Chapter 1

Inside the tattoo studio, Seth Jones let his fingertips trace the dip of Rita Searle's waist and move slowly up her spine. With a soft rustle, her dress slipped to her ankles.

He stood over her, taking in the blood-red rose inked across her chest.

They had been married for three years, and this was the anniversary gift he'd be giving her—999 roses tattooed into her skin.

A broken sob scraped up Rita's throat. "Seth, it hurts… Please, stop…"

Her tears splashed onto the back of his hand, but he only pressed the needle deeper, dragging it along until angry red welts marked her body.

"Victor wanted those damn roses so he could give them to another woman, and that led to Tara falling off that cliff and ending up in a vegetative state. I'm just giving him what he wanted. You should be grateful."

Lying on the cold tattoo table, Rita felt the chill spreading through her. Her eyes stung, weighed down by grief churning behind them.

"Isn't it enough? You bought out Searle Group, you hung Victor over a cliff, and left him for the vultures. What else do you want from us?"

Seth grabbed her by the throat and forced her chin up. "And isn't Tara innocent in all this? Rita, you and Victor destroyed her life. Don't you owe her for that?"

Chapter 1

He shoved her hard, and her head slammed against the cold wall. The moment he lit his cigar, the tattoo needle drove straight into her shoulder.

In his icy eyes, Rita saw how ruined she looked.

The roses spread across her skin in dense clusters, old cuts crossing over fresh ones. She had no idea how many times she'd endured this, knowing that even saying it hurt would make Seth despise her more.

For a second, she thought she'd caught a tiny tremor in his expression.

What wishful thinking.

She managed a wry smile. Seth hated her. Why would he feel anything for her?

She felt the blade open her skin again, and the thought settled in with a kind of hopeless calm. Maybe dying would be easier.

"Seth, I just came from the hospital. I was with Tara. Gary said you were here."

Rita lifted her head with effort and turned toward the voice. Winnie Anderson stood there, and a sharp ache hit Rita's chest before she pushed it down.

Winnie had a graceful figure and a soft, gentle way about her, so it wasn't hard to see why she'd always been the one Seth loved.

If Winnie hadn't left the country to get married back then, Rita doubted she ever would have ended up as Seth's wife.

Seth took Winnie's hand, his voice softening without him meaning to. "Thanks for going. How's Tara?"

At that, sorrow flickered in Winnie's eyes. "The doctor said her chances of waking up are close to zero. After what she went through..."

She trailed off, her gaze drifting toward Rita despite herself.

Seth's face went tight, his knuckles paling as he clenched his fist.

Winnie pointed at the brutal scars across Rita's skin and said she'd help put ointment on them. Her touch looked gentle, but her sharp nails dug straight into wounds that hadn't even started to scab.

Pain shot through Rita, and she pulled back. She barely moved, but Winnie still toppled backward as if shoved.

Seth rushed to catch her, anger flaring across his face. "Rita, know your place!"

Then he turned to Winnie, and his voice softened to nothing but warmth. "Are you alright?"

Winnie buried her face in his chest and gave a small, wounded nod. "Maybe Rita just hates me."

"She doesn't even have the right to hate you," he muttered.

With that, Seth scooped Winnie into his arms and walked out without sparing Rita a single glance.

Rita froze where she was. She pressed a numb hand to her chest, a crushing tightness closing in around her heart.

The brightest, boldest rose in Novarisse had withered under three years of Seth's torment, leaving her with nothing but humiliation.

That year, someone sabotaged the Jones family, pushing them to the brink of bankruptcy. Rita spent three days and nights on her knees, begging her parents to save them.

After Winnie married someone else, it was Rita who stayed by Seth's side and pulled him out of the darkness.

She remembered the day he dropped to one knee, asked her to marry him, and pressed a reverent kiss to the back of her hand. In that moment, she truly believed she had finally found a place in his heart.

People later said she'd become the one Seth spoiled above all others.

She glanced once at a Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet, and the next day boxes of them arrived as if they cost him nothing.

She fell in love with the Spirit of the Rose diamond at an auction, and he bought up every competing piece by placing the highest bid every time.

She became captivated by books about life on Avenue Orliennes, so he spent billions of dollars to secure her a private estate there.

Then, on their wedding day, an unforeseen incident involving Tara Jones shattered everything.

She'd been hopelessly in love with Rita's brother, Victor Searle.

