Stolen Identity: Mute Heiress

Chapter 402: Are We Done?

Jamal set his fork down. ”Every time I point out something wrong, you brush it off with a kiss or a joke, or you make light of it.”

Dawn folded her arms. ”Why do you sound like I’m the one always doing something wrong? Are you also trying to say I’m the one who did something wrong last night?”

”That’s not the point.”

”You just implied it.”

Jamal sighed. ”No need for you to get defensive. I already admitted I was wrong for being overly sensitive last night.”

”And I also admitted my fault. Why bring it up again?”

”Because I want us to talk about it. I told you that earlier. And I can’t understand why you don’t seem interested in talking about it.”

Dawn leaned back in her chair. ”That’s because I told you already that I don’t see the need to keep talking about something we already fixed.”

She lifted a shoulder. ”Now I know not to take sides with anyone else when you have a misunderstanding with someone.”

Jamal stared at her, unable to believe that was what she got from their misunderstanding.

Dawn continued, ignoring his expression. ”And now you know not to walk out on me like that,” she continued calmly. ”And I know not to ignore your calls.” She shrugged. ”We both learned.”

Jamal shook his head slowly. ”You clearly didn’t learn anything if that’s what you learned.”

Dawn raised a brow. ”What did you learn then?” She asked dryly.

”That we need to communicate better.”

She blinked. ”If you ask me, I think our communication is good. That we had one little misunderstanding yesterday doesn’t mean we don’t communicate well.”

”Yes, it is good. But it could be better.”

She leaned forward. ”Okay. Go ahead. I’m listening.”

Jamal studied her. ”What are you afraid of?”

”Nothing.”

”Then why do you avoid serious conversations?”

”I’m not avoiding anything.”

”You are. Why does talking about things make you uncomfortable?”

Dawn sighed. ”I need you to understand that I’m not avoiding anything or scared of anything. Unlike you, I just don’t see the point in turning every issue into a big discussion. I don’t see any reason to make a big deal out of arguments.”

”I’m not making a big deal out of anything.”

”You are.”

”No. I’m trying to make sure we communicate properly.”

”You keep saying communication.”

”Yes. And that is because I’ve learned from the people I look up to that communication is key in a relationship.”

Dawn exhaled. ”Our relationship is not Tom and Lucy’s relationship. Or your uncle Harry and Jade’s. Do not compare what we have with their relationships.”

”I’m not comparing us.”

”You are using their communication level as a yardstick to judge us.”

Jamal shook his head. ”No, I’m not.”

”You are,” she insisted. ”And you need to understand something. The fact that I joke about whatever you say or make light of it doesn’t mean I don’t take them seriously. Every single thing you’ve pointed out, I heard you.”

Jamal said nothing.

She looked at him steadily. ”I took it to heart even though I made light of it, and that’s because that’s the way I prefer to handle conflict. I don’t believe in flogging an issue over and over after the lesson is learned.”

Jamal sighed deeply. ”I’m just trying to make our relationship work.”

”So am I.” She leaned forward slightly. ”And don’t think because you prefer to talk more means you’re doing more. This relationship is equally important to me as it is to you.”

Jamal looked at her quietly.

”This is our first relationship. All these years I plotted and planned alone until you showed up. I wasn’t used to sharing my plans with anyone. You pointed it out, and I’m trying to deliberately make adjustments. I will make mistakes as you will too, and we will both call each other out on them and make corrections,” she continued gently. ”But what I want is for us to relax and enjoy the process. We’ll learn as we go.”

”I’d rather avoid some mistakes by learning from experienced people,” Jamal murmured.

Dawn smiled faintly. ”Yes, we will learn what we need to learn from experienced people.” She reached across the table and took his hand. ”But we should also remember that no two people are alike.”

Jamal watched her.

She squeezed his fingers gently. ”We can take what works for us,” she said softly. ”And leave the rest. I’m not against communication, Jamal. I just don’t believe in sitting inside unpleasant moments longer than necessary once the lesson is learned.”

He held her gaze. ”But I prefer to talk things through.”

”And that’s fine too. I will always listen to you talk and I will talk when I believe there is need for me to do so, but do not judge me when I make light of things. Think of it as my own way of coping and handling situations. We all can’t be the same or handle situations the same way.”

Jamal thought about it for a moment and nodded. ”Alright. I guess that works.”

”Yes, it does. Do you still want to talk about what happened yesterday?” Dawn asked, and Jamal sighed.

”Earlier you said you learned not to take sides. You didn’t exactly take sides. You only tried to make me see things from Mila’s point of view, and I would have seen it if I wasn’t upset that she referred to me as a golden boy.”

”Talking about Mila, she called me earlier,” Dawn said softly. ”She said she didn’t want to be the reason I fight with you and she was sorry for causing a scene last night.”

Jamal smiled. ”We made up, too.” He lifted Dawn’s hand to his lips, ”I love you, Dawn. Not that it would happen next time, but if it does, I’d rather you don’t let me leave that way.”

”Noted. And I’d rather you let me know when I offend you or hurt your ego instead of being cold,” she said, and Jamal nodded.

”Noted.”

”Are we done?” She asked, and he shook his head.

”No, ignoring my messages or calls no matter how upset you are. For all you know, I could be dying and trying to reach you...”

She felt a pang in her heart at that and frowned. ”You will never be dying. Don’t say that.”

”I’m just saying don’t avoid my calls. You can take the calls and stay silent if you’re very upset, but at least hear me out. I’ll do the same to you.”

”Alright. I will. But I’ll prefer we make up in person rather than over the phone. That way, we can have a make-up kiss,” she joked, and Jamal laughed.

”Noted. Anything else?” He asked.

”I should be asking you since you’re Mr Communication,” she teased, and Jamal laughed.

”I’ll let you know if anything else gets to mind,” he said.

”Cool. Now finish up your food. It’s cold already,” she urged him.

”Are we cool now?” Jamal asked, looking at her as he picked up his fork again.

”We are hot. I’d rather we are hot than cool,” she joked, and Jamal chuckled, relaxing fully.

”Tell me about your discussion with Genevieve,” he said as he resumed eating, and Dawn went on to tell him all about it.