In order to get what she wanted, Rita had to been smart, cunning. Thankfully, she was. Dancing around Carlo and Catherine, she found her ways to get the love she needed. All while keeping the secret from all but Isabel.

As the leader of the Elysian Garden Club, Rita's garden was her escape; her utopia. While she didn't tend to care for it herself, she sometimes found herself caring for a flower or two when she felt like it. Most of the time, she simply retired there when she needed space away from Catherine and Carlo. Or when she wanted to see a certain someone.

Of course Rita had a lover. Carlo was a cruel man who'd only ever been interested in her assets, not her affection. And the absence weighed heavily on her heart. That's why Rita needed her. She hired her as a gardener to tend to her flowers, but she tended to much more than the flora. She had just been her girlfriend for the weekend before this move. Now they were together much more frequently.

When she knew they were alone, Rita would stand, leaning against the doorframe, watching her work adoringly. Gods, she couldn't get enough of her. The way she cared for her plants with such ease, pulling at weeds and brushing her fingertips over the rose petals with her calloused, dirt-covered hands. Rita couldn't help where her mind wandered as she observed. Images of those hands caressing her skin in such a way, touching her like she was the delicate rose..

She knew it was wrong. To feel this way for a woman. But she couldn't find it within herself to care. She loved her wholeheartedly, and she just treated her so well. And if she was going to hell for it, then it was worth it. The smile her lover flashed her as she approached that made her heart flutter was worth the price of her indulgence in her own Garden of Eden.