Page 7 of Papers Don't Lie

Deciding it’s time to face a flicker of my reality, I pick it up between my fingers and power it on. The second my screen lights up, it buzzes with countless messages from everyone in my family, including Carter. I swipe through the texts with shaky fingers, reading some of them.

Naveah

Mom is freaking out, Esme. Come back home before she calls the FBI on you. She’d do it.

Carter

You never learn, my precious.

Carter

Come home and don’t provoke me.

Raven

You could’ve at least told me.

Raven

I’m so proud of you for doing what each of us wanted to do, though. Tell me you’re safe, please.

My eyes sweepover the chat with my mother and missed phone calls from Dad, but I refuse to acknowledge those for now.

I do want to let everyone know I’m alright, but I know it’d be a risk to do so. They’d manipulate me to go back, and for now, I need to figure out for myself what it is that I want.

It’s still certain as day I don’t want to marry Carter, but not doing that will also ultimately grant me the absence of my family from my life. I know that if I try to see or even contact them, Carter won’t hesitate to use them as bait, so keeping my distance is crucial.

“Are you okay, Esmeray?” Kendrick asks just as I shut my phone off, knowing it’s the right thing to do. I put the device back, giving him a smile.

“Will be.” I nod to myself more than I do for him, and I stop myself as I realize, my eyes widening. My head snaps to him, and my mouth hangs slightly agape. “You nodder! You turned me into a person who nods instead of using words.” I shake my head, laughing. He seems confused, so I clarify it for him. “You always nod like a maniac. And a nodder is a person who nods—”

“Is that even a word?” he asks, raising his brows in question.

I shrug. “I don’t know. And if it’s not in the dictionary, then it should be. It deserves a place there for people like you.”

His expression is blank—something I’ve come to hate in a matter of a few days. He’s not animated at all. You can’t tell if he likes you or not, or if he thinks you’re genuinely stupid or not. Maybe he doesn’t think I’m stupid, but he surely might think the accident caused more damage than he imagined.

“Aren’t you bored?” I ask, pouting.

He shakes his head. “Not at all.”

“I am,” I admit, pushing my lips forward in thought. “You said I could ask for anything I want, right?”

He nods, and I don’t even try to suppress a laugh. “Mr. Graves will offer you anything.”

“No, this is something that requires a single person, and that person is you.” I sink further into the soft covers of the bed, making myself comfortable as a knowing grin stretches on my lips.

“Tell me what it is, and I’ll see if I can do it for you.”

I move my body to the edge and ignore how quickly my vision blurs when my feet touch the ground. I don’t get up though. I just need some visual contact to make sure he understands me.

Only when I regain my sight fully do I speak. “Your boss, Mr. Graves, needs to receive a message." I smile at him, and his eyes focus on me, maybe a sign he’s curious about what I could possibly tell his boss. “Tell him I’m suing him if he doesn’t show up to this very door of the room that he rented for my well-being. He’s a big man. He should be facing his problems and acting like one.”

If possible, Kendrick becomes more rigid at my request. “He wouldn’t be able to make it on such short notice, Esmeray. Mr. Graves has meetings to attend every day and an extremely tight schedule.”

The way he fidgets in his seat makes me a little unsure about my decision, but he’s also spent days with me on his boss’s account. I’m doing this for him as much as I’m doing it for my own satisfaction. He needs a fucking lesson about what life is really about.

“Well, he had time to run over me with his car. He surely can stop by for ten quick minutes.” I put on an innocent smile, and for the first time, there’s an audible reaction from this man. He sighs, brushing a hand through his hair. I’m not worried though. He’ll thank me later for putting him out of his misery.

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