Stolen Identity: Mute Heiress

Chapter 399: Loosen Up

Genevieve immediately accepted the incoming call from Dawn.

Dawn’s voice came through quickly. "Genny, I’m so sorry. I missed your call earlier. I left my phone upstairs while I was downstairs."

"It’s fine," Genevieve said with a tired smile. "I just wanted to let you know about my meeting with the lawyer."

"Before we get into that, how are you doing?" Dawn asked. "We’ve barely talked since you got to West End."

Genevieve stretched slightly on the bed. "I’m okay. Just exhausted."

"How are things over there in West End?"

"Not bad," Genevieve replied. Then she added with a small smile, "By the way, I saw your video online. It’s blowing up the internet."

Dawn laughed softly. "You did? What did you think about it?"

"It was lovely. I didn’t even know you had a podcast. I can’t imagine how you were able to get that past his watchful eyes," she said, referring to Ryan, "But then again, you were able to keep the fact that you could talk and didn’t have surgery from him—" she trailed off when she realised she was bringing up the unpleasant past. "Sorry I went off track. I listened to some of the past podcast episodes. They’re really brilliant."

Dawn smiled warmly. For some reason, the compliment from Genevieve meant a great deal to her, and she didn’t mind the reference to Ryan.

"Actually, I was hoping you might appear on one of the episodes when you get back," Dawn said softly.

Genevieve hesitated. "Sure. If that’s what you want."

"No," Dawn said quickly. "It’s not about what I want. You have a choice. This is just a request, not an imposition," she said, not wanting Genevieve to think she had to do it simply because she asked.

Before Genevieve could speak, Dawn added. "I thought maybe we could share our story together. And you know, people seeing us together might help your image."

Genevieve’s expression softened. "Sure," she said gently. "I’d love to."

Dawn smiled. "That’s settled it then. So how did the meeting with the lawyer go?"

Genevieve explained everything.

When she finished, Dawn exhaled slowly. "That’s probably for the best," she said. "I’m relieved I won’t have to deal with any of Ryan’s business."

Genevieve frowned slightly. "You’re not upset? Your mother’s inheritance was part of that wealth. The lawyer said you could contest the will."

Dawn shook her head. "I’d rather not." She spoke calmly. "I already have more than enough from what my mother left me. And my biological father left me his share too." She paused. "Considering all the illegal things Ryan did with that money... I don’t want any part of it. I’d rather let it go to compensating the victims and to the foundation."

Genevieve nodded slowly and smiled faintly. "Okay. I’ll let the lawyer know."

"Thank you," Dawn said softly. "I can’t wait to see you when you get back. We have to start those dance lessons," she added.

Genevieve laughed. "Right."

"Oh, and Josh says he misses you," Dawn added.

Genevieve’s heart warmed. "I miss him too." She hesitated, then asked, "Did you tell him about it? I mean Dad’s death?"

As much as Dawn didn’t like Genevieve referring to Ryan as Dad, especially when talking to her, she chose not to comment on it.

"No," Dawn replied quietly. "He hasn’t asked about him since we left the house. So I decided not to bring it up until he asks or maybe until he’s old enough to understand."

Genevieve nodded. "That makes sense." Then she yawned softly. "Okay. I really need to sleep now," she murmured.

"Alright. Let me know when you leave Westend," Dawn said.

"Sure. Give my love to Josh and my regards to Jamal," Genevieve said with another yawn before hanging up.

Dawn smiled as she returned to the Den to join Jamal.

Jamal was still on the phone when she walked in, and Josh was now sleeping on the couch beside him.

Jamal held out a hand to her, and she went to sit on his thigh.

"Want to say hello?" He mouthed, but she quickly shook her head.

Jamal nodded and turned his attention back to the call. "Alright, guys, I have to go now. Let’s talk later," he said calmly before hanging up the call.

"Why did you hang up?" Dawn asked, surprised.

