Chapter 1

Over the Memorial Day long weekend, the company organized a trip to India.

The moment we landed, Vivi—my boyfriend Damien's little assistant—insisted on visiting a temple.

What she didn't know was that this so-called temple was, in reality, a thinly disguised red-light district.

Even boys who wandered inside were forced into sex.

I was the only one who knew the truth, and yet I didn't stop them—I actually encouraged them to go looking for love.

Because in my previous life, I'd told the boss about it.

He'd torn into everyone, threatened to dock their bonuses, and forbidden Vivi and the others from leaving the hotel.

Vivi snuck out in the middle of the night. She'd barely reached the temple gates before six men dragged her into an alley.

By the time she was found, she was beyond saving.

When my boyfriend heard, he was strangely unmoved. Said she'd brought it on herself.

Then, the day before we were due to leave India, he stripped me bare and threw me onto a black bus.

"You killed Vivi. It's your fault—you stopped me from going with her! If I'd been with her, none of this would've happened!"

"You've got a wicked heart. You're the one who deserves to die!"

Both my legs were broken, my uterus prolapsed. I died the same day I was taken to the hospital.

My parents wanted to press charges, but he bought off my coworkers, who fabricated an alibi for him.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day Vivi wanted to go to the temple.

...

"Selene, Indian temples are World Heritage sites. There's no way a place like that is as sketchy as you're making it out to be."

Every one of my coworkers had already changed clothes and was ready to head out—until I blocked the doorway.

Damien felt I'd embarrassed him. He jabbed a finger in my face. "I think you're just jealous of me and Vivi, so you made up some rapist bullshit to scare everybody!"

The others chimed right in.

"Yeah, seriously. The Indian people we've met these past few days have all been perfectly nice. Nothing like what she's describing—like they're panting to jump anyone with a pulse."

"I think she's just jealous. Scared Damien'll go to the temple, propose to Vivi, and dump her."

"Honestly, Selene, have you actually been to one of those places yourself? Otherwise, how would you know so much?"

Hearing them, my whole heart went cold.

India was infamous for a reason.

In this country, a sexual assault happens every three minutes, a woman is raped every twenty-two minutes, and a girl gets an abortion every hour.

The company had shelled out for a premium organized tour.

We were staying at luxury hotels, our guide was a well-educated graduate, and every stop was on the official itinerary.

So as the trip went on, everyone decided India wasn't nearly as bad as the internet made it seem.

Damien's little assistant Vivi had read online that a certain temple here was famous for granting true love, and now, late at night, she was insisting on going.

I'd looked into it before we came. That so-called temple was really just a red-light district in disguise.

Forget women going after dark—men, even animals, weren't safe from what happened there.

In my previous life, I'd done everything to stop them. When they refused to listen, I'd gone to upper management.

My good intentions had cost me my life and destroyed my family.

"Everyone, stop giving Selene such a hard time."

Vivi stepped forward now, coming to my defense.

"Selene, I know you're worried about our safety. But don't be. My dad knew I was coming to India, so he arranged professional bodyguards for me. Nothing will happen."

"But if you're really that worried about Damien, then just let him stay here with you."

Officially, Vivi was Damien's intern. But from her very first day, word had spread that she was the daughter of the group's chairman.

The second Damien heard Vivi might leave him behind, he panicked—and slapped me across the face.

"If you don't want to broaden your horizons, don't drag me down with you!"

He turned right back to Vivi.

"Vivi, I'm going with you. It's late. I don't feel good about you going alone."

The others jumped in, teasing.

"Ohhh, worried, huh? Damien, are you worried about her safety, or are you worried Vivi'll find some other true love at the temple?"

"She's got all of us with her. Why's Damien the only one so worried?"

Not one of them cared that I was Damien's girlfriend. They just kept ribbing the two of them.

Vivi flushed.

"Come on, guys, don't tease me and Damien. If Selene gets upset, she might go tattle to Mr. Sinclair again."

At that, the whole room went silent.

Damien's eyes turned to me with pure disgust.

"Selene, how old are you? Running to the boss over every little thing. We're adults. If something happens, we'll deal with it ourselves."

That look on his face brought back the memory of being shoved onto the black bus.

A shudder ran through me. I quickly apologized.

"I've been watching too much TikTok. It's rotted my brain. I shouldn't have tried to stop you."

Damien gave me a satisfied glance and pulled out his phone to look up tips.

"The guide says the less you wear, the better your chances of meeting true love."

Immediately, the women went back to their rooms and slipped into miniskirts. The men changed into shorts.

Then, in high spirits, off they went.

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