"Dictate?" he echoed incredulously, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not trying to dictate anything! I'm trying to be a part of this! When you shut me out, it feels like you don't trust me or my brothers. You don't think we're capable of handling it alongside you." His voice softened slightly, revealing the vulnerability behind his anger.
Esme took a step back, her expression flickering as she considered his words. "You really think that's how I feel? That I don't think you can handle it?"
Esme sat behind her desk, the weight of the day pressing down on her like a heavy cloak. The arguments with Jay had become an exhausting routine, a cycle of misunderstandings and misplaced blame that drained her energy and frayed her nerves. The atmosphere in the room was charged, filled with unspoken words and unresolved tension that seemed to hover in the air like a storm cloud, threatening to burst.