To force her to give up on him, he made her strip in front of his girlfriend, forced her to take explicit photos, and even sent her to Highveil Cliff to pick the most expensive roses there.

That was how Tara slipped, fell off the cliff, and ended up in a vegetative state.

When Seth heard she'd broken 19 ribs and would never wake up again, his rage was unstoppable. That same night, he cut off Searle Group's funding.

He tied Victor between the cliff walls, whipped him 99 times, and left vultures to tear into him.

Rita's parents rushed out after hearing the news, but they were killed in a car crash on the way to beg for mercy.

By the time Rita was allowed to see Victor one last time, he was barely alive, his entire body soaked in blood. He could scarcely breathe, but he still forced out a weak smile.

"I owe Tara this life. I ruined her best years. I'm sorry. My mess dragged you into all of this. Stay with him for three years and call it paying off my debt.

"If he still hates you after that, take what I've set aside for you and go as far away as you can."

After Victor said those last words, Rita had no one left. In a single night, she became Seth's prisoner.

Every relative in the Searle family was dragged down with her. She was forced to kneel in the family chapel without food, treated like a toy he could humiliate whenever he wanted.

What cut even deeper was that six months ago, Winnie had returned to the country. She was Seth's true love, his first love, the one he'd never stopped holding onto in his heart.

One by one, all the regrets from their forced breakup were being erased right in front of Rita.

Whenever she thought about them waltzing under the moon or playing piano duets, her chest felt like it was splitting apart.

Now, there were only ten days left before the three years were up.

Rita ran her thumb over the diamond ring on her finger. The name that Seth had engraved inside was already fading out. Tears slipped down her cheek.

She'd finally be free in ten days.

Chapter 2

Rita didn't get to rest even when the clock struck midnight. Seth had ordered her to kneel in the family chapel and confess.

For three years, night after night, she had been forced to recite scripture until 2:00 am. She stayed on the kneeler, her face pale and her whole body looking worn out and fragile.

Sometimes exhaustion pulled her eyes shut. But the moment she drifted off, the memories came rushing back.

Caught between the wreckage of love, family, and friendship, she had already been left in pieces. Guilt and helplessness kept her eyes burning as she dragged herself through one lonely night after another.

When the confession finally ended, Rita grabbed the wall for balance and pushed herself to her feet, shaking. It wasn't until a notification flashed on her phone that she remembered it was her birthday.

For three whole years, she had basically pushed the idea of birthdays out of her mind. It wasn't that she didn't want one. It was that Seth had told her she didn't deserve it.

Tara was still lying in that bed, and no one knew if she would live or die. How was Rita, the sister of Victor, who had caused all of this, supposed to feel right about celebrating anything?

Maybe it was the heartbreak of losing the person she loved, or maybe it was the misery of watching her family fall apart, but Rita wanted to show herself a little kindness in the last ten days she had left.

So, she opened the fridge, grabbed two slices of bread, spread some jam on them, and lit a candle she'd pulled from a dusty corner. That was the closest thing to a proper birthday wish she could give herself.

She chewed the dry, hard bread, but the jam that should've tasted sweet only left a rush of bitterness in her mouth.

When Rita suddenly felt something wet on her neck, she blinked and realized her tears had slipped down into her mouth. She sat curled up in the corner of the kitchen with a small, self-deprecating smile.

The candle flickered, and a drop of melted wax fell onto her wrist, sending a shiver through her. She didn't cry out. She just stared at the forget-me-not bracelet, her thoughts drifting.

It was the last birthday gift Seth had ever given her.

He'd held her hands, his eyes so soft they looked close to spilling over, and said, "A forget-me-not for you. So, you'll keep me in your thoughts. I'm the best gift you ever got, Rita."

But now, everything had changed.

Rita sat there until deep into the night, and just as she was about to leave, a low grunt slipped out of her. A rush of air hit her, and a strong hand shoved her back against the wall, pinning her in place.

Her eyes flew wide when she saw who it was.

Seth.

His whole body carried a cold, dark anger. "What makes you think you get to celebrate a birthday?"

His grip tightened as he spoke, like he meant to crush her shoulder. "Tara's still lying in a hospital bed, and you think you get to stand here like nothing happened?"

Rita's voice shook. "Then kill me. At least it'd be an ending for both of us."

