Page 59 of Papers Don't Lie

My eyes sweep to her. I don't understand why she’s asking me about something that’s completely not her business.

She notices the shift in the mood and straightens her spine, giving me a quivering smile. “Got it. I’ll send the documents electronically so you can sign them from home. Have a great day!”

With a nod, I exit the building where Kendrick is waiting for me. I enter the car, sighing in relief, knowing that I’m going home. Usually, spending time at work doesn’t make me want to return home, but today is different. Besides the smell of blueberries haunting me, there are still some other things weighing heavily on my mind.

“Any stops, or are we heading straight home?” Kendrick asks, driving away, his eyes finding mine in the rearview mirror.

“Home,” I say, readjusting my coat.

There’s a part of me that still feels like what I’m doing for Cielle and Raven is not enough and that I should take care of their problems personally. And I’d probably do just that, but what Esmeray and I are confronting is far more than that.

The drive home is quick since we live close to the Graves Company—when Dad built the house all my brothers and I lived in, he wanted it as close as possible to the office.

“Call me if you hear from Dalton," I tell Kendrick before I leave his side.

“Will do.” His voice echoes behind me, and I enter the house to find my father in the living room, seated on the couch.

He tries to get up, supporting himself on the walking stick, and a housekeeper jumps to help him, but he dismisses her. It’s excruciating to watch him for seconds struggling to get up with shaky hands and legs. Still, I keep my mouth shut and my hands in my pockets to stop them from reaching out.

“Son,” he greets me, a barely seeable smile on his lips.

“Dad.” I smile.

“How are you feeling about your wedding next week?” Dad asks, some color returning to his cheeks.

"Esmeray will choose her dress tomorrow, and the rest is already taken care of.” I tip-toe around what he’s actually asking me.

The truth is, I’m nervous.

He nods, patting his gray hair. “Good. Did you call your mother?”

My body tenses. He knows better than anyone else that she’s the last person I want to see at our wedding. After everything she did, I can’t invite her like I've moved on and nothing happened.

I shake my head, sighing. “No, Dad. And I won’t.”

The pity he watches me with pisses me off, but he’s already in a bad state, so I avoid as much as possible to upset him. “Florence is sick and alone, son. You don’t know how muchlonger she’s going to live. I’m just making sure you won’t regret not inviting her.”

My jaw twitches. “She made her bed, and she should sleep in it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I should go see my wife.”

Dad agrees with a bob of his head, smiling at me. “Of course. She has a surprise for you. Today was quite interesting for Esmeray.” He laughs, and I squint my eyes at him, trying to read the expression on his face, but it’s impossible to do so.

I leave, greeting some of our housekeepers around the house, making sure everything is alright, and then walk the stairs to our room. When I open the door, I’m facing the last thing I was expecting to be my surprise.

On the carpet, Esmeray has her legs stretched in a V, and between them is the smallest puppy I’ve ever seen. He’s just a ball of curly brown hair. Her tongue sticks out on her bottom lip, pieces of bows all over the floor as she struggles to tie a purple one around the dog’s neck.

My back straightens at the spine. I don't know how to react. This isn’t something I was expecting to face when coming home.

Because I barely have time for myself, I've never had an animal. No cat, no dog, and not even a bird. And truth be told, the idea never excited me either. They are always messy, pooping everywhere as if each corner of the house belongs to them, requiring so much attention and care.

Yet the idea of taking care of a little animal with Esmeray doesn’t seem so bad.

I lean on the doorframe, pointing with my chin at the dog. “What’s its name?”

Her head snaps to me, the grin on her face contagious. She lifts one of her shoulders, still trying to knot the bow on the dog. “Guess.”

I walk inside the room and scratch his head, which earns me a happy tilt of his head. “I have no idea. Rick?”

She laughs, throwing her head back and completely forgetting about the pup. Esmeray waits a few seconds for her laughter to ease before replying to me. She’s so beautiful when she laughs because of me.

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