn’t have any friends, and I’m sure she’d like to talk to someone besides me."

"Yeah. I get it. Any update about my parents?"

"Not yet. I haven’t had the chance to speak with my mum. But I will call her before the end of the day."

Mari exhaled slowly. "Yesterday was the family barbecue Sunday, right? Didn’t it come up? Considering that we were supposed to be there as usual."

"I didn’t go," Jamal said. "Abigail wasn’t feeling okay."

"Oh. Okay." Mari sighed again. "I miss everyone. I kept thinking about how much fun you must have been having yesterday."

"I’m sure it will be resolved soon. Hang in there, okay?"

"Sure. It’s not like I have a choice," she murmured.

"By the way, did Emily tell you anything about Callan?"

"Anything like?"

"Like Callan confessing his feelings to her. I just finished speaking with him, and he’s out of his mind with thoughts of her," Jamal said with a chuckle.

"It’s about time he goes out of his mind," Mari said at once. "Yeah. She told me he confessed his feelings."

"What do you think? Is Emily willing to give him a chance? Or is she not interested?"

Mari raised a brow. "Please tell me you’re not asking because you want to give information to Callan."

"I’m only trying to help them."

"Don’t take sides, Jam. The best way you can help them now is by staying neutral," Mari said firmly.

"I thought you wanted us to help them get together. Didn’t we agree to help them?"

"I did, but that was to help face their feelings for each other, not force them together. Now that Callan knows he loves Emily and has told her that, we can let them handle the rest," Mari said. "They need to fix their mess by themselves. Callan has a lot of things to fix. And as far as I’m concerned, Emily shouldn’t make it easy for him."

Jamal sighed. "Well, you should know I already promised to give him space to talk to her when we hang out tonight."

"That’s okay," Mari said. "But that is the ONLY help you are allowed to give him."

Jamal laughed softly. "Fine. I’ll keep that in mind."

"I can’t believe you three plan to hang out without me. Will Dawn be joining you? Make sure you guys call me on a video call so I can join the hangout virtually."

"Why? Shouldn’t you be spending time with your hot boyfriend?"

Mari grinned at the mention of Jax. He could hear the smile in her voice. "He’s busy with a job right now. I’m giving him space to work. He said he can’t focus when I’m around."

"Why? Because you talk his ears off?" Jamal teased.

"Hah! Very funny," Mari said with a dry laugh, and Jamal chuckled.

"Take care of yourself. And don’t be a stranger. Call whenever you want to talk."

"What if you’re in the middle of something spicy with Dawn?" she teased.

Jamal chuckled. "Then I guess I’ll just call you later."

"See? I knew it!" She said, and they both laughed. "Send me Dawn’s number so I can chat her up, and maybe I can have a group call with her and Emily."

"That sounds good. I’ll send her number when I get to the office," Jamal promised before hanging up.

Mari sighed as she walked out of her bedroom to the living room. She had slept in her room for a change since she didn’t like how she was becoming overly emotionally dependent on Jax and figured she needed a little space.

Jax had also seemed cool with it since he had been given the time to catch up on a job he was yet to complete and had been receiving lots of calls for.

Mari smiled when she saw Chad sprawled on the couch in the living room, watching ESPN.

Chad looked up with a grin. "Look who finally decided to grace me with her presence. Good thing Jax is busy now. If he weren’t, you would be locked up with him in his room doing God knows what."

Mari rolled her eyes, laughing, as she dropped on the couch beside him. "You looked so wasted when you got back last night. I didn’t expect you to be sober for at least a week."

Chad chuckled. "I bounce back really quickly."

"No kidding. The sound I heard coming from your room didn’t sound like hangover noises."

"That was a different kind of hangover, though," he joked with a wink, and Mari giggled.

"I thought so, too. The girl was so loud I was almost tempted to peek in and see just what you were doing," Mari said, and this time Chad threw back his head and hollered with laughter.

"Why didn’t you?" He asked with a grin.

"You two are unbelievable," Jax muttered from the doorway before Mari could respond.

Mari’s heart picked up rhythm when she saw him, and her lips curved effortlessly in a wide smile. Although his eyes looked bloodshot and his face a little stressed with his mussed hair, he was the sexiest man alive in her eyes, and the mere sight of him made her knees weak.

"Good morning. Are you done?" She asked, rising as he approached her.

Her stomach fluttered when he leaned down to kiss her. "Not yet. I came down to get a cup of coffee and see you. I was missing you so much I almost painted your face on the canvas," he said, and Mari giggled.

"Why don’t we get breakfast before you go back to it?" She asked as she rose, and both brothers followed her.

"Did you sleep well?" Jax asked, his arm around her waist.

"Not really. But I survived the night. Did you hear Chad and his girlfriend?"

"She’s not my girlfriend. I don’t even remember her name," Chad corrected.

Jax simply shook his head as he went to the coffee maker.

Mari turned to Chad. "Why don’t you have a girlfriend? Or are you secretly crushing on someone?"

Chad grinned. "Why stick to one when I can have many? And no, I’m not crushing on anyone."

Mari shook her head, amused. "You’re so different from Jax."

"Thank you," Chad said with mock pride.

"That wasn’t a compliment," she said, laughing again. "But it wasn’t an insult either. Just an observation."

Before Chad could respond, his phone rang, and the smile slid off his face. He raised a brow when he saw it was Diva. "Sup, Diva?" He asked, and both Jax and Mari looked at him.

Jax frowned when Chad swore under his breath.

"We’ll be there," Chad said before hanging up.

"What’s wrong?" Jax asked with a frown.

"Venita has been abducted." Chad’s face was grim as he looked from Jax to Mari. "They want Mari in exchange."