"Don't even think about it!" Seth snapped, the raw hurt in her eyes only driving his rage.

His gaze darkened, fury simmering just under the surface. "Rita, Tara almost died because of one thing Victor said! She cares about her appearance more than anything, and now she's got shattered bones and hundreds of stitches on her face.

"She even had to get a full blood transfusion."

His voice cracked with a hard, unforgiving grief. "Even your entire family wouldn't be enough to make up for that."

Guilt kept gnawing at Rita, tightening in her throat like a blunt pressure until all she had left were ragged sobs.

A heavy, hopeless silence settled between them.

Then Winnie appeared beside Seth, rubbing her sleepy eyes, looking small and pitiful. She slipped her hand into his without thinking and leaned against his shoulder.

"Seth, I had a bad dream. Come help me go back to sleep."

When he saw the pale blue nightdress she was wearing, Seth froze. A quiet sadness settled in his eyes, the same pale blue. It was like he was seeing someone else in that dress.

Under his intense stare, Winnie flushed and tugged at the hem of her dress. "Thanks for the gift. I didn't expect you to remember that blue's my favorite."

Seth started to say something, but in the end, he only managed a small smile. "As long as you like it."

Left on the sidelines, Rita felt like she didn't belong, watching someone else's happiness from the shadows. A sharp twist hit her in the chest as the truth finally clicked.

Seth hadn't given her blue dresses because they suited her. He'd used them to show how much he loved Winnie, in his own secret way.

Rita had been a stand-in from the very beginning.

…

With only seven days left in the three years she was supposed to spend with Seth, Rita didn't see him again.

The butler, Gary Ford, looked at her with pity and said Winnie had come down with a bad cold while taking care of Tara. Seth had dropped everything at work to stay by her side.

The day Winnie recovered, a group of bodyguards suddenly grabbed Rita and tied her up.

"Ms. Anderson's already gotten to the bottom of everything. Every disaster that happened to the Joneses was because of you and Victor! He's waiting for you already!"

Rita went pale. She never imagined Winnie would go so far as to have Victor's ashes dug up.

Chapter 3

On the day Victor died, Seth refused to let anyone else handle his body. In the end, it was Rita, small and fragile, who carried him on her back for almost 40 miles along the mountain road.

She stood there and watched as his brittle, wasted bones were burned down to nothing but a small handful of ash cupped in her palms.

No one dared risk Seth's anger by offering her a coffin, so in the middle of the night, she buried Victor herself in the rear garden. It was the only way she could give him any kind of peace.

The bodyguards had forced Rita to crawl on her knees. The pain snapped her out of the memory.

It was like someone had scattered gravel and glass shards over the smooth porcelain walkway just to make her suffer. Still, she pushed herself forward as fast as she could.

By the time she reached the rear garden, her knees were already swollen and torn open, leaving a long trail of blood behind her.

Rita's tears spilled down her cheeks the second she saw Victor's urn lying where it had been carelessly thrown. She lunged forward to grab it, forgetting the bodyguards still had her by the arms.

They yanked her back so hard her forehead slammed against the ground, leaving a bruise and making her look like a stray someone had just kicked.

Taking in how pathetic Rita looked, Winnie let out a low laugh and hooked a finger under her chin. Her nails raked across Rita's cheek, tearing the skin and leaving ugly lines.

Then she twisted a fist in Rita's hair and forced her to look up at her.

"Don't blame me for being ruthless. A brother's debt gets paid by his sister. Victor left Tara in a vegetative state, and you stole Seth. I'm just dealing with you for his sake."

Winnie smiled, cold and satisfied. "How about I feed his ashes to the dogs?"

Rita had a rag stuffed in her mouth, so all she could do was thrash and shake her head as hard as she could.

Maybe Winnie decided she was making too much noise. She shot the bodyguards a look.

A second later, they dumped a whole bucket of animal blood over Rita's head. The stench clung to her skin, leaving her looking even worse than a beggar on the street.

Winnie looked even more pleased, raising her brows. "You think you deserve to be Mrs. Jones?"

She let her gaze drag over Rita from head to toe, her slight frown showing just how disgusted she was. "Fighting me for Seth? With your IQ? Please. You're not even worth the trouble."

No one knew which word set Rita off, but something snapped. She fought like hell and managed to break free of the bodyguards. The moment she lunged for Winnie, a sharp crack split the air.

