Stolen Identity: Mute Heiress

Chapter 401: Always?

Jamal did not get back to Tom’s house until very late that evening.

The sky was already dark by the time his car turned into the long driveway of the mansion. The porch lights glowed warmly against the quiet night.

He leaned back briefly against the seat before turning off the engine.

"Finally," he muttered tiredly.

His day had been a chaos.

One of the animation teams had missed a major delivery deadline for a project that was supposed to launch the following week. That alone had turned the studio upside down. Meetings, emergency calls with the marketing team, angry partners, and a last-minute rewrite of the distribution schedule had swallowed most of his afternoon.

Then when he finally left the office, traffic had refused to cooperate.

Now his shoulders felt stiff and his head throbbed slightly.

Still, the moment he thought about Dawn and Josh inside the house, the tightness in his chest eased a little.

He stepped out of the car and walked towards the house and let himself in.

Inside the mansion, the den lights were on and he could hear the sound of the television.

Jamal went to the den, and there he saw Dawn seated on the large sofa watching television while Josh lay curled beside her, fast asleep with his head resting on her thigh.

Across from them sat Tom and Lucy. Lucy was knitting something slowly with her legs on Tom’s thighs, while Tom watched the television with mild interest.

Dawn looked up when she sensed his presence and her eyes lit up immediately.

"Jamal."

Tom turned his head as well. "Well, look who finally decided to show up. The CEO himself."

Jamal smiled tiredly as he walked in.

"Evening, everyone."

Lucy set her knitting aside and rose immediately. "You look exhausted, Jam."

"I feel exhausted," Jamal admitted as he bent slightly and kissed Lucy on both cheeks.

Tom groaned loudly.

"Can you stop doing that?" he complained. "Dawn is right here, go kiss her and leave my wife alone."

Jamal chuckled weakly. "It should be aunt Dawn to you."

Lucy and Dawn laughed.

"Oh hush, Jam," Lucy warned playfully.

Tom shook his head. "You people are lucky I’m a patient man."

Lucy smiled warmly at Jamal. "Have you eaten?"

"Not yet."

"Well then," she said gently, "Tom and I will take Josh upstairs with us so you and Dawn can sit together while you eat."

Jamal shook his head immediately. "No, it’s okay."

He walked closer to the couch and looked down at Josh. The boy’s hair was messy and his small hand still held the corner of Dawn’s shirt.

Jamal’s tired eyes softened. "I’ll take him up myself."

Tom smiled knowingly. "I thought you might say that."

"Yeah. I don’t want to stress you, old man," Jamal teased, and Tom laughed out loud while both ladies giggled.

Jamal bent down and carefully lifted Josh into his arms.

Josh stirred slightly and his eyes opened halfway, and he blinked sleepily.

Then he smiled when he saw his father. "Daddy..."

Jamal kissed his forehead gently. "Hey, Buddy."

Josh wrapped his arms loosely around his neck. "I was waiting for you. I missed you."

Jamal’s chest tightened warmly. "I missed you too."

Josh yawned and rested his head on his father’s shoulder again. Already drifting back to sleep.

Dawn, who had been watching quietly, stood up. "I’ll come with you."

They walked upstairs together in silence. "Is he spending the night in your room or his?"

"His," Dawn said, and Jamal took Josh to his room.

Jamal laid Josh carefully on his bed and pulled the blanket over him.

Jamal sat on the edge of the bed for a moment, watching him. He brushed the boy’s hair back from his forehead.

He really couldn’t wait to have Dawn and Josh living with him permanently. He wanted to come back home to them every day and wake up every morning with them right under his roof.

He wanted to have breakfast and dinner with them every day and spend every spare time he had showing them both how much he loved them.

The room was quiet as Jamal watched Josh sleep while Dawn leaned against the doorframe, quietly watching him.

Her heart softened at the obvious love she could see on his face.

Finally, Jamal stood up and walked towards the door.

When they stepped out of the room and shut the door behind them, Dawn embraced him.

Jamal exhaled deeply as he hugged her back, letting himself soak in her warmth and softness, and then, after a while, they pulled away from each other.

"You look really exhausted. How was your day?" she asked softly.

Jamal shook his head tiredly. "Crazy."

"Want to tell me about it?" Dawn asked as they began walking downstairs.

"The animation team missed a delivery deadline," he continued with a sigh. "Which meant the marketing team started panicking. Which meant the partners started calling. Which meant my entire day turned into one long emergency meeting."

Dawn winced. "That sounds awful."

"It was." He rubbed the back of his neck. "And when I finally left the office, traffic decided to punish me."

Dawn smiled sympathetically. "Well... maybe you should stay the night instead of driving all the way back."

"I thought about that too."

"Good. How about you freshen up before eating..."

"No. Absolutely not. I’m going to go to bed the moment I finish bathing. I won’t make it downstairs."

"I could bring dinner upstairs while you freshen up and relax on the bed," she offered.

"I’m hungry. I’ll rather eat first. Thanks for the offer," Jamal said, and Dawn smiled.

"In that case, I will give you a massage after you shower. I don’t want my baby looking so stressed," she said, and Jamal grinned as he looked at that.

"Sounds like a good idea."

When they reached the kitchen, the lights were dim. The house staff had already retired for the night.

Dawn went to the microwave. "I’ll heat up your dinner."

She reheated the food while Jamal sat down at the island.

A few minutes later, she placed the plate of chicken spaghetti in front of him.

Jamal began eating slowly. After a moment, he looked up. "So..."

Dawn raised an eyebrow. "So?"

"About our discussion."

She sighed quietly. "Jamal... aren’t you too exhausted to talk about that right now? We should talk about something more relaxing instead."

"Why?" He watched her for a moment. "Are you avoiding the subject?"

Dawn frowned slightly. "Why would I do that? I have no reason to avoid it."

"From what I can see," Jamal said calmly, "you always avoid important conversations."

Her eyes widened slightly. "Always?"

"Yes."

"What do you mean always?" She asked, not liking the accusation in his tone.