The Day I Drowned on His Wedding Day - Chapter 7: Chapter 7

Nolan left a panicked Lydia behind and rushed to my side, pulling me into his arms.
"Cora! Don't be scared. I swear I won't let anything happen to you."
Jasper stayed close, slamming his fist into the floor in frustration.
"Goddammit! How could I be so stupid? Knowing you were struggling like this—how could I leave you alone?"
Even Declan, always so cold and composed, had red-rimmed eyes as he muttered, "How did it come to this? I was just talking, Mom... Why would you jump? Do you really want to die? How could you leave us like this?"
Jasper suddenly swung at him, knocking Declan to the ground. "Why weren't you watching her? The doctor warned us—why didn't you take it seriously?"
Declan spat blood, dazed. "I didn't think... How could Mom just...?"
Nolan tightened his grip on me, barking, "Save the arguing for later—help your mother first!"
I thought this was finally my escape.
But the Nolan men refused to let me go. They forced special medication down my throat, dragging me back from death's door.
Even then, they didn't trust me. Nolan locked me in the basement, rotating shifts between himself and the boys so I was never alone.
"Cora, don't hate me for this," Nolan murmured, stroking my hair. "If I let you out, you'll just try again. Did eighteen years together mean nothing to you? I just want to keep you safe. Is that so wrong?"
By the eighth day, I stopped eating. Stopped taking the pills. Nolan had to force them into my mouth, holding my jaw shut until I swallowed.
Still, I wasted away, my body growing frail.
Desperate, Nolan brought the boys in to reason with me. "The kids need you. If you're gone, where will they find their mother? Could you really do that to them?"
I gave a hollow smile. "You're married now. Let them go to her."
Nolan's face darkened. "Cora, is this really how it has to be? Because of Lydia, you'd abandon all of us?"
I shut my eyes, done with the conversation.
Nolan sent Jasper and Declan in next. "Convince your mother to take her medicine. At least that."
Declan crouched by my bed, eyes puffy. "Mom, I haven't eaten since you got like this. I'm losing weight. Don't you care anymore? If you don't get better, I'll get sick too."
I didn't react. Whether he starved himself meant nothing to me now.
Jasper nudged him aside, taking his turn. "Mom, I still can't decide between those two wedding dates. You have to get better and help me choose."
I turned my face away.
His marriage wasn't my problem anymore.
The servants whispered about what devoted sons they were, urging me to be grateful.
I scoffed. "They're too loud. Send someone quiet, and maybe I'll take the pills."
The next day, the Nolans stayed away. Instead, a mute girl appeared, watching me with unblinking eyes.
She was strange—never speaking, never looking away. Every time I woke, she was there, staring.
My body healed, but my despair deepened. Without a way out, I was trapped in this nightmare forever.
Then one day, Lydia slipped past the guards.
Seeing me like this, she smirked. "Look at you—the great matriarch, reduced to a prisoner. How does it feel? I was the one who suggested the basement. Told Nolan you'd be safer without windows. They actually believed me."
I met her gloating gaze and smiled.
"Enjoy it while it lasts. Nolan's obsession won't fade. The second I'm back on my feet, I'll drag you down from that pedestal myself."