Rita hit the ground hard. Her palm skidded over an old wound and tore it open again. She pressed her hand against the fresh red mark burning across her cheek and looked up in disbelief.

Winnie was already curled in Seth's arms, trembling and crying like she'd just survived something awful. "Seth, thank God you got here. Rita almost killed me."

Seth's eyes went cold, anger gathering in them. He stared at Rita with a hatred that made her shrink even lower.

She struggled to push herself up off the ground, then dropped to her knees at his feet. "Seth, that's Victor. He was your best friend. He's gone now… Please, just let him rest."

Rita stayed on her knees like she couldn't feel a thing. Her skin was torn open, blood spilling onto the gray tiles and pooling into widening puddles.

"You promised you would never hurt me like this."

He was the one who'd held her close, who'd kissed her and whispered "forever" against her skin. He was the one who'd sat by her bed when she was sick and stayed awake all night.

Rita had been stupid to think her small, desperate love could thaw someone as frozen as Seth.

Maybe it was the grief in her eyes that made something like pity flicker across his face. But the moment he saw the redness at the corners of Winnie's eyes, whatever softness he'd left vanished without a trace.

"Seth, the psychic said Rita was bad luck and that anyone who got close to her was bound to get hurt. Even what happened to Tara was because of her."

The words hit Rita so hard she almost lost her balance. She stared at Seth, watching his eyes grow colder, until there was nothing left in her but pure despair.

She started to take off her clothes and begged, "Seth, if you give Victor's ashes back to me, I'll do anything you want."

Watching her give up on herself like that made Seth press his lips into a hard line. A sudden burst of anger shot through him for reasons he couldn't name, sharp enough to lock his jaw.

"Are you really that desperate?" he snapped.

Still, Rita reached for his belt.

Seth shoved her back, forcing the spike of anger down as he leaned into every word. "You're shameless!"

A second later, he flung Victor's ashes into the air. They scattered and disappeared.

Rita collapsed where she was, going limp like her soul had been ripped out, everything inside her going dark.

But then, under everyone's stunned stare, she slowly pushed herself upright and took Seth's hand.

Chapter 4

Seth's hand snapped up before he could stop himself, and it came down hard. A bright red mark spread across Rita's cheek.

Then, like she was punishing herself, she grabbed his hand and slapped her own face again and again.

Seth tried to pull away, a vein jumping at his temple as he rasped, "Rita, you're out of your mind!"

But she just stared at him, completely still, her eyes flat and hollow. "Victor saved Tara's life. The Searles pulled the Joneses back from the edge. Seth, do you really need me dead to feel satisfied?"

Rita's eyes were shadowed by three years of hurt she'd carried. But before Seth could answer, the world tilted in front of her. Her knees gave out, and she hit the ground hard.

Right before everything went dark, she thought she saw Seth's face twist in panic.

What was he so scared of?

She turned the question over and over until the answer felt brutally clear.

If she died too soon, where else was he supposed to find a slave he could torment at will?

…

Nightmares closed in on Rita, wrapping tight and leaving her no way out. It felt like being back with Seth, like something sharp was wedged in her throat, turning every breath into slow torture.

Images flashed through her mind—Tara hooked up to tubes and monitors, her family's black-and-white memorial photos, and Seth's ice-cold face.

The same man who'd once promised her a future now pulled out a dagger and drove it straight into her chest.

Rita jolted awake and shot upright in bed, her eyes wide with terror and her face drained of color.

Seth had been sitting beside her. The second he heard her move, he tossed the cotton swab he'd been using to wet her lips straight into the trash.

When he realized she was awake, the worry in his eyes vanished, replaced by that familiar stay-away-from-me look.

"Looks like you're still alive."

Rita shut her eyes at the sarcasm in his voice. After a long hesitation, she said, "Seth, let's get a divorce."

Her voice was raw and broken, but every word landed heavy. "The Joneses don't need someone as cruel as me in their family."

Seth's bloodshot eyes went even redder, almost feral. He let out a humorless laugh, anger tightening his face. "You're doing just fine. Rita, divorce or not, that's my call."

He yanked down Rita's collar and ran his fingers over the tattoo on her chest, his eyes burning with a hungry kind of desire. "Victor ruined Tara's life. So, if I take it out on you, that's just karma evening things out."

Seeing how devastated she looked, he forced out one last line through clenched teeth. "If you bring up divorce again, I'll break your legs."

