People generally head to beach retreats like Punta Mita, Mexico, to sip margaritas and party with friends. But for Rihanna, her late-February getaway was a time for healing -- something she desperately needed. Thirteen days after she was allegedly beaten by her boyfriend, Chris Brown, on Feb. 8, Rihanna was photographed outside a private villa called Casa Beidisia, looking reflective one day after her 21st birthday. "She looked like she was there to get away from all the attention and to recover," says an eyewitness.

While Rihanna was clearly trying to get past the horror of what happened to her, she was also weighing her future. But shockingly, she wasn't deciding whether to leave Chris, 19, but rather when she should reunite with him. By Feb. 27, just three days after she left Mexico, the couple had reunited at rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs' house on Miami Beach's Star Island.

"She never had any intention of ending it with Chris," says an insider close to Rihanna. "It's partly because she cares about him a lot. But another big part is that she can't bear the thought of him with another girl. So Chris and Rihanna are working things out because that's the way she wants it."

And Chris certainly isn't going to argue. "He's not stupid," the insider notes. "He knew it would take the heat off him if fans saw she was willing to forgive him.

For more on why Rihanna decided to take Chris back, pick up the latest issue of Life & Style, on newsstands now!

Photo Credit: Rihanna