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.