Rita didn't answer. Her silence was its own rebellion, and the faint shimmer of tears in her eyes was the only thing guarding what was left of her pride.

Irritation flickered across his face. He pulled her into his arms, his hands roaming as he started to reach under her dress.

Rita didn't miss the faint hickey on his throat. Her expression stayed calm. She even unbuttoned her clothes herself.

"We're enemies, remember? Doesn't that kill the mood?"

Seth's breath hitched for a split second. Whether it was anger or embarrassment, he hid it by snapping, "I feel gross every time I have to look at you or touch you!"

In the end, he didn't go any further.

Before he left, he called in his private doctor. Under Seth's orders, the doctor ignored Rita's protests and forced two injections into her arm.

"One's nutrients to keep your sorry life going. The other's birth control, so stop dreaming about having a baby."

Once he'd said his piece, Seth turned and walked out.

Rita stared at his back, the bluish vein at the base of her thumb twitching under her skin. Something twisted hard in her chest, a tangle of feelings she couldn't even name.

Did Seth love her? Or did he hate her?

She looked around the room. It was their master bedroom, the one they'd decorated together. Every corner still held traces of the nights they'd tangled up in each other like their lives depended on it.

And now, all that tangled love and hate between them had torn them apart.

Chapter 5

Five days before the three years were up, Rita's phone rang.

Winnie's bright, tinkling laugh came through first, followed by Seth's warm, overly patient voice.

"Be good. Quit messing around. I need to talk to her," Seth said, sounding a little helpless.

That soft, indulgent way he talked to Winnie made Rita's chest tighten. Her fingers tightened around the phone before she even realized it.

Then, as soon as he spoke to her, his voice went cold. "Winnie asked that psychic about you. If you plant 999 roses yourself, you can finally get rid of all that bad luck hanging over you."

Rita's heart lurched. The moment she heard Winnie's name, her gut reaction was to say no. She didn't even get the word out before Seth cut her off again.

His voice stayed low, but there was a weight in it that didn't need yelling to sound like a threat. "I'm telling you. I'm not asking for your opinion."

The line went dead, and something in her chest gave way.

A second later, her screen lit up with a new text. It was an address. Only then did it occur to her that Seth had pulled her off his blocked list just to fulfill Winnie's wish.

Their last message thread had been sitting there untouched for three years. That day was supposed to be their sweet, perfect wedding. Instead, Seth lost Tara and took Rita down with him.

When the memory slipped away, Rita realized she was standing in front of Everrose Estate, caught in a long, dazed pause.

She took in the heirloom roses climbing the wall, the antique copper mirror carved with tiny floral patterns, the rolling waves of hydrangeas.

The place looked like it had been pulled straight from an old-world painting, soaked in the soft, romantic magic she'd always loved.

And all of it had been the proposal gift Seth planned for her three years ago.

Rita remembered that sunny afternoon, how he'd tucked half his face into her hair. His arm had been warm and steady around her waist, his smile soft and effortless.

"My Rita deserves to be the happiest princess in the world."

But now, the estate felt like a gravestone, marking the death of what they'd been and feeding the first shoots of hatred.

Gary kept urging her forward, but it barely registered with her. Rita followed in a fog, and she was a step from the rear garden when she froze. The sight ahead hit her like an eyesore.

Winnie had her arm draped around Seth's neck, grinning as she pointed at the grapes on the tray, nudging him to feed her.

And the man who was usually all ice actually smiled back, warm and relaxed. He peeled a grape with slow, careful hands before lifting it to her mouth.

Rita was still staring when Gary shoved her. She stumbled and caught herself just in time. When she looked up again, she ran right into Seth's sharp, cutting stare.

The moment he saw her, his face tightened. Like even acknowledging her was a bother, he flicked his chin at Gary, telling him to take her to the wild, overgrown garden in the back.

Then Seth turned to Winnie again, though the way he peeled the next grape wasn't nearly as smooth.

The overgrown garden was bigger than Rita expected, and the sun beat down even harder than she'd imagined.

While Seth held a parasol over Winnie, sweat blurred Rita's vision.

She planted the roses with her bare hands. The thorns stabbed straight through her fingertips, unforgiving. Blood dripped into the soil, each drop feeling like it mocked how pathetic she looked.

