Papers Don't Lie (Lavish Love, #1)

by Maeve Hazel

For those who grew up perceiving abuse as love. There’s another kind of love that will make you bloom and not wilt.

“She’s losing her last daughter. Maybe she’s sad.” Ilory tries to defend Mom’s attitude, her innocence showing despite us being the same age. Taylor laughs. “We were born to be married, Ilory.” Sad but true. On the day we turn eighteen, to be exact, not sooner and definitely not later.

With squinted eyes, I continue, “Your boss ran over me with his car, brought me here, and left?” The man, dressed in a luxurious dark suit straightens his already stiff back, and gives me a quick nod. “That’s exactly what I said.” My head tilts to the side. “Huh.”

No, it’s not the meds. It’s the latest Mercedes E-Class he hit me with. At least I was hit with style.

A part of me wants to say home, just like those actors in movies do and the driver magically knows where to take them, but I decide against it. I have a feeling he wouldn’t laugh at my joke, and a joke without laughter is like milk without cereal—completely tasteless.

I know Carter won’t give up until he has me back, and even with that in mind, I still chose to run away. It might be a few months, maybe even years before he finds me, but at least I get to live my life exactly how I want it until that happens.

“As an apology for both the accident and his absence, Mr. Graves rented you a room at the Golden Palace Hotel for a week.” “He did what?” My mouth parts open in surprise, my eyebrows drawing closer in a frown as I watch him in the rearview mirror.

My gaze moves to the window. “I left a man at the altar tonight, you know?” I start talking, placing my forehead on it. “Truth is, I wouldn’t have any remorse if it was just him I left, but I left my family too. Who does that, Mr. Stone?” I whisper the last sentence, guilt settling in my chest.

“Call me Kendrick,” he announces. “And if your family loves you, they’ll understand he wasn’t the one for you. Sometimes it’s better to be selfish than sacrifice yourself for others, Ms. Esmeray.”

“It means being selfish will cost more than you think,” he murmurs, staring at the road in front of him. “But why would you want to be surrounded by people who don’t love you?”

Getting hit by a car hurts like hell, but getting a knife soaked in the ugly truth right through your chest is not survivable.

“Mr. Graves asked me to let you know you shouldn’t hesitate to tell him if you need anything.”

You never learn, my precious. Carter Come home and don’t provoke me.

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.

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.

“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.”

“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.

The fact that I ran from my own wedding that had been planned for ages still hasn’t settled as reality to me. It’s like I’ve imagined it, and the next time I wake up, I’ll be next to him. My heart pounds in my chest, and I squint my eyes open to make sure I’m still in a hotel room with Kendrick and sigh in relief when I recognize the sheets. Try to get some sleep.

When I was little, I was the one who always had something to say when Mom or Dad made us do something, while my sisters never uttered a word. I had a smart mouth, and if I tried to ease that down, it only got worse. Every time that happened, I was punished, and it took my parents a while to understand that the punishments would only stop me from talking back for a few days. So instead of doing something to me, they threatened that they’d punish my sisters. I can’t lie, it was efficient, because after that happened, I did nothing else but protect my sisters. I was still punished, but they weren’t.

“Mr. Graves couldn’t make it, but he asked me to give you this.” Kendrick stretches his hand toward me, handing me a white envelope. Reluctance floods my veins as I take the white paper in my palm, glancing from it back to Kendrick, who’s keeping himself still as a statue. I squint my eyes at him, but he’s still unmoving. “Is this Mr. Graves?” I raise a brow, pushing the envelope towards him slightly and inspecting it. Kendrick frowns, his eyes bulging out of his head. If he thinks I’m crazy, he’s not hiding it. “No.”

For a few seconds, Kendrick is silent, not uttering any word, and when I whirl on my toes to look at him, his mouth is slightly agape. His lips close and open a few times until he finally reinvigorates himself and manages to form an answer. He’s shocked. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun.

“Mr. Graves is sending his regrets for not being able to make it and also his appreciation for your decision of not suing him,” he says, his steps following close behind.

“What do you mean by appreciation for not suing him? I haven’t decided that yet, and this”—I gesture at the paper in my hands—"is only making me sure he needs to learn a damn lesson. If I could be bought, I would be married already!”

Finding a reason for my reaction is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I have so many reasons to lose my temper, and since I can’t really act on those, Kai Graves is the only one I can throw my bitchy attitude at. Not that what he did is a trivial thing; quite the contrary. That’s exactly why I’m challenging everything that happened in the last few years and dropping it right on top of him. He’s just a collateral victim, and oh, how he deserves it. “I’m suing him,” I say, throwing the money onto the floor.

“Dad!” I hear Lacey scream from the top of her lungs, making her presence known.

“Fucking hell,” I curse out, pinching my chin. A fanfare made of five people dressed in flashy clothes is standing in front of a giant dick at least two times taller than the members. What it’s made from or what they are doing here is a mystery to me. One of them, a man, looks down at a folded paper before his eyes move on me. “Are you Kai Graves?" I open my mouth, but before I can say something, Kiaran intervenes. “Yes, he is. Go ahead.” What the fuck is this? And just like that, thanks to my pain in the ass of a brother, they start singing. It’s the whole package—voice, guitar, and clarinet.

