Chapter 1

I time-traveled into a novel and became the sacrificial pawn, the one who had to serve a pregnant female lead on the run.

The female lead, Melanie Rivers, was dead set on having her kid, so I worked three jobs just to help her out, while she was busy playing endless cat-and-mouse with the billionaire, Blaise Carrington.

When Blaise later discovered I'd told Melanie to consider an abortion, he ordered his men to take revenge on me.

In the end, I was raped by a bunch of thugs and died in a tragic way.

At my funeral, Melanie kissed Blaise, gently comforting him as she said, "It was only because you loved me so much that you did this. Ella was such a kind soul; she would surely bless our love from heaven."

When I opened my eyes again, I was right back on the day Melanie found out she was pregnant. She looked at me, voice trembling. "What should I do now that I'm pregnant?"

*****

I just blurted out, "Melanie, you're way too kind-hearted. Of course, keep the baby."

Melanie Rivers held up the pregnancy test, her hands trembling. "Oh my, I'm actually pregnant? What am I supposed to do now?" she blurted out, panic rising in her voice.

With memories from my previous life, I forced myself to calm down.

When I glanced up, Melanie's innocent face was all scrunched up with frustration, her big eyes filling with tears as she waited for me to say something.

I told her straight, "Do whatever you want. But just to be clear. I'm not raising this kid."

"What?" Melanie blinked at me, totally shocked.

Melanie just couldn't process it; her best friend, who'd always had her back, was suddenly acting so cold. "Ella, how could you say that? You're my bestie. How can you just leave me and my baby to fend for ourselves?"

I shot her an amused look, barely holding back a snort.

"Seriously, raising kids is the parents' job. If you can't step up, that's what the kid's grandparents are for, right? Why would I, just some random friend, be stuck raising your baby? Maybe try talking to the baby daddy first," I said.

Melanie shook her head. "I decided to do this; the dad's not even in the picture. Hell, I don't even know who he is."

My mouth twitched. I seriously couldn't believe the things she was saying.

Melanie was hell-bent on having this baby, even when she had no clue who the father was. It was ridiculous.

She was not even worried that her kid would get roasted in school for having a mystery dad.

Honestly, her whole worldview just blew my mind.

I let out a fake sigh. "Seriously, you should loop your folks in and let them take care of you. It's fine for now, but in a couple of months, when you're showing, who's going to look after you if no one's around?"

Melanie practically jumped out of her skin. "No way, if my parents find out I'm pregnant and not even married, they'll totally freak out; they'd probably kill me,"

Even she realized how humiliating this was.

I tossed the problem right back to her. "If nothing I say works for you, then seriously, what do you want to do?"

Melanie grabbed onto my arm, coaxing me in a sweet voice. "Come on, you're all I've got. We'll totally raise this kid together, right? You're stuck as the honorary aunt—no backing out."

I gently pried her hand off my arm. "Honestly, I'm flat broke. There's no way I can help you out, so you might want to pick someone else as the kid's aunt."

Melanie just shrugged, acting like it was the most normal thing ever. "So what if you're broke? Just pick up a couple more jobs, work a little harder, and the money will roll in—easy, right?"

Honestly, she got a point. I was just a sidekick in their drama; juggling a few extra jobs was pretty much my main gig anyway.

No one cared if I was run ragged.

In the end, my whole existence basically revolved around making sure Melanie and her mystery man, Blaise Carrington, got their happy ending.

In my previous life, I busted my tail juggling three jobs, surviving on four hours of sleep, blowing every cent on raising Melanie's kid; I even signed them up for some coding bootcamp.

Even now, I could still feel how I was totally wiped out, running on fumes like some kind of zombie.

After all that, Melanie and her billionaire, Blaise, finally made up, and every misunderstanding magically vanished.

She forgave him on my behalf for killing me. At my funeral, she was even hanging all over Blaise, showing off their lovey-dovey act.

Honestly, they were one step away from throwing a rave on my tombstone.

I squeezed my fist under the table, hiding my frustration. "No can do. I've got cancer."

Melanie's eyes went wide. "What kind of cancer?"

I shot her a deadpan look. "Terminal laziness."