But Rita didn't stop. She kept telling herself that pushing harder might drown out the ache in her chest.

That was when a raspberry margarita appeared beside her. She stepped back fast when she met Winnie's eyes.

Winnie offered the drink, her voice soft and pleading. "Rita, take a break. This is for your own good."

They pushed at each other, and Rita yanked herself loose. A sharp crack snapped through the air as the glass shattered.

Winnie slipped and tumbled down the long steps, ending up at the bottom in a pool of blood and broken glass.

Rita's eyes flew wide. She rushed to help Winnie, but the second she reached out, something heavy slammed into her and sent her crashing backward.

The rose bushes ripped across her back like blades. Blood soaked through her clothes, spreading fast.

Pain broke over her, leaving a cold sweat down her spine. When she forced her eyes open, she met Seth's, red-rimmed and blazing.

He snapped his teeth together. "Rita, Victor ruined Tara's life. And now you're trying to kill Winnie? If anything happens to her, I'll drag the whole Searle family down with you!"

Exhaust from the Maybach clawed at her lungs, leaving her skull pounding. She curled on the ground, her tears disappearing into the blood on her shirt.

Her thoughts kept slipping away until she couldn't hold on. The darkness finally swallowed her.

…

She had no clue how long she'd been out when her eyes blinked open again.

An agreement was sitting right in front of her.

Chapter 6

The bold heading at the top, "Skin Graft Consent Form", yanked Rita out of her haze. Her hand, covered in cuts and bruises, clenched around the paper until it suddenly felt way heavier than it should.

She looked up at the doctor and rasped, "I don't get it. Where's Seth?"

The doctor gave her a practiced little smile. "Mrs. Jones, you nearly left Ms. Anderson with permanent scarring. And per Mr. Jones's orders, you're signing this whether you want to or not."

Tears sprang to her eyes. She shook her head, her voice shaking. "I didn't push Winnie."

The doctor was already impatient. "I'm just doing my job. Save the explanations for Mr. Jones."

Rita lowered her head, her loose hair falling forward to hide the tears welling in her eyes, even though it couldn't hide how red they were.

"Fine. Where's Seth?"

Her voice barely made it past a whisper, like she didn't even believe Seth would hear her out.

Still, she held on to that tiny bit of hope. Even one chance felt like enough if she could finally tell him how wronged she felt.

The doctor didn't answer. A quick flash of sympathy crossed his eyes.

Rita knew that look too well.

"He's with Winnie, isn't he?"

It sounded like a question, but she already knew the answer.

The doctor's eyes darted away.

Rita pushed herself upright, but the movement pulled at her wounds, and she slipped off the bed. The needle in the back of her hand ripped free, and blood streamed out.

But she didn't seem to feel it.

She bolted down the hallway barefoot.

…

"Seth, my face is ruined. I don't even want to live anymore..."

Rita stopped cold in the doorway, staring at Winnie crying against Seth's shoulder. He held her close, wiping her tears, his face soft with a kind of hurting tenderness.

"Don't cry. I'll make Rita pay for this."

The words hit Rita hard. The color drained from her face, and she wobbled where she stood. She didn't know when Seth had started hating her this much.

He'd already shattered her heart. Was he really trying to finish her off?

As if her stare burned through him, Seth's head jerked around. The moment he saw her, his expression hardened. "You've got some nerve showing up here. Did you sign the consent form?"

His anger made Rita bite her lip. She swallowed back her tears and managed, "It wasn't me. I didn't push her."

A hard look snapped across Seth's face. He threw the words at her, cold and sharp. "You do nothing but lie. You Searles are all the same, rotten from birth."

Rita's eyes burned, tears welling up fast. She rushed at Winnie, her voice breaking. "Say something! You threw yourself down on purpose!"

Winnie jumped like Rita had startled her, then curled tighter into Seth, sobbing. "Yeah, I did it on purpose. It's all my fault."

Rita was shaking so hard she couldn't say anything. She just stood there, feeling totally helpless.

Winnie had put on a pathetic little act that anyone could see through, but she still ended up with all of Seth's sympathy. With how blindly he backed her, Rita never really had a chance.

A dry laugh slipped out of her. She looked at Seth. "Are you going to hate me for the rest of your life?"

Maybe it was the hurt in her eyes, but Seth actually froze for a second. Then Winnie whimpered, and whatever hesitation he had disappeared.

