Stolen Identity: Mute Heiress

Chapter 524: Two Wrongs

The first thing Jamal noticed when his alarm off the next morning and he managed to open his eyes was that Dawn wasn’t on the bed with him.

He frowned when he didn’t see her beside him and wondered how he’d managed to sleep so soundly that he hadn’t even realized when she left.

Where was she? He wondered as he glanced at the bathroom door and listened quietly if she was inside.

When he heard nothing, he got off the bed and walked over to the bathroom to check but she wasn’t there.

Although the bathroom looked and smelled like she’d taken her bath already she wasn’t inside.

He walked out of the bedroom and headed to Josh’s bedroom to check.

When he got there, he found Josh still sound asleep in bed.

He stood by the door, his lips curving as he watched his son sleep soundly.

He loved having them under this roof so much his heart felt like it would burst.

Now where was Dawn? He wondered as he headed for the living room.

The aroma of breakfast welcomed him as he walked in the living room.

He went straight to the kitchen and stopped by the door when he saw her standing by the counter, dressed in one of his t-shirts as she prepared a sandwich.

Two lunch packs lay open on the island.

His heart softened as he leaned against the door and watched her. She looked all busy as she glanced at her phone’s screen, then shook her head as she returned her attention to the bread again.

Seeing her that way made him want to smile. He wanted to join her so they could have fun together preparing breakfast.

As though she sensed his presence, she looked up, and the moment she saw Jamal, her face lit up.

Seeing him barefooted and how ruffled his hair looked told her that he’d come to find her the moment he woke up.

And that made her very happy because in spite of how upset he was, he had thought of her when he woke up.

“Good morning,” she greeted pleasantly as she approached him. “You look a lot better today than you did last night.”

Jamal schooled his expression to remain neutral as she stopped in front of him, then she lifted herself on her toes and kissed his lips.

Jamal kept staring at her.

“I’m guessing you slept well,” she said cheerfully as she looked into his eyes. “I did. I’ve noticed I sleep better when I sleep beside you.”

Me too, Jamal thought, but said nothing.

“I’m making sandwiches. Come sit with me, I’ll pour you a mug of coffee,” she said, taking his hands and leading him to the island.

Jamal let her lead him there and then he sat down.

He knew he should probably play a little hard to get and refuse to keep her company, but he couldn’t.

Yes, he was emotionally exhausted and needed space, but he loved to see her and be with her even though he was still hurt by her actions.

His feelings didn’t exactly make sense to him, but they were his, and he didn’t need to make sense of them to do what made him happy.

He’d stayed away from her for the past two days and it had been hell. Why put himself through that?

Dawn placed a mug of coffee in front of him, and he picked it up and lifted it to his lips. “Thanks,” he murmured.

She smiled as she sat down, and watched him.

“Do you still have plans of giving me a working space at HAJ? The studio?” She asked after a moment.

Jamal paused, then slowly set down his mug. “Why would I change my mind about that?”

Dawn shrugged. “I just wanted to be sure the offer was still open.”

“What kind of person do you take me for, Dawn?”

She smiled at him. “A very wonderful and loving man.”

“Don’t patronize me.”

Dawn’s smile faltered. “I’m not.”

“Last night you assumed I would kick you and Josh out…”

“I didn’t say you’d kick us out. I said you might not welcome us or let us stay. It’s not the same thing,” Dawn pointed out.

“Why would you not be welcome here? Why would I withdraw an offer I already made to you simply because I’m upset?” Jamal asked, looking at her.

“Maybe because you decided that you don’t want me anymore and so you wouldn’t want to be in the same space with me,” Dawn said reasonably.

“I will never go back on my words to you even if whatever we have end. I told you this is your home. I’d rather move out of this place than ask you to leave. HAJ is large enough for you to have your workspace far away from me. You’re not just anybody to me, Dawn. So whether what we have works or not, you’re still the love of my life and the mother of my son…”

“You’re not moving away from anywhere, I’m not having a workspace far from you. And what we have is not ending. It is going to work. So can you please stop talking about us in that negative way?” Dawn asked with a frown.

“I was only correcting your negative impression of me.”

“I don’t have any negative impression of you, Jamal,” Dawn said softly. “I’m sorry I broke your heart and trust, Jamal. I didn’t mean to. I swear on my life that I said nothing to Adam to disrespect you or our relationship. I admit that it was stupid of me to allow myself be talked into going to wait in his office. And I also admit that enjoyed his company a little more than I should have but that was only because he had lots of pictures about the countries he’d visited and we got talking about them. He had lots of interesting stories to tell about his trips, and I have never really travelled so I got curious and ended up talking for longer than I intended.”

Adam told her about the places he’d been to?

Only now that she mentioned it, did it really occur to him that she had not been to a lot of places.

She had been caged for most of her life and had not traveled for fun before, and he couldn’t remember ever talking to her about the places he’d been to.

He hadn’t even known she had an interest in traveling.

What kind of boyfriend didn’t know such a detail about his girlfriend?

The more he listened to her, the clearer it became to him that he had not been putting in much work in their relationship.

Yes, he loved her and he never failed to say so and show it, but relationships required more than love.

He wasn’t even married to her yet, but he had become so comfortable with his little of her that he wasn’t chasing her or trying to know her more than he already did.

She wouldn’t feel so entertained by another guy if he had such conversations with her or continued to chase her.

Even Tom and Lucy who had been married for twenty years went on more dates than they did.

Yes, she was wrong, but just maybe he was wrong, too.

And two wrongs never made a right.