Stolen Identity: Mute Heiress

Chapter 366: Showing Off

Dawn leaned back in her seat, a wide smile still stuck on her face as Jamal drove them away from the club. Her foot bounced lightly against the floor, and she hummed to herself without realising it.

Jamal glanced at her from the corner of his eye and smiled. "You seem hyper excited."

She laughed. "I am."

He chuckled. "You must have had fun."

"Yep. I did." She folded her arms, then unfolded them again, restless. "I’m actually not ready to go home yet."

Jamal raised a brow. "Oh?"

She nodded eagerly. "Yeah. Can we stay out a little longer?"

He slowed slightly at a bend in the road and looked at her properly. "Why? What’s wrong with home?"

"Nothing is wrong. I just..." She sighed and looked out of the window. "I’m going back to Tom’s house tomorrow. And you know once that happens, I won’t really get to go out like this anymore."

Jamal’s brow furrowed. "Why do you think that? Even Bella and Brenda go out whenever they want," he continued. "They live their lives freely. You won’t be an exception."

She shrugged. "I don’t know. I just feel like I need to be careful."

He shook his head lightly. "Dawn, Tom isn’t Ryan."

She looked at him. "I know."

"I don’t think you do. You need to know that both in your heart and your head. You’re not a prisoner here in Ludus," Jamal said gently. "You’re with your family. And being with family means freedom. The only thing expected is that you let at least one person know your whereabouts for security reasons. That’s all."

She sighed deeply. "I know that... logically. I’m just trying to be careful."

"I get that," he said. "But save being careful for outsiders. With family, you should be carefree. Home is where you’re able to breathe."

She smiled softly and rested her head briefly against the headrest. "I wish it were that easy."

"It is easy," Jamal replied. "If you let it be."

"You know when Josh comes back I can’t have a night life like this."

"Even when Josh comes back, you’ll still get chances. I’ll stay with him and let you go hang out with the girls if you want."

"Jeez, Jamal! Stop providing solution. I still don’t want to go home yet."

He laughed. "Okay. Fine. Tell me, what do you want to do right now?"

She thought for a moment, then smiled. "I want to see beautiful places. I want to experience the nightlife of Ludus."

Jamal’s lips curved. "I think I know just the spot."

She sat up straighter. "Where?"

"You will see." He turned the wheel and changed direction.

After a few minutes, Dawn noticed the surroundings changing. The road widened. Tall lights lined the street. Then she saw it.

A massive complex stretched out ahead of them. Glass buildings rose into the sky, lights glowing from inside like stars trapped in steel.

Her mouth fell open. "Oh my God." She stared as he drove closer. "This place is huge."

Jamal smiled proudly. "Welcome to HAJ Studios."

She turned to him slowly. "Why did you bring me to your office?"

"You said you wanted to see a beautiful place," he replied. "And I honestly couldn’t think of any place more beautiful than this."

She squinted at him. "Are you bragging?"

He laughed. "No. I’m showing off."

She laughed too. "That’s literally the same thing."

"I remember telling you when we were kids that I’d be very rich and I’d marry you. Dreams do come true, don’t they?" He asked with a grin.

"You haven’t married me yet. Let’s wait till then," she said laughing.

"How about we secretly get married? If we can secretly make a baby, we can secretly get married, don’t you think?" Jamal asked playfully and she laughed and hit his arm.

Jamal remembered what Callan had said about Emily aborting her pregnancy, and his respect for love for Dawn deepened as his respect for her increased.

As they got to the gate, the security men straightened the moment they saw Jamal’s car. The gate opened immediately, and they drove in without stopping.

Dawn watched everything with wide eyes as they passed landscaped lawns, quiet walkways, and glowing buildings.

Jamal parked near the tallest building on the premises.

As they stepped out, the security men at the entrance approached them. "Good evening, sir."

"Evening," Jamal replied easily, guiding Dawn inside.

They took the elevator up. The numbers climbed fast. When the doors finally opened, Jamal led her through a short hallway and pushed open a heavy door.

