Willa was pregnant, and pregnant women needed double the nutrition.

So I pushed myself to the edge hunting down rare food.

I felt bad for her. Always gave her first pick. I got what was left—apple cores, scraps, whatever.

Eventually, there wasn't even that.

I went hungry.

Still, Willa complained I was useless. Couldn't even feed her and the baby.

When I finally blacked out from hunger, I muttered, "Willa, there's not enough food. Maybe it's better to give up the baby..."

She slapped me hard.

"Shut up! How can you be so cruel?"

Then came the apology—but I was already done.

I knew I couldn't keep this up. I told myself I'd protect her till we reached the base—then we were done.

We made it. I finally got my share of relief rations.

But Willa said the way I ate—cautious, starving—was embarrassing.

She yanked the food from my hands and handed it out all noble-like. "The baby and I have enough. Give the rest to others."

I wasn't dressed warm enough. No food. Just shivering in the cold.

I starved to death right outside the base gates.

Only after I died did I find out—Willa had been stashing everything I brought into her Pocket Space. Even scored big on a supply run.

Her secret hoard could've fed an entire base.

She didn't give me a single crumb.

I watched her force out a few fake tears at my funeral—then latch onto the Deputy Governor and morph into that graceful, noble, kind "saint" everyone worshipped.

***

Text lit up in the air.

[Bro, there's NO WAY Selene solos that many zombies]

[Pls, even if she can't, Tristan's right there. man's not letting the FL get touched]

[Lowkey dying to see him go all knight-in-shining-armor while Willa freezes when he says who he really is]

[LOL, Willa acts all cold but she's just a shy girl deep down. you can tell she's losing it over Tristan]

[Tristan's gaze is so soft it's unreal.]

As the comments scrolled, it hit me.

The bleeding pretty boy on the ground? Tristan Norton. The male lead. The Brentford Base Deputy Governor.

While I was out here, going full beast mode on the zombies, Willa had dragged him back to our place—safe and cozy.

In my last life, Tristan had been by her side from the start. The whole time, he mooched off my supplies, drank my water, and looked at me like I was dirt.

Willa? He treated her like she hung the moon. Total simp.

Me? I was just the help. If I stepped out of line, all he had to do was twitch his fingers—his Wind Power would've snapped me like a twig.

Those weird scars that kept popping up on my body? All him.

I slammed my bat like it could beat the rage out of me.

It wasn't until I died that I realized—this whole world was a freaking novel.

Willa was the main girl.

And I was the idiot sidekick.

I wasn't buying it.

Why was I born just to be someone else's extra?

Why did the people I loved treat me like a joke?

The chat feed didn't stop.

[Is it just me or is the side character actually kinda cool? Girl literally risked her life for Willa and her kid]

[Nah, she's just dumb. total background NPC]

[Fr, she's dead weight. story would move way faster without her]

[With Tristan around, Willa doesn't even need Selene]

[No, no, no, isn't Selene's whole thing dropping cheat codes for Willa?]

[Let's not forget, Willa's Pocket Space used to be Selene's]

[So Willa's just a straight-up thief now?]

[Lowkey feeling bad for Selene here]

[You don't gotta be so mean. The Sorrells adopted her and raised her—she owes Willa]

...

Heh.

Took me long enough, but the Chat Feed finally clicked. I was never the Sorrells' real kid. They found me on the street.

No wonder they treated me like a charity case.

All that "older siblings should give way" crap? That "big sisters must take care of the little ones" stuff from them?

Yeah. That was just for me. Straight-up brainwashing.

I smashed a zombie's skull like a baseball and blew out a breath.

Then I ran to Willa and held out my hand. Her shock flashed for half a second.

"Hurry, come with me!"

"No!" She smacked my hand like it burned. "If you won't save HIM, I'm not going!"

"Cool. Stay then. I'll get help." I spun and took off.

What kind of idiot sticks around to fight a zombie buffet?

"Wait—what?" Willa's voice cracked. "Selene? Selene! Get back here!"

I didn't even glance back.

The zombies were gaining.

Willa hesitated, her lip caught between her teeth. She looked down at Pretty Boy like she was torn.

"Sorry," she muttered. "I'll go with Selene. She needs me too. I don't want her to worry."

Then she bolted after me without looking back once.

We made it home one after the other.

