The weight of his words crushed her, and she felt as if the air had been sucked from the room. Her hands trembled as she reached for Ray, her fingers brushing against his cold hand. "I didn't… I would never…" she whispered, but her voice was drowned out by the storm of emotions swirling around her.
Ryan stood abruptly, his face a mixture of rage and heartbreak. "You don't get to cry, Esme," he said coldly, his voice devoid of any warmth. "Not after what you've done. Look at him. Look at him! This is on you."
He turned and walked toward the door, his movements stiff with barely contained anger. "I hope it was worth it," he said bitterly before slamming the door behind him, leaving Esme alone in the suffocating silence of the room.
The only sound was the faint beeping of the monitors and the soft sobs that escaped her lips as she knelt beside the bed, her hand clutching Ray's lifeless one as tears streamed down her face.