Stolen Identity: Mute Heiress

Chapter 363: Talk To Me

When the ladies got back to the table, Callan rose. "We should head out now."

Emily nodded. "Yeah."

"Us too. I have work tomorrow," Stefan added.

Just like that everyone rose to leave.

"Drive safe," Jamal called as they each headed for their cars. "And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do."

They laughed as they got into their cars.

The drive home was quiet in Callan’s car for a while until he broke it.

"What are you thinking?" He asked, turning to look at her.

"It’s a good thing you followed your instincts." She told him about her conversation with Mari.

"I’m glad she’s safe," Callan said then the car was silent again.

"What’s in your head?" Callan asked again.

This time, Emily shook her head. "Nothing. My head is empty."

He smiled. "Your head is never empty."

She glanced at him. "When did you start living in my head to know it’s never empty?"

He chuckled. "You are always thinking about something, coming up with a weird story or stuff. You’ve always been that way. It’s okay if you don’t want to say what you’re thinking. Want to know what I’m thinking?"

"Sure."

"I was thinking how nice it would be," he said slowly, "when we all get married and we will be a group of married friends just like our parents. Our kids would all be friends. We’d have Game nights and travel together for vacations or go on couple dates as a group."

Her heart fluttered. "You’re talking a lot about marriage tonight," she observed.

"Because I mean all I told you earlier," he said. "I don’t want to waste time anymore."

He reached for her hand. She didn’t pull away.

"I was a coward for years," he said. "Now that I have finally summoned courage, I want to do this right and do it fast."

Emily stayed quiet.

"That’s what I want. Tell me what you want, Princess," he said gently. "I want to know what’s in your head and heart about us."

She hesitated.

"Please, Em. Talk to me."

She sighed. "Since the time we were kids I’ve always wanted to be your wife. I really want to be happy beside you because I love you and I know I want you." She paused. "But I have doubts. I don’t know if I’m the kind of woman you want."

He frowned as he glanced at her. "What are you talking about?"

"I hate to admit this, but always took note of the ladies I see with you and stalked them on social media. I’m nothing like them. If anything I’m the exact opposite. I tried to dress differently tonight," she admitted. "I wanted to impress you by dressing like the girls you like. But thanks to Mari I got my head straightened."

"I love you just the way you are," he said. "You don’t have to be like anyone else. And you should know that the only reason I chose those other girls was because they were the total opposite of you. I was running from my feelings for you and I didn’t want to be with anyone that would remind me of you in any way."

"I don’t know, Cal," she whispered. "I’m the type to wear my heart on a sleeve and express myself easily but lately I’m trying so hard to pretend and hide my feelings and be cool because I don’t want you to take me for granted..."

He squeezed her hand. "You never have to pretend, Em. You don’t have to guard your heart. I promise you, I won’t hurt you and I will never take you for granted."

She nodded. "Okay."

They were both silent for the rest of the drive and when they got to her house, he parked.

"Will you reconsider quitting the program?" he asked before she could get down.

"Why?" She asked with a frown wondering where that was coming from.

"Because I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said and I think you feel the way you do because you don’t know how hard life can be and how fortunate you are to not have to go through all the tough phases. There’s nothing wrong with privilege," he said. "There is nothing to be ashamed of. I can bet with all that I have that there is no one person among your colleagues who wouldn’t gladly trade places with you. You have no reason to be ashamed or embarrassed that you got in so easily while others struggled to get in. Money opened the door for you while they had to work hard to get in because they couldn’t afford to pay. And that is totally okay. Without the money from sponsors like your father and I, average people wouldn’t be able to afford the training."

Emily opened her mouth to speak by Callan continued without letting her get a word in.

"Tell me something. Are you going to say you won’t manage the hospital when your father retires? Will you be ashamed to lead the hospital and allow a more senior doctor manage it in your stead because you feel you don’t deserve to be the medical director? Listen, you want to prove to your colleagues that you deserve to be there with them, you should do so by showing them how brilliant you are. Let your work and discipline speak for you.

She frowned. "Why are you saying all this?"

"I don’t like your plan of wanting to quit this time and go back for it later when I won’t be there. If you do it now and complete it, we get to have more time together alone in Husla. Your father would be proud of you. You’d be proud of yourself, I will be proud of you, and we can have more time to go for therapy and couple counseling together."

She pouted. "I’ll sleep over it."

"That’s fair," he said softly. "You can go in now," he said, getting down to get her door.

Emily stepped down when he opened the door, he escorted her to the door. "Goodnight."

Emily opened the door, while Callan waited for her to go in so he could leave.

She took one step in, and then impulsively turned and kissed him on the lips quickly before hurrying inside and shutting the door.

Callan stood there in a daze for ten minutes just staring at the door before he finally walked back to his car, a big smile on his face.

He knew they still had a long way to go, but this was progress, and he was grateful for it.