The second we walked in, she turned on me in front of everyone. "Selene, that was heartless! You just stood there and let him die!"

***

I waved them over to the window.

"Ah! Zombies!" someone gasped, totally losing it.

"What the hell happened?" Panic hit fast as they spotted the swarm closing in.

"Selene? What did you do? You didn't clear them—how'd you end up dragging more here?" barked Miranda, an old granny with her hands planted on her hips.

"Yeah, Willa never freaks out like this. You must've really screwed up," some guy from the couple added.

I just arched a brow.

Willa's little strays—of course they had her back.

Still...

My lips twitched into a cold, slow smile.

I dropped the bags with a heavy thud.

Every head snapped my way.

"Anyway, enough chatting. Let's split the supplies," Miranda said, eyes practically glowing as she reached out.

Willa was faster.

"Hmph, like passing out stuff erases what you did. Cold as ever," she scoffed, already clutching a bag.

I kicked it out of her reach. "Who said you could touch that?"

"What?" She blinked at the black boot mark smeared across her hand like it was fake.

"You're bullying Willa! I'll beat you up!" Perry, Miranda's grandson, came barreling in like an angry toddler.

I drop-kicked him back without blinking.

The boy flew back a solid two meters and slammed into the floor.

"Waaahhh..." He rolled around sobbing like I'd shattered his whole life.

"Keep it down or I'll toss you to the zombies," I said, ice-cold.

Naturally, the brat just wailed louder.

In my last life, Perry was a menace. He couldn't sleep at night and insisted on having someone play with him.

That noise attracted zombies to where we were staying.

I had to risk my neck clearing the safe zone—again.

Meanwhile, Willa wouldn't shut up about the noise wrecking her nerves. Worried it'd "stress out" her and the baby, I went to shut things down.

Didn't expect just calling out Perry would make Miranda lose it. She started flailing and screeching.

And right on cue, Willa stepped into the spotlight—telling me to let it go.

She'd been whining nonstop, but now she wanted to play the saint.

"Zombies can be killed again, but a child's only childhood should be cherished."

Please. What a steaming pile of crap.

Miranda ate that line up. After that, she was on me nonstop, always poking, always whining.

And just like that, I became the group's official villain—selfish, disruptive, the so-called threat to "group harmony."

Too bad for them, I wasn't playing nice this time.

I grabbed Perry and shoved his head deep into the couch cushions.

Instant volume drop.

"Stop it! Bullying a helpless grandma and her grandson—have you no shame?!" Miranda shrieked, flapping her arms.

I held up a finger. "Shh. Listen."

The growling outside? Way louder now.

Took them long enough to notice.

"What's going on?" the woman from the couple whispered.

The howls in the stairwell echoed loud and clear.

"S-Sounds like they're coming up..."

Silence dropped like a weight. Everyone went ghost-pale.

All eyes landed on me, waiting for answers.

I let Perry go. He bolted to Miranda, shaking like a leaf.

I shrugged, nodded at Willa. "Ask her. She wanted to play hero, so I ran for backup. Locked the door behind me..."

I turned to her. "So not only did you flop the rescue, you forgot to lock the main door?"

Heads swiveled. Willa started shaking, furious. "You're horrible! I was trying to save someone! You could've helped—he died because of you!"

I stared like she'd lost her mind. "You're giving me way too much credit. You dragged a whole horde over here and thought what, I'd solo them? I figured you had some hidden power, the way you charged in. But that was it?"

Zombies hit the sixth floor, clawing at the door.

Everyone froze.

I didn't. I looked straight at Willa. "You made this mess. Clean it up."

"Selene?!" Willa gawked like I'd slapped her. "How can you treat me like this? Aren't you my sister?"

I laughed. "Oh, now I'm your sister? I'm the older one, not your maid. You're dead weight. Can't lift, can't carry, just eat and whine. And now you've got a baby? Be real. If we weren't related, you think I'd have kept you around?"

I grabbed a big bag, dropped a smaller one on the floor.

"Guess I spoiled you too much. That's why you forgot your lane. These people? You dragged them in. Not my problem."

I nudged the bag toward her. "Enough for you and the kid. Whether you share it? Up to you."

Then I looked around.

"The rest of you? Don't bother me. I don't owe you anything."

In my last life, they called me selfish for not sharing supplies.