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.