Stolen Identity: Mute Heiress

Chapter 347: Letters

Dawn had just finished freshening up when the doorbell rang.

Her heart jumped at the sound. Jamal had told her his grandfather was coming, but now that he was really here, her chest felt tight.

She took a small breath and walked to the door.

When she opened it, she saw the old man standing tall with kind eyes and silver hair. Beside him was his gentle-looking wife with a soft smile and a warm scarf around her neck.

"Welcome," Dawn said, her smile awkward as she held out the door and stepped aside to let them in. "Please come in."

Aaron’s smile was slow and warm as he ushered his wife forward, "Thank you. How are you?"

"I’m fine. Josh has been excited since I told him you were coming over," Dawn said, and Aaron chuckled.

"That’s my boy," he said as he shut the door behind him. "How do you like this place?" Aaron asked as they all made their way to the living room.

"I love it. It’s warm and peaceful. Give me a minute to get Josh," Dawn said before hurrying off.

"The girl is uncomfortable," Debbie, Aaron’s wife, observed.

"Yeah. She doesn’t seem to know how to treat us," Aaron agreed.

"We should have come around when Jamal is home. That would make her more relaxed," Debbie said, but Aaron shook his head.

"Then I wouldn’t be able to talk with her because she’d always hide behind Jamal. Let’s get her to relax," Aaron said, and Debbie nodded just as they heard Josh’s footsteps running down the hallway.

"Great Grandpa!" he shouted, arms wide.

Aaron’s face lit up. He bent down at once with a soft grunt, his knees cracking a little as he opened his arms. Josh ran straight into them and hugged him tight.

"There you are," Aaron said, his voice full and warm. "I thought you had forgotten all about me already."

"No, I didn’t," Josh said proudly.

Debbie smiled as she watched them. "I think you’ve become even more handsome than the last time we saw you," she said, brushing Josh’s hair back gently.

Josh hugged her too. "I think I am taller too. I’ve been eating vegetables."

Aaron laughed. "Yes, you are."

Dawn stood a few steps away, her hands folded in front of her. She did not know where to stand or what to do with herself. She smiled when they looked at her, but her shoulders stayed stiff.

Aaron noticed.

He held Josh’s hand and led him to the couch. After he was seated, he turned to Dawn.

His eyes were gentle. "Could you get me a glass of water?" he asked kindly. "Old men like me get dehydrated easily."

Dawn nodded and immediately disappeared into the kitchen to get the glass of water.

Josh climbed onto Aaron’s lap and began talking fast about cartoons, and about Callan and Emily’s visit and how everyone was crying during breakfast because of his mummy’s message to Daddy.

Aaron listened with rapt attention like every word mattered and when Dawn returned he smiled at her as he took the glass. "I hear you sent a message to Jamal that made everyone cry during breakfast."

Dawn looked at her little tattletale and smiled. "It wasn’t anything serious."

Aaron waved his hand. "I’m pretty sure if it made my Mari emotional then it was serious."

"Yeah. Emily can get mushy over anything sweet, but not Mari," Debbie added with a small laugh.

Dawn laughed softly at that then she shrugged. "We revealed to them that I’m Jamal’s favourite podcaster."

"His favourite podcaster?" Aaron and Debbie asked simultaneously.

"Yeah. He had been listening to me and supporting me for years without knowing I was the one," Dawn said, smiling shyly.

"Aww. That sounds so lovely," Debbie said, touching Dawn’s arm lightly. "You must feel really loved."

Dawn let out a small laugh before she could stop herself. "I do."

"You should know that the Jonas men are one woman kind of men. Both Harry and Jamal got that from me," Aaron announced proudly.

"Are you taking credit for something your grandson did?" Debbie teased with a laugh and both Aaron and Dawn laughed too.

"Of course. I’m proud I raised two gentlemen. I’m proud of them."

"I would have been your only woman if only you’d not been so clueless," Debbie said grudgingly, and Aaron chuckled deeply.

"You’ve been saying this for the past twenty years, aren’t you tired of saying it?" He asked, while Dawn watched them with a curious smile.

Jamal had told her about his biological grandmother, so she knew Debbie wasn’t Aaron’s first wife.

"Why should I be?" She asked him, then turned to Dawn, "Darling, I had a mega crush on him and flashed him all the green lights in the world, but he didn’t even notice. And then he went on to get married to someone else. She wasn’t even half as pretty as I was."

Aaron chuckled. "She was nowhere half as pretty or kind or loving as you, honey. I guess I paid the price for being clueless."