You hit me with a car, And like a pussy left far. Tried to buy me with money, How funny. How mature, Letting others endure. Now bye, See what your money can buy.

My brothers burst out in loud and uncontrolled laughter, clapping each other on the back, and as soon as the song is over, Kiaran puts two fingers in his mouth and whistles until his spine curls. Esmeray Hamilton.

What Esmeray Hamilton doesn’t know is that I didn’t plan on hitting her. I was at work when Dad called me and told me that he wasn’t feeling very well, and I wasn’t in the right state of mind when the accident happened. With his health issues, any cold is a threat, and once I got her hospitalized, I brought Dad there too.

“Shut up,” I say and smack Ryker’s head. “What should we do with this now?” Tristan asks and wipes the tears from under his eyes with his fingers. “Let’s just hope whoever he pissed off won’t come back and stuff it in his ass.” Kiaran laughs. “This shit has to be at least seven feet.”

I hit him with my leg, signaling him to shut up. The last thing Dad needs to find out is that I hit a girl with my car on her wedding day. In a way, I think I saved her life since she’s still staying in the suite I booked for her after five full days. It’s clear that she didn’t want to be at that wedding. But Dad surely won’t think the same.

“Mr. Graves,” he says the moment I pick up the call. “She’s not here.” “What? What do you mean she’s not there?” He takes a deep breath. “I mean she disappeared.”

If Blair reacted that way when she found out her boyfriend cheated with her best friend, I guess I kind of overreacted when I sent Mr. Graves the hugest dick at his house. However, it was well deserved and not at all influenced by events that have nothing to do with him.

Gossip Girl was supposed to make me feel better about my gift, but now it makes me feel like a psycho. I can’t even enjoy my comfort show without comparing everything to my personal life.

It’s Kendrick. Shit. “Esmeray,” he says, an accusatory tone in his voice.

“Kendrick.” I give him a trembling smile. “Can I come in? Mr. Graves asked me to give you this,” he tells me and hands me another envelope. “There’s a note in

“I take it my gift didn’t help me make myself any clearer, huh?” I ask, letting him come inside and closing the door after him. Kendrick isn’t saying anything, so I turn around to force a reply from him, but I’m surprised to see a smile on his face. I fake a gasp, taking two steps further and touching his face, making sure it’s real.

“Oh, trust me, it’s nothing compared to the show at Mr. Graves’s house.” I shake my head, pleased to hear that. What I would have paid to see his face… Too bad I didn’t ask them to put a camera inside the dick so I could get a lot more satisfaction than I’m getting

The accident caused more damage than I thought if it made you send me a nine-foot dick to my doorstep. Will visit when I get the chance. Use the money wisely this time, and don’t corrupt Kendrick again, troublemaker.

I burst out laughing, the image of his possible reaction roaming through my mind. I bet on this entire stack of money that he was shocked.

For ten years of my life, I’ve been Carter’s puppet. Whenever we walked in a room, my eyes were supposed to be either on the ground or on him, or he’d grab my arm until it bruised, saying through his gritted teeth that he wouldn’t walk with a whore on his arm. All that because I dared to look another way or because he thought I looked at another man. Since the day I turned eight and I was promised to Carter, he was a nonstop presence in our house, already acting like I was his.

And if he had stopped there, maybe I wouldn’t loathe him as much as I do, but he always told my parents about my small outbursts, who made sure I’d be punished. Carter knew that very well and used it to his advantage. The worst part was that while I was locked in the basement because of him, he was the only one visiting me.

“No.” He sighs, tilting his head. “Are you sure? If I tell Mr. Graves, he won’t hesitate to⁠—” “No!” I interrupt him. “Don’t even think about it. I just don’t like this place. Do you know anywhere else I could go?”

“Did that little troublemaker cause you any problems?" It’s been two weeks since her surprise, and even if I’m glad no other one came, it’s been too quiet. He sighs. “No, sir, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing wrong.” “What happened?” “She’s changing hotels every two days, and even though I asked her if she’s in any danger, she doesn’t want to admit if she is. Mr. Graves, what I’m trying to say is I’m sure this girl is into some kind of problem. She received an envelope this morning, and even though she just got to that hotel, she insisted on moving right away.”

It’s six a.m., and two more hours of sleep would do me good, but something is bugging me—the chance that if I close my eyes for long enough, I’ll be living Esmeray’s life. That girl… Everything about her is a mystery to me, and that might be my fault. On the night of the accident, I made Kendrick stay with her so I could deal with my dad’s problem and hers at the same time.

I don’t know what she’s running from, but if she wasn’t, she would’ve gone home almost three weeks ago, right after she got out of the hospital. Sure, maybe she needed some time alone after the accident, but what about the wedding she was coming from? The dress made it clear it was her special day. What are you running from, troublemaker?

“I was thrilled to play this game with you, but now your clock is ticking, and you have to come back where you belong. Willingly or not, my precious.”

He’s silent for a while, only quiet breaths going through the speaker. “As the man who’s part of your security team, no, we shouldn’t get involved. But as the man whose sister went through a similar thing, I’d help Esmeray with no second thoughts.”

“Alright. Give me her address.” “We’re doing this?” “Yes. Hope we can help her the same way we helped Liane.” “Sending you her address now.” “Alright.”