My best friend, Sienna Monroe, who always swears she'll never marry, goes with me to the fertility clinic and suddenly snatches away the donor profile I choose.

That's when I know she has come back to life too.

In my previous life, I wanted a mixed-race baby, so I chose the IVF route. Sienna mocked me, saying I'd just be raising someone else's child. But two weeks later, I was taken to the royal palace of Valoria.

It turned out the donor I picked was none other than the Prince of Valoria, a man of eight national lineages. He not only insisted on marrying me as his princess but also promised that our child would inherit the throne.

The baby and I were cherished by the entire royal family, so much so that the jewels they draped over me nearly bent my back.

Meanwhile, Sienna flaunted her extreme feminist stance and offended business partners. In the end, she was fired and blacklisted across the industry.

Sienna spent all her savings on a plane ticket to attend my party, where I would introduce my baby to everyone. But when I went to welcome her, she crushed my son to death in her hands and splashed concentrated acid on me.

"You don't deserve such good fortune! You worthless witch!"

But when I opened my eyes again, I had gone back to the day I asked her to go with me to the fertility clinic.

"I really want a mixed-race baby. I'm calling dibs on this biracial donor!"

Sienna Monroe, who had always sworn she'd never marry or have kids, suddenly shoved me aside so hard that I couldn't even get near the tablet with the donor profiles. Seeing how keyed up she was, I knew she had come back to life too.

I stared at her fingers clamped around the tablet and kept quiet.

She rolled her eyes at me. "What? It's just a donor. It's not like there aren't a hundred more. Try being a supportive friend for once. This donor's bio is vague. I'm doing you a favor!"

If her grin hadn't stretched to her ears, I might have believed her.

I shook my head, something finally clicking into place. "You know what, Sienna? You're right. Having a kid is a waste of my life. I'm not doing this."

She squinted at me. "Seriously? But you only wanted a baby because you knew..."

She thought I had found out who the donor really was. But the truth was, I had only wanted to carry out what my mother had asked me to do. I had no idea that particular donor was Andre Herbert, the Prince of Valoria.

Sienna's eyes went wide, as if she had uncovered a big secret. Color rushed to her cheeks.

The staff blinked at me. "Ms. Bennett, you paid 30,000 dollars as a deposit to reserve today's slot. If you cancel and rebook later, the deposit will be 100,000 dollars. Are you sure you want to..."

"I'm sure," I said, cutting her off.

Hearing that, Sienna immediately told the staff to bring over the contract.

The clinic usually walked patients through the IVF basics and risk disclosures, but Sienna waved it all away. "It's just a baby. I have a feeling my baby's father is a very big deal. Once I have his child, I'll be set for life!"

I almost laughed out loud. Of course, I knew why she was that confident.

In my previous life, I picked that donor. Two weeks later, Andre found me and whisked me off to a wedding the tabloids dubbed the event of the century.

Meanwhile, Sienna's life slid downhill year by year. She chalked it all up to luck and timing. So, this time around, the first thing she did was snatch the donor I had once chosen, determined to become the princess of Valoria herself.

Sienna signed quickly, scrawling her name across every consent form. When she walked out of the clinic, she was already emailing her resignation to our boss.

I stared at her in surprise.

She smirked. "I can feel it. I'm about to hit the pinnacle. And you won't even have a baby now. All you've got is a nine-to-five job. Enjoy being a workhorse forever!"

She spun on her heel and headed straight for the luxury mall.

Watching that triumphant little strut, I couldn't help smiling too. "So, you want to marry the prince, Sienna? Then, I hope when you learn the truth, you can still laugh as loudly as you did today!"

After Sienna quit, our boss dumped all her projects on me. I was drowning in deadlines when the office suddenly erupted.

"Sienna, you look like a whole different person today!"

I glanced up and saw Sienna sweep in, carrying designer shopping bags in both hands. Chin tipped high, she patted her stomach. "Please! My son is about to inherit a country!"

People stared at her like she had lost her mind. Not long ago, she'd sneer at anyone who got engaged or pregnant, preaching that marriage was a trap and babies were a waste of capital. Now, a few days later, she was claiming she was pregnant.

When she mentioned she had already sold her house, a few coworkers warned her.

"Be careful, Sienna. No one with real status is donating to a sperm bank. Don't get scammed."

She rolled her eyes. "Do you think I'm Aria? That idiot went for IVF without even knowing who the father would be! I'd rather be dead than be as dumb as her!"

