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.

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.

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.