Chapter 282: Questions
While Jamal kept trying to reach him, Stefan was seated with Genevieve on the couch in the living room of the villa. The room was quiet except for the sound of their uneven breaths.
The ocean wind ca through the open window, soft and steady, like it wanted to calm her too.
"Relax," he said gently, holding her close to himself.
After a long mont, Genevieve looked up at him. "How long have you known? When did you find out I wasn’t truly Dawn?"
"Hmm. The second day after we arrived in Westend," Stefan answered softly, rubbing her arm.
She blinked at him, surprised. "You’ve known for that long?"
"Yeah," he said softly.
Her lips parted. "How?"
"Jamal found out. As you already know, he t Abigail in Blue York, that’s how their little boy ca about. So..."
"How did he et her in Blue York? I can’t seem to wrap my head around it," Genevieve said, and Stefan smiled as he explained the story of Jamal’s eting with Abigail.
"Wow! Those two are truly fated to be together," she murmured when he was done.
Stefan smiled, "You have no idea. We t her again at the airport on our way to Westend, and they even sat together in the plane."
"They did? But her face changed. How did he recognize her?" Genevieve asked when he rembered that Abigail didn’t look the sa now as she did in Blue York.
"He didn’t at first. You have no idea how long he searched for her until he gave up. And when they t at the airport she didn’t tell him who she was. But then when we got to your office and you mistook
to be Jamal, and thought he was your new driver, he decided to play along. He wanted to hang around as your driver to see what he could learn about what happened in the past, while I also play along. Then he got to your house and saw the girl from the airport there. Slowly the puzzle pieces ca together."
Genevieve frowned, "So, if he wasn’t my driver, what about my real driver?"
"We took care of it," Stefan said, and she looked at him not sure whether to be impressed by their brilliance or embarrassed by her stupidity.
She had even gone as far as warning Jamal in advance when her father... scratch that. When Ryan told her he wanted to investigate Jamal.
She ntally replayed everything that had happened since Stefan and Jamal showed up at her office, and she cringed as she imagined how stupid she must have looked.
"So, you work for Jamal and you both were putting up an act the whole ti? The hotel incident and needing him to stand in for you, what was that for?" She asked, then before he could answer she narrowed her eyes, "Was that to give him room to spend ti alone with Abigail?"
Stefan nodded. "Yes. That was the ti he figured out she was Dawn and also the girl he’d t in Blue York."
"Wow!" She murmured, thinking about how well Abigail and Jamal had also fooled her.
Now that she thought about it and replayed so of the things they’d said, she realized they had both tried to reassure her in their own ways. Especially Jamal when he advised her to open up to Abigail.
"But I don’t get it, if he found out Abigail was Dawn, why didn’t they expose everything? And why did you keep playing along?" Genevieve asked after a mont.
"There was no definite proof. We were being careful since we didn’t know all the cards Ryan had in his hands," he said, then hesitated before adding, "and I believed you would be able to help us with the proof we needed if I stayed close. You were mostly honest when we conversed. I was hoping I could get you to open up so that you wouldn’t have to be punished alongside Ryan when the truth was exposed."
Genevieve raised a brow as she adjusted on the couch. "So, you were trying to get
to trust you so I would tell you the truth?"
"Yeah. But then..." He gave a slow smile, a little broken at the edges. "Sohow I fell for you. I fell for the way you laughed. I loved the way your eyes lit when you talked. I loved you."
Her heart gave a hard squeeze. She dropped her gaze. "You fell for ... even when you knew the kind of person I was and all I had done?"
"Yes," he said simply. "I knew you could be better. I knew you wanted to be better but was just too scared to go for it."
Her breath ca fast. She pressed her hands against her lap. "Do you know how scared I’ve been? Every day I thought—’what if he finds out I’m not Dawn?’ My chest would hurt. My stomach would twist. I was so anxious. I had lots of nightmares about being exposed. I wanted to tell you, Stefan. I wanted to open up to Abigail. But I was so afraid you’d hate . I was afraid my father kill ."
Stefan tilted her chin until her eyes t his. "Well, now you don’t have to be afraid of anything anymore. I love you, Viv. Now you can be yourself. You don’t have to be Dawn. You don’t have to tell lies anymore."
Her throat burned again, tears spilling. "I think there’s sothing else I need to tell you."
"What?" Stefan asked, taking her hands in his.
"My Mom. My biological is alive," Genevieve said quietly.
Stefan decided not to tell her yet that he knew that. "How’s your relationship with her?"
Genevieve shook her head. "I’ve not seen her in years. But she reaches out to
monthly whenever she needs money," Genevieve said, unsure if she should tell him that her mother was a drug addict and was blackmailing her.
Stefan watched her silently. Waiting for her to tell him the rest.
Genevieve drew a deep breath, deciding that if he knew as much as he did about her already and didn’t hate judge her or her, then she could as well be totally honest with him.
"She’s a druggie. I an a drug addict. She’s been blackmailing
for years," she said, and Stefan raised a brow.
"Blackmailing you with what?" He asked, curious to know the real story behind the picture Jamal had seen.
"Before she took
to my Dad, I used to live with her. She slept with n for money. She usually brought them ho," Genevieve looked down at her hands, too ashad to look into Stefan’s face. "So tis when she was knocked out, so of the n would co over to the corner where I sleep to touch ..." she trailed off and looked up when Stefan raised her trembling hand to his lips and kissed her palm like a silent assurance.
"You can look at . You have nothing to be ashad off with , I promise," he said, even though deep down he was filled with rage at her mother and the n who had abused her.
Tears slid down Genevieve’s cheeks and Stefan reached forward and brushed it off. "I take it your mother never did anything about her n friend?"
Genevieve shook her head, "She didn’t even when I told her. She called
a little slut and said she’d have to take money from them for touching . And then she brought in caras to get pictures and videos that she used to blackmail the n. And
now," she said, and Stefan sighed softly.
"You’ve experienced much more than anyone should at your age," Stefan said, gathering her close once again and Genevieve shut her eyes as he kissed her forehead.
She pulled away when she suddenly rembered sothing and looked at Stefan. "My Dad looked sick in that video. Do you think he was putting up an act?"
Stefan shook his head. "He’s not your Dad," Stefan said before going on to tell her all that Ryan had been up to and how he had found his biological son and had a cardiac arrest on his way to et him.
"His son is your friend?" Genevieve asked in disbelief.
Stefan nodded. "Yeah. He’s Jamal’s best friend."
"You took my phone because you didn’t want
to find out about any of this, didn’t you?" She asked, and he nodded.
"The major purpose for this trip was to make sure you opened up to . Now that Ryan has done this I’m sure you do not plan to go back to Westend..."
"I never planned on going back to Westend. I planned on disappearing after telling you the truth," she confessed.
"We figured that out. Now that the truth is out and you know you don’t have to disappear, you can go back with
to Ludus. You never have to wear a wig or Lens. I love your natural hair and eyes," he said, touching her hair.
"So... what happens now that your purpose for the trip has been achieved? Do we have to leave now?" She asked, looking into his eyes, although she had other questions on her mind to ask him.
She wanted to ask why she was going to Ludus and where she would have to live in Ludus. Would the Hanks really accept her even if Jamal and Abigail did?
Stefan looked at her, his eyes steady. "Do you want to leave now? Are you ready to go to Ludus?"
She shook her head quickly, desperate. "No. I’m not ready. I can’t face everyone else yet."
"Then we stay," he said without hesitation.
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