Stolen Identity: Mute Heiress

Chapter 490: Complete approval

After the couple left, the wedding reception slowly came to an end.

Jamal looked around the garden.

Some of the older couples had left, while the others had gone inside to hang out in the den.

Dawn was sitting beside him, her hand resting on his arm. Mari was leaning against Jax, while Emily and Callan sat across from them.

Jamal looked at the others. “I’m not ready to call it a day yet.”

Dawn looked at him. “You’re not?”

He shook his head. “No. The wedding is over, but the night is still young.”

Mari’s eyes lit up. “I agree. I vote that we all hang out.”

Jax chuckled. “Of course you do.”

She nudged him with her shoulder. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Jax smiled. “It means you are always ready to have fun.”

Mari grinned. “Of course I am.”

Callan looked at Emily. “Are you up for it? Or do you want to go home to get some rest?”

“She is up for it,” Mari said before Emily could respond.

Callan scowled at Mari. “I wasn’t asking you.”

“I don’t care,” Mari said, sticking out her tongue.

Everyone laughed.

Callan looked at Emily.

Emily shrugged. “If everyone is hanging out, I don’t want to be left out.”

Mari clapped her hands. “Then it’s settled. We are going out.”

Dawn laughed. “Where are we going?”

Everyone looked at Jamal.

“Why are you all looking at me?”

“You are the one who said you’re not ready to call it a day,” Dawn reminded him.

Jamal thought for a moment.

“There is a new lounge I wanted to check out. Maybe we can all go there.”

“I was hoping we’d go clubbing,” Mari said with a pout.

“Nah. I don’t want to go clubbing. I can’t deal with all that noise or crowd right now. The overstimulation will kill me,” Emily said immediately.

Mari frowned. “If you’re that stressed, we don’t have to go out tonight. We can always do so after Jax’s exhibition tomorrow.”

Emily exchanged a subtle, amused look with Jax. “I doubt that. I’d rather we hang out tonight. I want to get to know Jax since it’s my first time meeting him in person. Everyone here has met him but me. So, tonight I will be hanging out with Jax. You can have Callan.”

“Wow,” Callan said, making everyone laugh.

Jax laughed as he got to his feet and held out a hand to Emily. “Let’s go then. I’ll drive us. Mari can ride with Callan.”

“What? Are you both serious? You know I don’t get along with Callan. I might kill him,” Mari said dramatically.

“That was what Emily said when she was going to Husla. What do we have now? A public declaration of love?” Jamal said dryly, and everyone laughed.

“You were waiting for someone to say that.”

“I was.”

Emily laughed as she rose and took Jax’s hand. “Mari and Callan will be alright. Let’s go.”

Just like that, everyone rose and headed inside to let Tom and the others know they were heading out.

A few minutes later, three cars left Tom’s mansion.

Jamal drove with Dawn beside him.

Jax drove the second car with Emily.

Callan drove the third with Mari.

As Jax drove, Emily studied him. “So, I’m finally meeting Mari’s boyfriend in person.”

Jax chuckled. “I’m finally meeting Mari’s best friend in person.”

Emily giggled. “What does it feel like dating Mari?”

Jax glanced at her. “What do you mean?”

Emily grinned. “She’s my best friend, and sometimes it’s not so easy keeping up with her energy, even though we’ve been friends for most of our lives. And just by looking at you, I can tell you’re more of the chill type. And now you want to get married to her. Please indulge my curiosity.”

Jax laughed softly, keeping his eyes on the road. “That is a very good question.”

“So?”

He thought for a moment. “Dating Mari is…” He paused, searching for the right word. “An experience.”

Emily burst out laughing. “That’s one way to describe it.”

He turned to look at her briefly. “Don’t get me wrong. It’s not a bad experience…”

“I doubt you’d be proposing to her barely weeks after meeting her if it was a bad experience,” Emily cut in.

Jax smiled. “True. But what I mean is that dating her is just… different. I’ve never met a person like her. She has so much energy. She can walk into a quiet room and somehow make it feel crowded.”

Emily grinned. “Yeah. Mari has a way of lighting everything up.”

“She’s more like a dynamite,” Jax corrected.

Emily laughed. “That description fits Mari.”

Jax laughed. “When we first met, I couldn’t believe how much she talks. She always had something to say.”

“She always does,” Emily agreed, laughing.

Jax was silent for a moment. He liked that he could finally talk to someone about Mari this way. Someone who saw her the same way he did.

“Sometimes I don’t even know how she moves from one topic to another.”

Emily laughed harder. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

Jax smiled. “But I like it.”

“You don’t have a choice, do you?”

Jax laughed, keeping his gaze on the road. “I like how alive she is. She makes everything more fun.”

Emily’s smile softened as she looked at him. “You love her.”

“I’m crazy about her,” Jax confessed.

“Aww,” Emily cooed, making Jax laugh.

She leaned back in her seat. “Okay. You have my complete approval.”

Jax glanced at her. “I didn’t have it before?”

Emily giggled. “Well, my approval is in phases. You’re marrying my best friend. I have to make sure you’re worthy.”

“Phases? Does that mean I’ve passed all the phases?”

Emily smiled. “Yeah. You just ticked one of the boxes. Being able to gossip about Mari with me.”

He laughed. “I didn’t know that was a criterion.”

“I just told you,” she said, then paused, “Now that I think about it, I wonder what those two are talking about. They’re probably gossiping about me.”

Jax laughed. “Maybe. Does it make you uncomfortable?”

Emily shook her head. “Nah. Not at all.”

Jax nodded. “Good.”

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then Emily’s eyes narrowed playfully. “Now, about tomorrow.”

Jax’s smile changed. “What about tomorrow?”

“Are you ready?”

Jax nodded. “As ready as I can be.”

“Are you nervous?”

“A little.”

Emily shook her head in amusement. “You don’t have to be.”

He glanced at her. “Easy for you to say.”

Emily watched Jax for a moment. “You should know she’s crazy about you too. I’ve never seen Mari this way about anyone in my entire life. And I know she’s going to love it. I can picture her screaming down the gallery in joy tomorrow.”

Jax’s lips twitched. “I hope so.”

“You hope she screams down the place?” Emily teased.

Jax chuckled at that. “I don’t mind her doing so.”

Emily smiled warmly. “You’re such a lover boy.”