Page 46 of Papers Don't Lie

Am I doing the right thing by leaving him alone? Or should I have stayed with him and made things clearer?

Kai gets in, closing the door behind him without looking at me. “Drive.”

Kendrick does as his boss says, and I can’t stop looking at Kai, whose hair is a mess. He unbuttons his shirt, his fingers shaking with the movement. I can’t help but place my hand on his to stop him, forcing his eyes to meet mine. When they do, his brows lower over them, almost as if he’s trying to hide the regret and sorry in his eyes.

“I’m fine, Kai.” I give him a smile, trying to prove my point. His pupils move to each of my eyes, seeking the honesty I’m transparently giving him. “I know you didn’t mean to hurt me. Carter has a way of provoking people and bringing the worst out of them, so I don’t blame you for reacting that way,” I say, and yet the tension doesn’t leave his body.

He looks down at my arm, our hands still together. His jaw ticks in a painful way, and I reach down to caress it. Kai pushes a button, and a glass separates us from Kendrick.

“I hurt you. This is something you should never accept, no matter who’s the person doing it," he tells me, letting me squeeze his hand.

“Yes, you did hurt me. There’s no point in denying that, but I also never said I accept what you did. What I meant to say is that I forgive you, but this is the first and last time I’m going to tolerate this,” I say, wanting to be sincere.

Kai nods, then takes his hand away from under mine, looking everywhere else but me. “I won’t ever touch you again, Esmeray.”

Compared to what my parents did to me, what he did is as little as a fly. When Carter used to do this, I was so desperate to get away from him and take a fresh breath of air, but with Kai, it's different. I can’t explain it, but I just know he’s not like that.

“I trust you,” I admit, my voice a whisper.

I hear Kai suck in a breath, hesitant the moment he turns to look at me. His eyes search for something in mine. “You’re just saying that.”

“No, I would never say something just to be said. I mean it, Kai. My parents made me for money. That’s the only purpose of my life. Carter pictured me as an object he possessed and my own sister betrayed me, and I trusted them. But now I know I did it only because they were selling me a false feeling of love. I want to be loved, and even if we aren’t there or maybe we’ll never be, you’re the only one who makes me feel the closest to love. When I refused your help, you literally didn’t care about what would happen with you and your life. You fought to save me like no one else ever did—”

“Ray…” he murmurs.

“Let me finish, please,” I say, then move in my seat to face him. “You went shopping with me for hours, carrying my bags all because I had a crisis. You made a room in your house only for me. You’re careful, and whenever you have to make a decision, you think about me first. You hid everything from your family because that’s what I wanted. You filled an entire closet with clothes picked out just for me, and you gave up your room just so I could feel comfortable,” I tell him in a breath, inhaling so I can continue talking. “And all of those things happened in the course of a few months, Kai. No one’s done half of those for me in a lifetime. So no, I’m not just saying this. It’s the truth.”

He opens his mouth, then closes it, no words getting out. I don’t know how he’ll interpret everything I said, but he told me I needed to let go, and I did. After everything he did for me, he deserves a moment of honesty from me, no matter if he doesn’t like it and I’ll be ashamed afterward. He needs to know.

“I’m so fucking sorry, Ray." His voice cracks, and my heart sinks. “I don’t know what I was thinking—I didn’t. All I saw was red, and the only thing I could think about was the way hetouched you when I was around. What is going to happen when I’m not with you? I know I said I’m not keeping you locked inside the house, but I’m seriously considering it.”

A laugh bubbles out of me. “I’ll run if you do that.” I raise a brow at him.

He finally looks my way. “Then I have nothing to worry about because you’re pretty bad at running away.”

I find myself smiling, tilting my head to get a better view of him.

“There’s no excuse for what I did, but if my promise means anything to you anymore, I promise it won’t happen again under any circumstance.”

“I know,” I tell him, leaning down on his shoulder and inhaling deeply as Kendrick drives us home.

TWENTY-FIVE

KAI

“Finally.” Lacey rolls her eyes but smiles when she sees us stepping inside.

My sister is seated on the couch with her legs under her body, dressed in what she calls a house dress—just because it’s not asprettyas the other dresses.

Even with the raging battle happening inside me, the sight of my little sister eases some of the tension I felt on the drive back home. While Esmeray's forgiveness should make a difference, it doesn’t because that doesn’t change the course of my previous actions.

“Little peanut, isn’t this Tristan’s month?” I ask, kissing the top of her head.

She nods, then glances at Esmeray, who comes closer.

“Hi.” My wife smiles at Lacey.

Lacey returns her smile and then flashes it to me.“Yes, but I asked him if I could stay for another week." She stretches to my ear, covering it with her palm. “I’m curious about your wife.” When she breaks away from me, a grin stretches her lips.

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