Dawn grinned as she watched their exchange, while Josh listened and watched them as though he could understand what was being said.

"Well, if the price got you Harry and the girls, and got me my Ronnie, I guess it wasn’t so bad," she murmured with a grin, and Aaron laughed out loud since that was the way she always ended the argument.

"If you say so, my love. I’m happy I get to spend at least a fraction of my life with you. How lucky can a man be?" He asked, making her giggle.

"Well, thank you for raising Jamal, then. He’s the absolute best. I’m glad Josh has such a wonderful father," Dawn said, feeling something ease in her chest.

"I love my daddy," Josh said, and they all laughed.

"I’m sure you do," Aaron said, then patted the seat beside him. "Come," he said to Dawn. "Sit beside me. I don’t like talking to people who look like they want to run away."

Her cheeks warmed, but she obeyed. She sat next to him.

Knowing that Aaron wanted a moment alone with Dawn, Debbie smiled at Josh. "How about we go get your gifts from the car and then you show me around the house?"

"Gifts?" Josh asked with excitement as he quickly got out of Aaron’s thighs and went to her.

Debbie smiled. "We will be back."

Aaron turned fully to Dawn after they left. "How are you doing, child?"

Dawn opened her mouth, then closed it again. "I’m okay."

Aaron nodded like he understood that word well. "Okay can mean many things."

"I’m fine."

"I know you’ve been through a lot," he said gently. "And suddenly meeting so many people must be awkward for you. It was that way for my daughter, Candace. You know, Jamal’s mother. We met for the first time when she was twenty-seven years old. It took some time for her to settle in, but she did. You’re smart. I know you will too."

"I know since you arrived everyone must have talked to you and advised you on a lot of things. But I want you to know something. While what happened to you may have shaped you, it doesn’t have to define your future. You are here now and you are loved. And that’s all that matters."

Her throat burned, and she looked down at her hands. "Thank you," she whispered.

Aaron pulled her into his arms. His hug was warm and firm. "You have a grandfather in me now," he said softly. "You can always talk to me whenever."

Tears filled Dawn’s eyes before she could stop them and she cried into his chest as she clung to him.

Debbie and Josh came in with bags of toys, and Debbie signalled to Josh to be silent as she set down a bag beside Aaron and took Josh inside to his bedroom to check out his gifts.

After a while, Aaron leaned back and reached for the bag which Debbie had left beside him.

"I brought something that belongs to you," he said.

"For me?" Dawn asked, surprised.

He handed her the bag. "Yes. You can open it."

She did. Inside were folded papers. Many of them. She lifted one out. "What are these?"

Aaron smiled sadly. "Letters."

"Letters?"

"Yeah. Jamal wrote them," he said. "When he was little he wrote you lots of letters. He always asked me to send them to you."

Her breath caught as she looked down at the bag again.

"I didn’t know how to tell a child that the letters had nowhere to go," Aaron continued. "So I kept every single one and made him believe I sent them. But I’m sure he realised over time that I lied. I’m not a liar, so I’m delivering them now."

Her heart raced as she opened the first letter.

The writing was messy and his spelling was mixed up, but she got the message.

Dear Dawn,

I miss you. Don’t be sick. Get well soon and come play with me. Be a big girl, okay? I met a girl named Mari. She is shy like you and she wears glasses like Lucy. She is going to be my sister, but you will always be my best friend. I wish you were here.

Tears dropped from her eyes as she opened another letter.

Dear Dawn,

I’m eight now. I wish you were here. I got a big cake and lots of gifts. Tom got me lots of gifts.

She opened another.

Dear Dawn,

Mommy says Lucy is getting married to Tom. I have another friend. Her name is Emily. She is Mari’s best friend and she is pretty, but not like you. I told them about you. I hope one day you come back and we can all be friends.

The more letters Dawn read, the more she realised just how precious she had been to the kid, Jamal.

Each letter hurt and healed at the same time.

By the time she reached the last one, her face was wet.

"He must have liked me a lot," she whispered.

Aaron placed a hand over hers. "He did. And he still does. No matter how you were made to feel over the years, you are special. Both to Jamal and to us."

"Thank you for giving me the letters," Dawn said, and Aaron smiled at her.

"Now that I’ve delivered the letters and we’ve gotten the awkward conversation out of the way, how about you relax around me?"

Dawn smiled, and nodded. "Okay," she said, and to prove it, she leaned forward and kissed his cheeks, making him smile happily.