He pressed a soft kiss to Winnie's forehead, calming her until she fell asleep. As soon as she did, he yanked Rita out of the room.

His voice was nothing but disgust. "I don't have time for your act. Don't push me into wiping out the rest of the Searles."

The words were so harsh that they made Rita's chest sting.

They'd been married all this time, and only now did she see how much of a stranger he'd turned into. He couldn't even show her the slightest respect.

Rita didn't argue. She just signed the consent form. The way she gave in so completely was almost eerie, and it threw Seth for a moment.

As he turned to go, his hand tightened on the door handle. His voice dropped low. "No one's taking your place as Mrs. Jones. Even if she's here, I can afford to keep you both."

Rita said nothing.

Seth's eyes went cold, and he snorted. "Ungrateful."

He didn't look back, so he never saw Rita standing in the corner, crying quietly.

There were only two days to go in the three years she was supposed to spend with Seth, but she no longer had the courage to stay.

Chapter 7

The day before the surgery, Rita sat on the bench outside the exam room, staring at the test results in her hands.

She put a hand on her stomach and whispered, "Two months pregnant… How's that even possible?"

What happened between them two months ago had been quick and rough. It was Tara's birthday, and Seth had been completely drunk.

His face was flushed as he slumped into her arms. His movements were rough, almost harsh, and his eyes, blurred by alcohol, showed nothing but sorrow.

"My mom's dying wish was that I take care of Tara. She died in the delivery room, and now Tara's stuck in a hospital bed, unable to do anything on her own. Victor was my best friend.

"How could he fail her like that? Rita, what am I supposed to do? Rita… How am I supposed to keep loving you?"

Rita didn't sleep at all that night. She went over everything again and again, but she still couldn't understand how she and Seth had ended up on opposite sides like enemies.

It wasn't just Winnie between them. Old family grudges and deaths were also hanging over both of them.

And life wasn't done messing with Rita yet. She'd taken plenty of birth control pills, but she still ended up pregnant with a baby that was never supposed to exist.

She lowered her gaze. This might be the last thread connecting her and Seth. Maybe it was her last chance to hold onto what they used to have.

So, before the surgery, she grabbed Seth's sleeve at the door. "Seth, I need to talk to you."

He froze for a moment. Something flickered across his face, and he pulled his arm out of her hold. His voice turned cold. "Rita, it's too late for you to back out now."

A bitter ache tightened in her chest. She had to take a few deep breaths before she got the words out. "Seth, what if I were pregnant—"

"That's ridiculous!" he snapped.

The cold look in his eyes made Rita's chest tighten.

He gave a short, humorless laugh. "You took all those pills and still got pregnant? Fine. Then you and that kid can pay Winnie back together."

Rita wobbled a little but forced a crooked smile as she handed him a document. "It's the family consent form for the surgery. Sign it."

As soon as he heard it was for Winnie's surgery, he didn't hesitate. He signed his name and turned to leave.

"Seth, we're even after this," Rita said.

He paused for a beat, his gaze going even colder. "Keep dreaming."

…

Winnie had the doctors leave the operating room, then walked up to Rita like she wasn't in any rush. Her eyes were challenging, her smile smug.

"I didn't think that little setup would work this well. Rita, running into me was really your bad luck."

She pulled the bandage off her face. Her skin was flawless, with no visible scars.

"Surprised? I can even fake my scars. You're not still hoping Seth loves you, are you? Rita, if I were the sister of a murderer, I wouldn't have the nerve to keep living."

A sharp pain cut through Rita's chest. She stumbled back and steadied herself against the wall.

A metallic taste spread across her tongue, pulling her back into focus. "Is that so? Because the marriage certificate has both of our names. You never had any real claim on him."

Winnie's expression slipped for a second, but she fixed it almost immediately, chin lifting again. "We'll see about that!"

…

Rita lay there like a corpse, letting the doctor move her however he needed. As the cold anesthesia slid into her spine, a laugh tore out of her, bitter and a little unhinged.

She was drowning in grief and anger and didn't even know who she was supposed to take it out on.

A cramp tore through her lower belly. She doubled over and tumbled off the operating table, forcing the doctor to stop the procedure.

When Rita lifted her head, she met Seth's dark, sharp stare.

Every word that came out of him hurt more than the last. You'd rather play dead than take responsibility? Rita, you really never stop scheming, do you?"

