I Saw Her Goodness Too Late

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?"

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