Chapter 1
On my twenty-fourth birthday, my best friend of ten years, Naomi Parham, handed me a plane ticket to Thainiland.
She told me she'd pulled every string to get in touch with a top director and had landed me the role of the second female lead.
Touched, I hopped on a flight that very night, only to be greeted by a bunch of burly men and a beat-up van.
It wasn't until I was driven all the way to a transnational criminal syndicate in Myanbar that the truth hit me: Naomi had been scheming with my boyfriend of five years all along. They'd sold me out, just to snatch my apartment and pocket a fat commission.
Unable to take the torture any longer, I made a desperate break for it. But the syndicate leader caught me, snapped my arms and legs, and tossed me into the river like I was nothing but fish bait.
The next thing I knew, I opened my eyes, and I was right back on my twenty-fourth birthday.
"Gillian, guess what birthday surprise I have for you? I got in touch with Toby Burton, the director you love, and his new movie is prepping in Thainiland. I pulled a ton of strings to get you the second female lead part.
"Your ticket's booked. I'll pick you up at the airport," Naomi laughed.
I couldn't help but chuckle at her excitement over the phone.
"Sure, see you soon," I said.
*****
Even after I hung up, the pain from my shattered limbs and the fear from that hellish night still felt burned into my bones. I could almost taste that nasty, fishy river water clinging to me, like it was never going to let me go.
I sucked in a few deep breaths, trying to convince myself this was real.
I'd been time-traveled.
In my previous life, I was out in the world all alone, with no family to rely on. So I treated Naomi and my first love, Andrew Paul, as the only people I could truly trust.
But who would've imagined? The very two I'd poured my heart and soul into teamed up and sold me off to that transnational criminal syndicate in Myanbar, shoving me straight into a living hell no one could ever imagine.
Just thinking about it made all those old wounds—every bruise, every broken bone—prickle like a thousand sharp needles in my heart. The pain was so raw that tears sprang to my eyes before I could stop them.
This time, I was determined to make them pay back every bit of suffering they'd ever put me through.
After calming down, I switched off my phone's silent mode and sank into my own warm, soft bed.
It had been ages since I'd gotten a real, peaceful rest.
I slept straight through until the middle of the night.
Checking the time, I realized that if I'd taken that flight, I'd be landing in Thainiland right about now.
Glancing at my phone, I saw it was blowing up—99 plus messages and missed calls, just like I expected.
Pretty much all of them were from Naomi.
"What's with all these calls?" I called her back.
Naomi picked up, her voice already pissed and on edge.
"Gillian, what's going on? Why didn't you get on the plane? Seriously, what are you even doing? Even though you missed your flight, you could've at least texted me.
"Mr. Burton's assistant has been waiting at the airport for ages. Do you even know how much work I put in to get you this shot? Now you're acting all high and mighty. How am I supposed to explain this to Mr. Burton?"
She sounded genuinely pissed, like I was the one letting her down. All that frustration and fake concern in her voice almost made it believable.
Seriously, with acting chops like hers, it was a shame she didn't go into showbiz herself.
If I hadn't survived everything Naomi put me through last time, I'd probably be falling for it and feeling guilty right now.
I ruffled my messy, just-woke-up hair and said casually, "Oh, I was just too tired and overslept. Why don't you just give me Mr. Burton's number?
"I'll apologize to him myself. Don't worry about it."
"You—" Naomi stammered, her words stumbling as if she'd just been caught red-handed.
She didn't even know Toby Burton, so of course she couldn't cough up his number.
If I'd had even the slightest doubt about her in my previous life, I would've seen it. Naomi was just another face in the business; no way she had the clout to know Toby, let alone score me an audition for the second female lead.
Now that the illusion was shattered, my head was finally clear.
"How could I just give you his number without asking first? That's personal!" Naomi shot back, sounding a little flustered.