Then, she walked over and slapped a stack of invitations onto my desk. "Five days from now, my husband will come to pick me up. Come and see what real wealth looks like!"

With that, she tossed her hair and strutted out.

We were all busy to begin with, and her drama rubbed everyone raw.

"Aria, isn't Sienna your friend? Is she delusional, imagining she has a billionaire husband?

"Anyone donating sperm isn't exactly rolling in it. But now, she's feeling superior for having a mixed-race baby?"

"She sold her house and blew the money on luxury brands. Let's see how she pays for her baby after this! She roasted me for trying to conceive, remember?"

The act that Sienna put on rubbed people the wrong way. They all told me to cut ties with someone that unhinged.

Not long after, Sienna dropped a location pin in the company group chat. It was a five-star hotel.

"This Saturday, my husband is hosting a dinner here. Don't miss it. It's your rare chance to mingle with high society!"

No one expected her to actually pull it off.

The five-star hotel was well known for its sky-high prices. Even a bottle of water could cost three figures.

Sienna's social feed turned into a brag reel, with every post tagging me. It was shot after shot of her dripping in couture and beaming like a cat that got the cream.

I let out a quiet snort. She could go ahead and laugh. It wouldn't be long now.

On Saturday, my coworkers dragged me to the hotel. "There's no way Sienna got so lucky to impregnate herself with the sperm of a billionaire donor. After the way she trashed you, we're not missing this train wreck!"

Right at the entrance was a photo of Sienna with a foreign man.

Just then, Sienna spotted me. She lifted her chin, clutched Andre's arm, and strutted over. "Well, if it isn't my broke bestie. I thought you wouldn't show! Since you don't have my eye for the right donor, you must be dying of jealousy!"

She really did think she had a good eye for these things. But she was as blind as a bat, not noticing there was no warmth in Andre's eyes.

I smiled faintly. "Jealous? Not even close. I'm happy for you!"

Sienna proudly introduced her husband, Prince Andre of Valoria.

"Andre says that the minute our baby is born, he'll be named heir. You still have time to get on my good side. Otherwise, with just one order from me, your company could go under. Aria, you'd be out of a job too."

Everyone sensed something was off, but Sienna was lost in her princess fantasy.

Our colleague, Paula, tugged me aside while Sienna preened for the others.

"Since when does a real prince donate to a sperm bank? And Valoria has strict ranks. They won't crown a foreign woman, let alone promise her kid the throne."

Andre's generosity, though, was hard to argue with. Sienna complained that her jewelry felt too light. Within half an hour, a couture designer arrived to take her measurements and design a custom set on the spot.

The envy in the room made Sienna look smugger than ever.

In my previous life, Andre treated me the same way. When I felt the slightest hint of morning sickness, he would panic and have the best doctors in the world rush over. Even then, I had the same doubt Paula did.

I had never met Andre before the pregnancy. Why would he be so devoted to me just because I was carrying his child? Why did the entire royal family handle me like I was made of glass?

I was nobody special. Apart from carrying his child, there was no reason to put me on a pedestal. So, I kept my guard up and eventually found out the secret.

Meanwhile, Sienna had already swallowed the bait.

A couple of coworkers tried to warn her, but she snapped at them, "You're just jealous! I'm pretty, independent, and smart. Of course, Andre fell in love with me at first sight."

Andre chimed in with a heartfelt declaration of love to Sienna in his heavy accent. He gently rubbed Sienna's stomach. For a split second, I saw a wild look in his eyes that no one else seemed to notice.

Sienna noticed me watching Andre and snapped. She rushed over, shoved me to the floor, and hurled a heel that struck my forehead. "Aria, have you no shame? Stop staring at my husband!"

Before she could hit me again, Andre stopped her, his expression grim. "You're pregnant. Don't make a scene! If you lose the child, I'll kill you!"

Everyone could see that Andre cared more about the baby than about Sienna.

However, Sienna saw it differently. "See? He loves me so much that he said if I lost the baby, he'd kill me! That's how seriously he takes our child!"

When she said that, disgust flashed clearly in Andre's eyes. While he held Sienna, my coworkers hurried to help me up from the floor. They wanted to lash out at Sienna, but who dared scold someone who was about to marry a prince?

I waved them off. "Forget it. Don't mind her."

I finished the sentence in my head. In nine months, she'd be praying for death.