Ms. Lawson?” The doctor’s voice broke through Emma’s spiraling thoughts. She looked up, her heart pounding as she nodded, bracing herself.
“The surgery went as well as possible,” he said in a steady, clinical tone. But he hesitated, and Emma’s pulse quickened. “However, Ryan is in a coma. He’s stable, but we cannot predict when he might wake up. It could be days… weeks… perhaps even longer.”
Emma’s stomach twisted. A coma. She struggled to grasp the word’s gravity, hearing it echo hollowly in her mind. Relief that he was alive mixed with an agonizing uncertainty. Her world had been fragile enough; now it felt like it was breaking entirely.
Emma kept her emotions under control and asked the doctor, "Can I see him?" The doctor nodded and led her to Ryan's room.
Immediately she got into
