Chapter 866 You’re So Pretty

Chapter 866 You’re So Pretty

The wait felt excruciating for Jamal. He fidgeted in his seat, bouncing his leg and chewing his bottom lip.

Finally, the phone buzzed in Andy's hand, the notification announcing a video call. "It's her!" she exclaimed, a wide grin splitting her face.

Jamal, who had been bouncing on the balls of his feet with anticipation, practically shoved himself into Andy's lap. The screen flickered to life, revealing a woman with a stern looking face, followed by a small girl with bright hazel eyes and a head full of dark curls.

Jamal's face lit up like a Christmas tree when he saw her face, "Dawn?" Jamal boomed into the receiver, his voice a stark contrast to the tiny, hesitant voice that came through on the other end.

Dawn's eyes widened as she saw Jamal. "Jamal?" Dawn's voice was barely a whisper, laced with a shyness that made Andy grin.

"Dawn! Is that really you?" Jamal's voice practically vibrated with excitement as he waved enthusiastically.

"Guess what?" Jamal asked with a grin.

Dawn tilted her head, her gaze flickering between Jamal and her governess. "What?" she whispered, a shy smile gracing her lips.

"I miss you!" Jamal blurted, his voice brimming with sincerity.

A giggle escaped Dawn's lips, and she ducked her head shyly. "I miss you too," she mumbled, then quickly hid behind her hand, suddenly overwhelmed by the enormity of actually talking to Jamal.

Andy felt a warm glow spread through her chest. This was exactly what she'd hoped for when she set up the phone call. These two little ones getting to chat and keep their friendship alive.

"Can you believe it?" Jamal continued, oblivious to Dawn's shyness. "We finally get to talk! Aunt Andy let me see all your pictures on your Instagram. You're so pretty!"

Dawn's cheeks flushed a rosy pink. "Thank you," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

The conversation wasn't much more than shy greetings and awkward giggles at first. Jamal excitedly told Dawn about his aunt Andy, and his new house and starting a new school. And he told her about his new bicycle and his grandfather's company.

And when he ran out of things to tell her, he peppered her with questions about her day and all she was up to and Dawn, in turn, described her latest piano lesson.

Andy watched the exchange with amusement. This was adorable. On one hand, there was Jamal, practically bursting with news and boundless energy. On the other, there was Dawn, a shy little flower slowly unfolding under Jamal's infectious enthusiasm.

His relentless enthusiasm drew out a few more words from her with each passing minute. Andy watched, impressed with Jamal's patience. He clearly understood that Dawn needed a little coaxing to come out of her shell.

"Are you happy?" Jamal asked, and even though Dawn had not been happy since she left the Hank home, she bobbed her head because she was very happy talking to Jamal.

"And guess what?" Jamal declared triumphantly, "Lucy and Tom are going to visit soon! They said so!"

Dawn's eyes widened, "Are they going to visit me too?" She asked hopefully, her voice small but determined.

"When they come see me, I'm going to ask them to bring me to you so we can play together and then you can teach me how to play your piano and I will teach you how to ride your bike," Jamal said and Dawn giggled, a sound like tinkling bells.

"Maybe."

As the conversation continued, Andy noticed Dawn becoming more comfortable, her voice growing a little bolder.

Dawn's smile faded slightly when her governess announced that she had chatted enough and it was time to return to her lessons, but she didn't dwell on it. Instead, she turned back to Jamal, her eyes bright. "Will you call me again soon?"

"Of course!" Jamal exclaimed, practically vibrating with excitement. "My aunt Andy made an Instagram account for me. You can call me and I can call you too!"

A hesitant smile bloomed on Dawn's face. "Okay," she agreed, her voice barely a whisper.

"She has to go now. Say goodbye," Andy told Jamal and he nodded.

"Dawn? Remember what I told you when you were leaving?" Jamal asked, and Dawn blushed, making Andy wonder what Jamal had told Dawn.

"I'm going to be very rich when I grow up and I will buy you a house and a car and take care of you," Jamal promised and Andy's heart melted.

