Page 90 of Papers Don't Lie

My love. Kai’s nickname. I can’t decide which one of the nicknames I like more because all of them have a meaning from a moment in our lives.

Troublemakerbecause I couldn’t stop causing him problems.

Raybecause I was a ray of sunshine in his life.

Andmylovebecause… Because.

“Don’t be impatient; it’s not elegant. We’ll be there in three hours.” He makes himself more comfortable in his seat, his dark hair matching his eyes.

I sigh because it seems like a constant thing I do when I’m around Carter. We’ve been flying for four hours already, and I don’t know how much more I can handle sitting next to him.

“You might have won, Carter, but don’t think I’ll ever love you. I’ll hate you for the rest of your life,” I promise, glancing at the window as if I just told him about my day.

He laughs. An evil laugh. “I don’t need you to love me, my precious. Hate is still a feeling, and it burns longer than love. I’ll take whatever you’re willing to give. Don’t worry,” he says, touching my hair before ripping out the white bow I have on. “And you’d better stop wearing these. What kind of man isGraves to let you wear childish accessories?” Carter huffs at his own words, throwing my bow on the floor.

Thatwas from him. Almost every bow I own—owned—was from him. Tears blur my eyes, and I look away, my jaw clenching from keeping them inside. I will not cry in front of this beast of a man.

“And congratulations. We’re married,” he announces cheerfully, and I can’t help but gawk at him.

What the hell is he talking about?

My eyes must transmit something because he clarifies.

“I made some arrangements. Your name is no longer Graves, it's Wanderson. Esmeray Wanderson.”

“No." The word comes out of my mouth like a whisper.

He nods, his eyes glistening with pleasure. “Yes."

No. He doesn’t understand. His name was a lifeline, a reminder that what I lived wasn’t a lie, that I indeed got my freedom and met a man I love. If Kai was the one who wanted me to have nothing to do with him anymore, I wouldn’t have fought it, but this… He took everything from me, and he doesn’t realize it.

Or he does, and that’s exactly why he’s doing it.

My mind takes this as the last string attached to Kai being ruthlessly cut off when it was the only thing allowing me to breathe. It hurts so bad, almost as if someone burned me alive, taking layers of my skin with slow movements determined to make me go insane because of the unbearable pain.

I’m officially out of Kai’s life, and he’s out of mine too. As much as it causes me pain, it’s also true. The only thing I can do is keep him alive in my mind and I’ll be fine.

I’ll survive this.

A hand catches my chin in a tight grip, forcing my head to twist in Carter’s way. He’s fuming, his nostrils round as he heavily breathes in my face, eyes burning on me.

“You’re not crying after another man in front of my eyes, or I’ll do more than just threaten his life." He grits his teeth, looking like a hungry wolf ready to serve his meal. “Don’t test me, my precious."

I didn’t even realize I was crying. I wipe the tears from my face with the bridge of my palms, getting rid of any evidence that I’ve been crying before plastering a smile on my face.

For Carter, it’s not enough.

He throws me on my legs with a hand wrapped around my arm, pushing me forward with disgust. “Go to the bathroom, and don’t come back until you look better."

Fuck you,I want to say but think better of it.

My head barely moves in a nod, the movement making the taste on my tongue sour. It’s a thing my mind hates my body for, betraying us like that when the man standing in front of my eyes in his expensive suit doesn’t even deserve a glance.

Carter pinches the bridge of his nose with his tattooed arm, and I take a second to look at him. Since I was little, I knew Carter was an attractive man—with his tattoos, sharp features, and profound eyes—but what I couldn’t see then was the obsession he owned that obscured anything good he ever had.

It might sound weird, but when I look at him, I don’t see anything human under the mask he's wearing. He looks like one, but the vibes radiating out of him are not from this world.

“Unless the reason you’re still here doesn’t get you bent over this chair, leave,” he demands, his voice calm despite the storm in his eyes.

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