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.

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.

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.