"I'm going to be rich too," Dawn said confidently.

"Maybe we can ask Harry to help us find someone," Bryan suggested.

"I think I know someone that can do it. My cousin. He can easily pass for me unless you look closely," Jeff, who had been quiet, finally spoke.

Sonia looked at him hopefully, "Really? That's good then. But doesn't he have a job and stuff?"

"He won't mind coming over to help. Besides, he's going to get paid," Jeff said and they all nodded.

"Why not try contacting him now let's see if he's up for it?" Bryan suggested and Jeff took out his phone and called his cousin.

The moment the call connected, Jeff dove right down to business. "Hey, Joe! Quick one. I have an important job for you. Pay is good. It's going to take a couple months and you have to move down to Ludus for the time being. Can you do it?" Jeff asked.

"How soon do you want me to come over? And what do I need to do?" He asked and Jeff smiled.

"If you can get into the next flight available flight, I will owe you for life. I'm going on a trip in a couple of days, I don't want Bryan or anyone else to find out. Can you cover for me and pretend to be more while I'm away?" Jeff asked and Bryan and Sonia exchanged a look, wondering why he lied.

"C'mon Jeff. We might look a little alike, but there is no way they're not going to know I am someone else," he pointed out, "Besides, I can't begin to train my beards and stuff to look like you in such a short time."

"You don't have to worry about that. I got rid of my beards already. I still look a little strange to them right now because I did that. And if you do a good job, no one is going to know that you're someone else," Jeff promised.

"Are you sure? I don't want to be charged with impersonation..."

"Do you trust me?" Jeff asked and he sighed.

"With my life."

"Then do this for me," Jeff said and after he agreed to come the next day, Jeff thanked him and hung up the call.

"Why did you lie to him?" Bryan asked curiously.

"He will do a better job if he doesn't know the truth. Besides, he might try to stop me if he knows how dangerous this might be. It's best he doesn't know and just focuses on deceiving everyone," Jeff explained.

"So? Is he coming tomorrow?" Sonia asked since she had heard Jeff talk about the next available flight.

"Yes. But that would be late in the evening since he needs to take care of some personal business and wrap up loose ends," Jeff said and they nodded in understanding.

Sonia sighed, "I wonder how Mia is doing. They should have arrived by now," she said and picked up her phone to check if there was any news online about Vanessa Rosewood and Henry Rosewood.

It didn't take a minute before the images popped up, "He took her home dressed this way?" Sonia asked in disbelief when she saw how vulnerable Mia looked in her sleeping clothes and indoor footwear at thr airport.

Immediately, Jeff and Bryan moved close to her to see what she was saying and Jeff gritted his teeth when he saw how uncomfortable Mia looked.

"I'm going to kill that bastard with my own hands," Jeff promised, his face dark with anger when they saw more pictures of Mia, especially at the welcome back party in the mansion.

"He clearly did this to humiliate her. He knew they were coming home to reporters and to a welcome party, yet he didn't think to bring her more befitting clothes," Sonia said, feeling very annoyed.

"Calm down, babe," Bryan said, holding her hand.

"I'm trying to. Maybe we shouldn't have let her leave with him. Maybe we should have all put up a fight and shown him we were behind Mia. Maybe he would have changed his mind and..."

"You told Mia it was a good idea," Bryan reminded her calmly.

"Maybe I was wrong. I have been known to be wrong. What if he hurts her? What if he breaks her again?" Sonia asked, tears in her eyes.

"As much as I hate to say this, Mia knew what she was getting into when she chose to go back home with him. She will take care of herself until we are able to help her, so trust her and don't worry too much," Jeff said and Bryan nodded in agreement.

"Let's trust Mia, and wait until Jeff can go over to join her, okay?" Bryan said and Sonia sighed.

"Let's not go easy on him. Okay, Jeff?" Sonia said, and Jeff gave her a nod.

There was no way he was going to go easy on Henry. Not after all he had done to Mia.