"Because I have to get back to the office, and to do so, I need to hang up and talk to you before leaving," Jamal said, and she smiled.

"Oh. I didn’t think you were going back," she said softly.

"Now that I’ve cleared my head, I should go back to work. I can’t always leave my responsibilities to Stefan this way," he said, and she nodded.

"You’re right. I’ll see you off to your car then," she said as she rose.

Jamal glanced over at Josh, who was still sleeping peacefully on the couch.

"He’s tired himself out," he said without rising, and Dawn giggled.

"Yeah. Will you come back after work? He’s going to want to see you when he wakes up," Dawn said.

Jamal raised a brow. "Are you asking for him or yourself?"

Dawn shrugged. "Both."

"I’ll come back after work. I think we need to talk."

She nodded. "Yeah. I need to tell you about Genevieve’s discussion with the lawyer. We talked earlier when I went upstairs."

"Alright. We can talk about that later, but after we talk about us."

Her brows pulled together. "What about us?"

Jamal studied her face for a moment, as though deciding how to phrase what he wanted to say.

"About last night," he said finally.

Dawn’s shoulders tensed slightly. "Oh. I thought we made up already."

Jamal noticed the shift immediately. His expression softened.

"Yes, we have," he said gently. "We’ve made up. I’m not trying to start another fight. Relax."

Dawn exhaled slowly. "Then why do you want to bring it up again?" she asked quietly.

Jamal rose. Then he reached for her hand and squeezed it lightly as he faced her. "I just think we didn’t handle things very well yesterday," he continued. "Both of us."

Dawn nodded slowly. "That’s true."

He looked down at their joined hands before lifting his gaze back to her. "I don’t want us to get used to walking away from each other or pushing each other away like that," he said.

Dawn swallowed softly. "Neither do I."

"Good. That’s why we need to talk about it."

"Okay. If that’s what you want," Dawn said.

Jamal raised a brow. "If that’s what I want? You don’t want to talk about it?"

She shrugged. "I just don’t see what’s there to talk about. I’m sure we’ve both learned from this. You won’t act the way you did next time, and I won’t act that way either."

"It’s not enough for us to make up, Dawn. We need to talk about what made each of us act that way so that we can be better equipped to handle misunderstandings next time."

"Hopefully, there won’t be misunderstandings to handle," she said with a playful smile.

"There will always be misunderstandings, Dawn. No two people are so perfect that they don’t misunderstand each other every once in a while," Jamal said patiently.

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Okay."

"You’re not taking this seriously, Dawn," Jamal said quietly, a frown etched between his brows.

"And you are taking it too seriously. Loosen up. We can talk if you want us to talk about it. But trust me, I know it won’t happen again. I love you and I won’t let pride or ego get in the way again," she promised, kissing his lips.

"Alright. I’ve got to go now before he wakes up and traps me here," Jamal murmured.

"Sure. I’ll walk you out."

They stepped out of the den and moved quietly through the house.

When they reached the car, Jamal turned to face her. "I’ll come after work," he said.

Dawn nodded. "So you said. But you’re not sleeping."

"Yeah. I’ll leave after we’ve talked properly."

"Okay," she repeated.

Jamal leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I love you," he said.

She smiled softly. "I love you too. Drive safely."

Jamal sighed deeply as he drove away. He wasn’t sure if he was overthinking it, but Dawn seemed to avoid addressing problems directly.

He didn’t like how she easily brushed serious conversations aside with a joke or a kiss.

Maybe he was reading too much into it. Or maybe he wasn’t.

He knew Dawn loved him. That much had never been in doubt. But love alone was not enough to build a healthy relationship.

Problems had to be faced and talked through, not smoothed over and forgotten. That much he’d learned from the elders in his life.

He exhaled slowly and decided to observe her behaviour during their conversation later in the evening before arriving at a conclusion.

Still, the uneasy feeling remained with him for the rest of the day.