"No phones. No lies. No escape."
"This is a kidnapping," Ava muttered, staring up at the stone steps of the mountain temple. "A legally sanctioned, monk-led kidnapping."
Ryan squinted at the wooden sign overhead. "Technically, it's a wellness retreat."
"We were tricked, Ryan. Mei called it a 'sunrise bonding experience.' That's propaganda."
Ahead, a monk in saffron robes bowed serenely. "Please relinquish your devices."
Ava clutched her phone like a lifeline. "Do you accept tears instead?"
"No phones," the monk repeated gently. "No words you don't mean."
"Guess I'll be mute for 24 hours," she mumbled, handing it over.
The temple grounds were impossibly peaceful—bamboo groves rustling, incense curling through the air like soft secrets. The kind of place where your thoughts echoed a little too loudly.
Ava looked around. "Where's the Wi-Fi?"
Ryan grinned. "Inside your soul, apparently."