Chapter 510: Helpful

As Dawn returned inside, she bit her lip to keep herself from crying.

Jamal’s actions hurt more than she cared to admit, and she couldn’t for the life of her imagine why he was suddenly treating her that way.

She waited until her emotions had calmed a little before pasting a smile on her face and returning inside the hall.

The moment she got back to Emily and Mari, they looked at her.

"What’s going on between you and Jamal?"

"Did you have a fight?" They asked simultaneously.

Dawn sighed, not surprised that they had noticed his attitude.

She shrugged. "I have no idea. One moment we are cool, and the next he’s acting up. I’ve tried to get him to talk, but he keeps saying he’s exhausted."

Mari nodded slowly. "Then maybe he’s exhausted. Jamal isn’t the type to keep things to himself. I’m sure he would have told you if you did something wrong."

Dawn shook her head. "I’ve seen Jamal exhausted before. This isn’t exhaustion. He’s upset."

Emily frowned. "Should I ask Callan? I’m sure Jamal must have told him whatever is wrong with him."

Dawn glanced at Callan. "Let me ask him myself."

She walked over to Callan, and he smiled the moment she approached. "It takes Jamal going to me for me to get your attention?"

Dawn laughed. "Like you even noticed I was at the party. You’ve been staring at Emily all evening."

Callan chuckled. "Fair enough," he said, then when she took the seat Jamal had vacated, Callan raised a brow, "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

The smile left Dawn’s face. "Jamal has been acting weird all day. I don’t know what’s wrong. Did he say anything to you?"

Callan hesitated. "You’re his girlfriend. If he didn’t say anything to you, what makes you think he will tell me?"

Dawn shrugged. "I don’t know. I’m sort of hoping he did." Tears gathered in her eyes. "I don’t know what’s wrong. Everything was okay when we went to bed last night. But all morning he’s been weird. Giving me one-word answers. I don’t know what I did wrong. He’s making me feel as though I did something, yet he wouldn’t say what it is."

Callan sighed as he wondered whether he should tell her about his earlier conversation with Jamal.

He didn’t think he should since that was a private discussion between them as brothers, and he didn’t think Jamal would appreciate him telling Dawn about his insecurities regarding their relationship.

"I noticed that he didn’t seem too good earlier. He said he’s exhausted," Callan said instead and watched as her shoulders slumped.

"Did you perhaps say something to offend him? Jamal could be pretty sensitive when he wants to be," Callan said, hoping to give her a clue without telling her anything.

Dawn shook her head.

"Can I ask you a question?" Callan asked after a moment.

Dawn nodded. "Sure."

"Do you love Jamal?" He asked, and Dawn looked at him like he was asking a stupid question.

"Of course I do. Why would you even have to ask that? Did he say he feels like I do not love him?" She asked with a frown.

Callan shook his head. "Are you really in love with him? Or do you love him because he waited for you all these years and also happens to be Josh’s father?"

Dawn frowned, wondering why Callan was asking a similar question like Adam had asked.

Why was everyone suddenly questioning her love for Jamal?

"Cal, I am in love with Jamal. Yes, I love that he waited for me all these years and that he is Josh’s father, but I am also in love with him. If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be so worried that he is acting up this way! I don’t understand why everyone keeps asking me that. Do you only see Jamal’s love for me but not mine for him?"

Callan frowned. "Who else asked you that?"

She shook her head. "A random person. It doesn’t matter."

Callan sighed, relieved that she really did love Jamal and he had nothing to worry about.

"Okay. Can you tell me exactly what happened between you both before he started acting this way?"

Dawn’s brows pulled together. "I’m really not sure if this has anything to do with it, or if I should be telling you, but right now I’m at a loss and I just need someone to help me understand what’s going on."

Callan gave her a nod to encourage her.

"Last night everything was going quite well. And then before going to bed I mentioned that I wasn’t feeling any chemistry or spark between us. You know how lovers are unable to keep their hands off each other? It’s not the same for us. We could be on the bed and chat all night then go to bed without much happening between us. Don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t mean we don’t ever have sex. It’s just that I felt like I wasn’t desirable enough. I mean, I’ve read that guys are very sexual. But Jamal doesn’t seem to care for it with me. Am I making sense to you?" She asked with a slight frown.

Callan sighed softly as he gave her a nod. Hearing this from her point of view made sense.

"Did you explain this to him? That you weren’t feeling desirable?"

Dawn shook her head. "No. I never got to that because for some reason he interpreted all I said to mean I wasn’t sexually attracted to him and so I cut off the conversation and we went to bed," Dawn explained.

Callan shook his head but said nothing.

Dawn then went further to tell Callan how she woke up and didn’t find him in bed, only to find out he had left while she was still sleeping.

Remembering that he had asked Jamal to go talk to her and take her on a date, he raised a brow, "So have you both had the chance to talk about it again today? Did he make any effort to maybe talk to you since then?"

"I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you right now if we had talked things through. And he did make an effort and somehow I feel he’s angry with me because he came to the spa to see me but didn’t find me there."

Callan frowned. "Spa? I’m lost."

Dawn explained that she had gone to the spa with Lucy and stepped out to fix her phone’s screen when Jamal arrived, and he couldn’t reach her.

Callan shook his head. "No. I don’t think so. The Jamal I know isn’t the type to just leave, especially if he knows Lucy is there and you’re supposed to be there at that time. He most likely would have waited for you to return from wherever you went. What did the receptionist say to him? Did he leave a message with the receptionist?"

Dawn frowned as she thought it over. "No one told me anything. I only found out he had been at the spa because Lucy left without me."

Callan frowned now. "And Jamal told you he was there but didn’t see you?"

Dawn was silent for a moment. Now that she thought about it, it was weird that he didn’t leave a message for her.

If he asked the receptionist and they told him she left with the manager, then he probably would have taken the manager’s number to call and find out where she was.

Why hadn’t he done that?

"Did something else happen at the spa?" Callan asked when he saw how hard she seemed to be thinking.

"Perhaps I should call to confirm if Jamal was there and who he spoke with," Dawn said without answering Callan’s question.

Before Callan could say anything else, she rose, "Thank you, Cal. This conversation has been helpful."

As she walked away, Callan watched her, feeling very concerned now about Jamal.

Jamal wasn’t the type to keep how he was feeling to himself, and if he was doing so now, that meant he wasn’t feeling good at all.

Taking out his phone, he decided to call aunt Aurora, the owner of the spa to find out if he could talk to the receptionist who had been on seat that afternoon.

He wanted to know whatever had put Jamal in such a mood.