Rita felt another warm rush spreading beneath her. Pushing through the pain, she started, "That's not—"

"You're still talking back? Get up. You're coming with me to apologize to Winnie!"

Seth yanked her so hard her vision dimmed and her head filled with fog. No matter how loudly he yelled, his words barely reached her.

Rita finally collapsed onto the floor, limp.

A nurse next to her whispered, "Mr. Jones, could she be miscarrying?"

Seth's eyes widened as he stared at the blood spreading under Rita.

Chapter 8

Seth's voice dropped to a whisper, a hint of panic in it. "How is that even possible? I clearly..."

He'd made Rita take so many birth control pills and pushed her so hard she ended up exhausted in every way. And now she was pregnant with their baby?

Seth blinked fast, trying to stay calm even as he felt himself starting to lose it.

He moved to lift Rita, but Winnie grabbed his arm.

Her eyes went wide, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Rita, you timed your cycle on purpose so you could fake a pregnancy and dump it on me, didn't you? You've gone way too far.

"You're using a baby to mess with Seth. What makes you think you're even fit to be a mom?"

Winnie swayed, the color draining from her face. For a second, it looked like she might pass out.

Rita stayed curled in the blood on the floor, the sharp pain in her lower belly dragging her toward blacking out. She didn't even have the strength to answer Winnie's ridiculous accusation.

Her hand shook as she reached for Seth. She put every ounce of hope she had left on the father of her child. Trusting him to be fair was the only thing she'd left.

But in the end, he let her down.

Blood kept spreading under Rita until her hand slipped limp against the floor. She forced her head up, and the first thing she saw was Seth's dark, unreadable stare.

He looked her over, took in every bit of her misery, and let out a laugh that didn't reach his eyes. A cold shiver ran down her spine.

"You're disgusting, Rita. Using a baby to threaten me? What makes you think I'd fall for that?"

A vein throbbed at his temple, and his eyes were bloodshot. He couldn't have looked more furious.

Seth turned to the doctor. His voice was flat. "Handle her injuries."

He crouched beside Rita and looked down at her like she was something he owned, hatred written all over his face. "Your life belongs to me. No one else gets a say."

After that, he scooped Winnie into his arms and walked off without sparing Rita another look.

Rita watched him until he was gone, then finally let her eyes close.

…

When she woke again, the news hit her hard. She'd lost the baby.

The nurse looked sorry. "Mrs. Jones, your body's been through too much. Getting pregnant again might be very difficult."

Rita looked down and didn't answer. She ran her hand over her belly through the blanket. It felt empty there, the same way it did inside her.

It may be better this way. A child growing up in all the resentment between her and Seth wouldn't have been happy.

She thanked the nurse and asked for help with the discharge papers.

The nurse hesitated, thinking Rita needed more time to heal, but the grief in Rita's eyes pushed her to nod anyway.

Before leaving the hospital, Rita went to see Tara. She wrung out the towel and wiped Tara's cheeks one last time.

"Tara, I'm sorry… But my baby paid for all of this with its life. I've paid for my sins too."

Tara looked peaceful, almost like none of the nightmare had happened.

Rita couldn't keep it together anymore. Her eyes burned. "I'm really sorry. This revenge should've ended a long time ago. And I'm done loving Seth…"

As the sky darkened, Rita stood, tucked the blanket around Tara, and headed out. She didn't see the slight tremor in Tara's fingertips.

After she was discharged, Rita went back to the Searle residence for the first time in three years. Seth had banned her from setting foot inside, and she hadn't crossed the threshold since.

Now that the three years were finally up, she opened the things Victor had left her. Inside were a black card and a medical report.

The card held a balance with more zeros than she could wrap her head around, enough to keep her comfortable for the rest of her life.

The report showed that Victor's kidneys had completely failed. It also stated that he was infertile.

Rita finished reading the letter he'd written in his own blood. Her face went blank, caught somewhere between a laugh and a sob. She no longer knew how to make sense of the past anymore.

She mailed the divorce papers and all the other items to the hospital. With that, she'd carried out Victor's final wish.

After packing her bags, Rita climbed into the car for the airport. She'd bought the ticket on a whim, deciding on the destination only minutes before. Maybe a little impulse was exactly what life needed.

Right before boarding, she popped out her SIM card and tossed it into the trash, severing the last tie she had to Seth.