Page 45 of Papers Don't Lie

ESMERAY

I glance around and breathe in relief when I see that no one is watching. Even Carter has made his presence lost somewhere in the large room.

Kai urges me out of the building, his grip tightening on my arm with each step we take further away from Carter. I twitch my jaw from the intensity of his hold, trying to get away, but he doesn’t notice.

“What did he tell you?” He seethes, marching forward through the back door.

“He said, 'I know everything,'” I mutter, the cold air hitting us as soon as we step outside. If I thought he was going to set me free, he’s not, and his steps only increase in speed. “Kai,” I tell him, but it’s like he’s blinded and can’t see anything but getting me out of here. “Kai,” I repeat as I fight his grip.

Kai mumbles something under his breath, but his attention is still far away from me. He doesn’t hear me. He walks further towards the parking lot, cursing something under his breath. I can’t keep up with my heels, and I stumble a few times, but he doesn’t notice this either.

“You’re hurting me,” I grunt, tears pooling in my eyes.

Suddenly, he stops.

Something shifts in him, and he glances at the place where he’s grabbing me—the same place Carter grabbed me two minutes ago. His fingers release my arm, one by one, and his palm drops on his leg.

“Fuck," he thunders, circling in place.

I look at my bicep, where my skin is red. That is going to definitely leave a bruise.

“Fuck,” he repeats, grabbing the roots of his hair with one hand, and he turns his back to me. His head hangs low between his shoulders, which slump in a defeated position.

He did the same thing Carter did, but there’s no way to describe the difference between the actions. Carter gripped me with threat lurking in his eyes and obsession ruling his decision, but I know Kai didn’t mean to hurt me. He did, though. His thoughts were clouded by the previous moments and the fury building in him. I know he wants to protect me.

I take a step toward him and place my palm on his shoulder, but he removes it from under my touch. He faces me before taking a few steps back, shaking his head.

“Get in the car,” he says, not looking me in the eyes and instead at the ground.

“Kai, I know—”

“I said get in the car.” He stresses the words, demanding me to do as he says and not fight it anymore.

He might need a few minutes alone, and I have to give them to him before explaining that I know what his intentions were. I won’t push it if that’s what he wants. For now.

After all, we’re husband and wife. We have to fix things in one way or another.

I nod my head, swallowing the dryness in my throat as I walk to the car. He turns his back to me again, and when my hand reaches the door handle, I stop to look at him. “I know you didn’tmean to hurt me,” I say, then get in the car where Kendrick is waiting.

“Ms. Esmeray?” He turns in his seat to me, his brows furrowed.

“I thought we settled for Esmeray,” I tell him, then cross my arms over my chest.

He looks down. “You’re Mr. Graves’s wife now.”

“That doesn’t mean we’re not friends anymore, Kendrick. Call me Esmeray, or I’ll never say a word to you again.”

Kendrick sighs, giving me one of his usual nods. “As you wish. Why isn’t Mr. Graves with you?”

How do I reply to a question that the only answer I know would put him in a bad position in front of his employee? There’s no nice way of saying this, even though I know his intention was to protect me, not to hurt me physically or mentally.

Since we met, Kai has treated me with respect and hasn’t once stepped over my boundaries. What happened tonight is a mistake, one that he’ll never repeat. I ran from Carter to escape this kind of behavior, and even if they don’t have anything in common, I’m not going to settle for abuse just because it’s different than the kind I’m used to.

The only thing that I’m praying for is that Kai will forgive himself for tonight and that he’ll believe me when I say I understand what happened earlier. Because I do, but it will never happen again, no matter how pissed he is. He needs to learn to control his emotion, even if it’s about my safety.

“He’s coming.” I raise my chin to the windows, looking into the darkness that envelops the building we just got out of.

Kendrick doesn’t insist. He returns to his seat, looking ahead through the windshield.

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