Lucy's last words to Xander were, "You're sick, both of you are sick."
It had been a day since then. She still hadn't touched her food and no one had come to bring her new food.
She was extremely weak, she couldn't even move, but she knew time was running out. Her lips were dry and her throat burned with thirst. She stared at the untouched tray of food on the table across the room, the smell of it was long gone, but then again, it might have been on the other side of the room.
Her body screamed for food, for water, for sustenance but her mind wouldn't give in. Eleanor's 'doctor,' Eleanor's food, Eleanor's house, Eleanor's rules, they were all poison to her.
The door creaked open and while Lucy's heart jumped, her body barely moved. She turned her gaze away, she didn't want to see Eleanor or her womanizing son.
Odette's figure appeared in the doorway, she was leaner than usual. She shut the door quietly behind her and leaned against it as her gaze was fixed on Lucy.
"You look like hell," Odette muttered.
Lucy turned her head to the door to lock eyes with her sister in law. She felt relieved that it was Odette and not any of the people she'd been thinking.
"What are you doing here?" Lucy asked, though her voice was a bit hoarse.
Odette stepped forward as her heels clicked softly on the floor. She sat at the edge of the bed where Xander had once sat, although the weight of her presence was far less suffocating to Lucy. Odette studied Lucy's face and body in silence, then she studied the room until her eyes landed on the food tray at the end of the room.
"You haven't eaten," Odette whispered.
Lucy's cracked voice rasped out. "You don't look like you've eaten much either."
Odette's lips twitched as she smiled, or maybe it was a grimace. "Well, what can I say? My husband is trying to leave me for my sister in law."
Odette chuckled as if she had told a joke, but it didn't seem very funny to Lucy as her stoic expression remained. After a few moments of silence, Odette spoke up again.
"You don't look like you'll last another day. And if you die, then what's the point of all of these?"
Lucy forced out a bitter laugh. "I'm not afraid of dying."
"You should be," Odette said immediately. "Your children. How do you think they'll react? How do you think their lives will be going forward?"
Lucy pressed her lips in a thin line, it wasn't that she hadn't been thinking about her children. In fact, they were all she could think about. She wanted to see her babies, after all, they were all she had left.
Odette leaned closer to Lucy. "Accept Xander's proposal."
Lucy stared at her with wide eyes. She wondered how easy or difficult it was for Odette to propose that she married her husband.
"Are you insane?" Lucy rasped. "You're asking me to marry your husband?"
"It's your only chance. Look, Lucy, chances are that food," Odette pointed to the tray of food on the table, "is poisoned. Eleanor hates you, she hated how much of an influence you had over Damien. She'll do anything to make you disappear from her life. And you've signed away your rights, you've given Eleanor control over everything your husband ever built. But there's more to his legacy, there's his children, your children. For their sake, you will marry Xander and buy yourself time."
Lucy shook her head. "Time for what? To become Eleanor's puppet? No… never."
Odette's jaw clenched and she leaned in even closer. "Listen to me. If you don't marry Xander, you will die. And with the way this is going, she won't even need to lift a finger, you'll just starve yourself to death. You'll be gone and then your children will be hers to mold. Do you want them to grow up under Eleanor's care?"
Lucy's chest heaved and every breath she took sent fire through her ribs.
Odette reached into her bag and pulled out a small flask. She placed it gently in Lucy's hand.
"Water," she said. "Not poisoned. I brought it from home. I can drink from it if you'd like."
Lucy's gaze flicked to the flask, then to Odette. "Why? Why are you helping me?"
"Because I like you, your family," Odette replied. "I don't want anything bad to happen to those children."
Lucy's trembling fingers played around the round edges of the flask. For a moment, she only stared at it, then she slowly unscrewed the cap and her weak hands shakily lifted it to her lips. The first sip stung her parched throat but the relief that followed almost immediately after was heavenly. Tears formed in her eyes, she hadn't realized just how close she was to slipping away. She lowered the flask and said, "Thank you."
Odette watched her intently. "Don't thank me just yet. Get your life back and then you can thank me."
Lucy stared at her sister in law as she tried to read her expression in an attempt to understand her intentions.
"And what about you, Odette? If I agree to this, to marry Xander, what becomes of you then?"
Odette wore a smile on her face even though her fingers tightened around the edge of the bedspread. "That doesn't matter. All that matters is keeping you safe. Eleanor won't kill you if you have Xander to protect you."
Lucy saw exhaustion in Odette's face, she saw the face of a woman who was worn down and cornered in her own way.
Lucy's chest rose and fell unevenly as she clutched the flask even tighter.
"Well," Odette started as she rose to her feet, "I guess it's time for me to leave. I was only allowed in because Xander thought I'd be able to convince you to marry him. He said to talk about how our marriage was practically over but he still treated me well."
Odette scoffed and looked at Lucy.
"I will warn you though," she said. "Married life with Xander as your partner won't be peaceful. But I plead with you to persevere for the sake of your children. See you soon, Lucy."
And with that, Odette left.