"I was in such a rush to head out that I forgot to tell Clara. That beef broth is probably way too salty to drink right now," Colter added, scratching the back of his head, grinning sheepishly.

"But it's no big deal, and it's fine even if you can't drink the soup. I'll treat everyone to a nice meal to make up for it."

Just like that, he smoothed the whole incident over dismissively.

But I knew that I was right. The system's effects would trigger for anyone who ate food made by Clara. It seemed that Clara and Colter were screening for beautiful, intelligent mothers to give birth to their baby.

When I gave it more thought, I remembered that I was scheduled to volunteer at an animal rescue shelter next month.

The shelter director, Collin Gould, mentioned that several of their female dogs were currently pregnant. They were constantly ravenous and always searching for food at night.

I planned to stay at the shelter for two days. If I could bring along all the food Clara prepared, wouldn't that be perfect?

I was just about to ask her for some of the homemade pies she loved to bake when she said, "Jessie, since you don't like the beef broth and lemonade, I also brought fresh apple pies. This is the best nutrition for pregnant women."

I smiled, and she immediately shoved the container into my hands.

The onlookers gaped in amazement, while the nurse couldn't help giving her a thumbs-up.

"Gosh! You deserve an award for the Best Friend of the Year!"

Clara covered her mouth and laughed demurely. "Jessie is three months along, right when the pregnancy is just stabilizing. She's my best friend, so of course I have to take good care of her.

"Best friends are our closest family. It's only right that I do my best to care for her."

People around us cast envious glances in my direction, as if they wished they had such a wonderful best friend like her.

I remembered my soul floating above the ceiling of her house in my past life when I overheard Colter complaining to her.

"The fourth child you had didn't turn out as handsome as I expected. We should have reset the system and picked someone else."

At that time, Clara had been applying her makeup. She had laughed and said, "Whatever. I only wanted a child from her, but she's ridiculously fertile, popping out babies one pregnancy after another.

"Besides, she's the one taking the physical toll of the pregnancy, and I didn't feel a thing when giving birth. So when I thought about it, getting a few extra sons for free isn't such a bad deal.

"The whole system game was quite fun. It's just a shame she died so quickly, or I could have kept playing with her a little longer."

Her vicious cruelty and complete lack of morals were what drove me to such a tragic end.

Why? What right did she have to treat me this way?

But now that she willingly offered all the food, I decided that I wouldn't have to waste my breath asking for it.

When I packed the container of apple pie into my bag, Clara's expression immediately grew tense.

"The apple pie is delicious, Jessie. Why don't you open it up and take a bite right now?"

I smiled and took her hand. "And that's why I have to take it home and slowly savor it."

Clara looked like she wanted to say something, while the crowd around us exploded with criticism.

"Look at her putting on an act. I bet she doesn't want to eat it at all. Why would she accept it in the first place if she doesn't want to eat it?"

"Just look at the apple pie's beautiful packaging. It must have cost a fortune to make if it's homemade. Jessie isn't going to stash it away and sell it online, is she?"

"Homemade baked goods like that can fetch a fair price on the internet. Wow, I can't believe Jessie's so disgusting that she'd even schemed against her best friend."

In this life, I wasn't afraid of offending anyone anymore. Given a second chance at life meant that my happiness was a priority, so I would do whatever I wanted.

But Clara followed me around like a shadow. "You've been throwing up and haven't eaten all day, Jessie. How could you go a whole day without a single bite of food?

"Your body won't be able to handle it, and the baby needs proper nutrition, too. You don't have to play nice with me; just eat it."

Clara's expression was tense with worry, as if she genuinely cared about me.

Colter stood beside her, and his expression was just as grim. "Why were you so hesitant to open up that apple pie and take a bite, Jessie?

"You don't think we're trying to hurt you, do you?"

His question left me completely speechless.

It didn't matter to me what others thought, but I had to keep Clara and Colter from getting suspicious. If they realized that I had noticed something was off and took the apple pie away, I would lose my chance to make them pay.

Worse, if they discovered I knew the truth, they would never let me go.

They had been so ruthless in my past life. In this one, I had to protect myself and the baby in my womb at all costs.

What should I do?

After a brief thought, I slowly unwrapped the apple pie, scooped up a small piece, and placed it in my mouth.

Clara and Colter smiled in satisfaction, and I curled my lips back at them.

"You're so kind to me, Clara. I'm so lucky to have a best friend like you. Thank you for worrying so much about my health."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, they headed home arm in arm.

I immediately booked an ultrasound with the doctor and was relieved to find that the baby was still safe in my womb.

I had feigned eating the apple pie right before their eyes when, in truth, I had secretly tucked it beneath my tongue without swallowing. Later, when I wiped my mouth, I spat it out onto a napkin.

After taking a bite, I packed the rest of the pie back into my bag.

After leaving the hospital, I headed home right away and began to plot how I was going to handle Clara and Colter. But just as I settled down on the bed, the doorbell rang.

I opened the door to find Clara standing outside. She held a piece of napkin with the spat-out piece of apple pie sitting on it.

"Did you not eat the apple pie? Why was it in the napkin you used to wipe your mouth?" she asked and stared at me with dark, probing intensity.

My heart pounded violently in sheer panic. Could she have noticed something?

Before I could even reply, Colter clutched his head and collapsed, crashing onto me.

I screamed in terror. His body pressed against me so heavily that I immediately shoved him off.

Pretending to be weak, he opened his eyes, sat up, and popped a candy into his mouth while apologizing to me.

"I'm so sorry, Jessie. Is your baby okay? We should get you to the hospital for a checkup right away.

"I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to do that, but I have no idea why my blood sugar suddenly crashed."

I was livid.

Martha and Wyatt heard the commotion and sprinted out of the house. They immediately rushed me back to the hospital for an emergency examination.

Using concern for my health as an excuse, Clara stood by my side the whole time. Her eyes were completely glued to the words on my report: "The baby is perfectly healthy".

I shot her a cold look and asked, "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

She frowned. "No, everything's fine. I was just worried that Colter might have hurt you when he fell. I'll teach him a serious lesson when we get home."

I let out a cold laugh. Her act was flawless, but I could tell that she was checking if the baby in my womb was still alive.

Then, she pressed me relentlessly, demanding to know why I had refused to eat the apple pie earlier. I lied, telling her that I had eaten it but later vomited after feeling nauseous.

Under the guise of caring for my health, she insisted that I eat my meals and ordered three full crates of apple pie to be delivered to my door.

Perfect! The dogs' delicious feast was here!

I couldn't help but wonder what kind of precious baby Clara would end up carrying after the pregnant shelter dogs devoured her apple pies.