Chapter 4

I grabbed the gummy from Tessa's hand and swallowed it without thinking. Almost instantly, the room erupted in cheers.

"Too late now," Tessa sneered, grinding her heel into my palm, twisting it cruelly.

"This is a new kind of aphrodisiac," she said mockingly. "Perfect for someone like you. Who told you to cross me, huh? Shane treats me like a queen, protects me like I'm his everything. And you? Leah, you're nothing more than his plaything—a blind masseuse who doesn't know her place. Do you really think you're his girlfriend? If I weren't trying to make my own way in life, you wouldn't even be in the picture."

I tried to move, to escape, but my body betrayed me as the strength drained out of me.

One of the men in the room suddenly ripped my dress.

"Well, we were going to make this fun for you, but you figured it out too soon. No matter—don't keep the boys waiting. You can't see anyway, so it doesn't matter who it is, right?"

As the last shred of my dignity was stripped away, I reached out a trembling hand toward Shane, praying for a sliver of mercy.

He stood in the doorway, watching from a distance, shielding Tessa's eyes with his hand.

"Don't look," he murmured to her. "It's dirty."

Before leaving, he glanced back one last time.

"Go easy on her," he said to the men. "And make sure she takes enough of the drug so she won't remember anything tomorrow."

"Got it, boss. Nine bucks and ninety-nine cents, right? We'll send the payment when we're done."

When I woke up, Shane was sitting by my bedside, his eyes filled with feigned concern.

Next to him sat Tessa, her expression as smug as ever.

"Leah, thank God you're awake," Shane said, his voice soft. "You fell off the deck last night. I thought I'd lost you forever."

"Yeah, Leah," Tessa chimed in, her tone dripping with mock sympathy. "What happened to you? You're covered in bruises. If I didn't know you fell into the ocean, I'd think something else happened…"

I stared at the bruises and marks covering my body as the memories came rushing back—being stripped, dragged by my hair, held underwater in the bathtub.

The laughter. The suffocating darkness. The overlapping shadows.

I gripped the bedsheets tightly, gasping for air like I'd just narrowly escaped drowning.

Shane shot Tessa a warning glare, then reached out to pat my hand in what he probably thought was a comforting gesture.

But Tessa wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a kiss right in front of me.

Their breaths grew heavier as they made no attempt to hide their passion.

I clenched my fists so hard that my nails dug into my palms, drawing blood. The anger, humiliation, and heartbreak threatened to overwhelm me.

It took me a long time to find my voice.

"Shane," I said, my voice trembling. "If you're not feeling well, you should go home. I'd like to be alone."

Shane hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"Alright," he said hoarsely, before scooping Tessa into his arms and leaving without a second thought.

The moment they were gone, I snapped.

I tore through the hospital room, smashing everything within reach. When there was nothing left to destroy, I grabbed my ID and phone, threw on whatever clothes I could find, and hailed a cab to the airport.

On the way, I made the mistake of checking the resale platform Shane had used to list me.

Underneath his post, there were "reviews" left by buyers—photos and videos of me from the night before.

The torn dress. The disheveled hair. The familiar room filled with strangers.

My hands shook as I slammed my phone shut and yanked out the SIM card, throwing it out the window.

When I arrived at the airport, still wearing my hospital gown, my professor was waiting. She didn't ask any questions, simply took my hand and held it tightly.

"You're here. That's all that matters," she said gently.

Before boarding the plane, I erased every trace of my identity back home.

Ten hours later, I landed in a new country, free at last.

What I didn't know was that back home, Shane had returned to the hospital, staring at the mess I'd left behind.

"Where's the patient?" he demanded, his voice filled with panic. "She's blind! How could you let her leave on her own?"

The doctor looked confused.

"Mr. Anderson," the doctor said cautiously, "Miss Leah completed her final treatment in Capital City last week. Her vision has been fully restored for days now. Didn't she tell you?"