The next morning, Fay took Ray to the hospital, assisted by Becky, a close friend from her workplace.
None of the family members showed up, not a single one, Fay wasn't surprised; they had never bothered much with them before, the only exception being Dominic.
Becky later took Sally to school, leaving Fay alone in the narrow hospital corridor while the doctors examined Ray.
She paced outside the ward, her footsteps uneven, her heart pounding painfully in her chest. Every second felt like torture. When the door finally opened, Fay stopped breathing.
The doctor stepped out, his face heavy with sympathy. "Mrs. Davis," he began carefully,
"His condition has worsened overnight. You should prepare yourself for the worst."
The words echoed in her head.
Fay steadied herself against the wall.
"What exactly is wrong with him?" she asked, her voice shaking but determined. "Why can't it be treated? Tell me what you need. Money, equipment,anything. I'll find it. As long as he would get better."
"The doctor knows his job," a voice said behind her.
Dominic.
He approached slowly. "We should just make sure he passes peacefully."
Fay turned, disbelief flashing across her face. "Peacefully?" she repeated. "You're.. already burying him?"
"Fay..."
"I understand the doctor knows his job," she continued desperately, stepping closer to Dominic, "but maybe there's something he missed. Let's get another doctor to check him. Please." She grabbed his hand, pleading. At this point, she looked like she might collapse any second.
"What are you saying?" Dominic snapped, grief sharpening his tone.
"Williams is our family doctor. How could he not take this seriously?" He lowered his voice.
"Sister-in-law, I know this is a difficult decision to make, but it's time to accept the truth and set my brother free."
"No,"
Fay whispered, tears streaming freely now.
"How can I give up on Ray?" Her voice broke.
"Even if it's just a slim chance, I'm willing to take it. He's the only one I've got."
Dominic stiffened, refusing to move.
Fay slowly released his hand and straightened, wiping her tears.
"As his wife, I demand another doctor's evaluation."
"Don't force this, Fay," Dominic warned.
"If you want to give up on your brother, you can," she said quietly, pain laced with steel,
"But I will never give up on my husband."
She turned and walked away, but barely made it a few steps before the hallway tilted, and the strength she'd been holding onto finally failed her.
The world went black.
She collapsed.
...
When Fay woke, she found herself on a hospital bed, her eyes fixed on the pale ceiling above. Her thoughts drifted back to the moment Dominic had finally come to her, his voice heavy as he told her that Ray was gone.
She had not cried then. She lay still, empty, as though her soul had quietly stepped away from her body. Her mind kept wandering, circling memories she could not escape.
She thought of the first time she met Ray, back when she had just broken free from her abusive parents. They had almost traded her away like a bargaining chip, offering her to a wealthy investor hoping to buy their son a future. Ray had come into her life at her lowest, when she had nothing but fear.
She remembered the day they decided to be together, and the muted disapproval from his family, hidden behind polite smiles.
They had wanted him to marry a woman from a well-off family, one whose family sought to expand their business using the land in Ray's possession. A marriage alliance, they believed, would secure both profit and power, and his family had agreed without hesitation.
But Ray had refused. He chose her instead, her, who had nothing to offer him but her broken self.
The burial was held the following day, the sky was dull and unmoving. Dominic oversaw everything, alongside Mable, the biological mother he shared with Ray. The rest of the family came too, gathering at last to send him off, if only in death.
Fay dressed in black, her hair roughly combed, stood behind the others as she held onto Sally who stood quietly beside her.
She watched in silence.
She had asked for one final check-up, only to understand what it was that had taken her husband, but no one listened anymore.
Friends and colleagues passed by, offering brief words of consolation before moving on. While some who wanted to say more seeing her standing there, unmoving, they eventually left one by one.
He's gone.
That was the only thought Fay could hold onto.