The rooftop stretched out before them.

Dawn stopped dead in her tracks. "Oh my world!" She cried then rushed over to the edge.

The city of Ludus spread out below like a painting. Lights twinkled everywhere. Roads glowed. Buildings stood tall and proud. The night sky hung above it all, deep and endless.

She gasped. "This is... beautiful."

Jamal stepped beside her. "Not as beautiful as you."

She burst out laughing and slapped his arm. "Stop it. Don’t say cheesy things like that right now."

He laughed. "When did telling the truth become cheesy?"

"That’s something we see all the time in movies and novels when the girl is staring at something and saying it’s beautiful and then the guy focuses on her and say she is more beautiful."

Jamal chuckled. "Well, I don’t know about them, but I mean it."

She shook her head, still smiling.

"It’d have been nice to lay down here and just stare up at the stars," Dawn said softly.

Jamal took off his jacket and spread it neatly on the floor. "Lie down."

She blinked. "Here?"

"Yes. Why not?"

She lay down, and Jamal lay beside her, close but not touching. They stared up at the stars.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Then Dawn broke the silence. "I’ve decided to do the interview."

Jamal turned his head to look at her. "The one Tom mentioned?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Cool. But why did you decide to do it?"

She sighed softly. "Whether I like it or not, the story is already out there. Not giving an interview won’t change that."

"That’s true," Jamal agreed.

She paused, then added, "And tonight... I realised something."

"What?"

"I realised how much I love Genevieve," she said. "Despite everything."

Jamal listened quietly.

"Seeing how happy she was earlier with Stefan made me happy," Dawn continued. "Really happy. I didn’t even expect it. I want to do the interview with her."

Jamal’s brows pulled together. "Why?"

She explained the restroom incident to him. "I want to make sure she doesn’t face something like that again."

"Are you sure?" Jamal asked, and she nodded.

"Yes," she said firmly. "Very sure."

He studied her face for a long moment, then nodded. "Okay then."

Away from there, after they freshened up, Stefan sat on the bed watching Genevieve as she did her skincare routine.

"Do you still have no plans of seeing your mother?"

Genevieve’s hands paused on her face, and she turned to Stefan, wondering why he suddenly brought that up.

"I haven’t changed my mind," she said without hesitation, then asked, "If you were in my shoes... would you want to see her?"

Stefan didn’t answer right away. He thought for a moment. "Honestly? I don’t know what I’d do in your shoes. But I believe... for you to truly move on, you may need to confront her."

Genevieve shook her head. "I don’t think so. I don’t have any questions or anything to say to her. I don’t think closure or moving on always have to be loud. I’m not mad at her and neither do I need her forgiveness. I just want to continue my life like she doesn’t exist."

Stefan didn’t interrupt her. He listened quietly as she spoke, without taking his eyes off her.

"I know my mother," she continued. "And if I’m being honest... I wish she hadn’t survived. I wish they let her die. I’m better off without her. And the world is better off without her too." The words came out flat and cold.

His chest tightened but he nodded with understanding. "What about your biological father? Now that you know Ryan wasn’t your biological father, don’t you want to find your biological father?"

"What’s the point of looking for the real one?"

"You don’t want to know who he is?"

She laughed softly, without humour. "That would be a wild goose chase. My mother was a prostitute. My father could be any one of many men. There’s no way to know for sure. I doubt she’d have sold me to Ryan if my biological father was someone worth knowing."

"Come here," he said, as he rose from the bed.

She went to meet him on the bed, and he wrapped his arms around her, offering comfort without words.

"I’m sorry you feel this way," he said softly.

She sighed softly. "It’s fine."

Seeing how she felt about her mother, Stefan figured it was best not to tell her yet that he’d taken over the care of her mother from Tom and Harry.

Later he would tell her that her mother was in a rehabilitation facility somewhere in Ludus receiving treatment for her wound and therapy for her drug addiction.