Chapter 1 The Unforgettable Crush

Sarah Brown sat groggily on the sofa, listening to the strange man in front of her ramble on, "Sarah, don't be sad. Ronald and that woman are just fooling around. You've always been his unforgettable crush."

"Didn't you notice that her features look a bit like yours?" the man lowered his voice. "I did some digging. To keep Ronald, she had plastic surgery to make her face look like yours. She looks nothing like she did back in college."

Sarah kept her chin in her hand, saying nothing.

The man was a bit confused. Ever since Sarah had been pushed into the pool and pulled out, she hadn't said a word.

Was she really that heartbroken this time?

Actually, the most confused person was Sarah! She remembered being at the beach, but when she opened her eyes, she found herself at a party.

Yes, she had been transported into a book.

Last night, while scrolling through her phone, Sarah had accidentally clicked on a cheesy novel called "CEO's Ultimate Pampering." The name of the second female lead, the "unforgettable crush," was the same as hers, so she decided to take a look.

In the novel, the "unforgettable crush", Sarah Brown, was a wealthy heiress on par with the male lead, Ronald Martin. Ronald loved her, and she loved him back, but they never confessed their feelings.

The "unforgettable crush" prioritized her studies and went abroad for a few years. Ronald was heartbroken, thinking she valued her education more than him.

Reading this, Sarah was puzzled: of course, education is important. If it comes to choosing between love and education, education wins. Even an heiress needs the prestige of a top university. Besides, isn't Ronald a powerful CEO? He could visit her abroad as easily as taking a sip of water.

But Ronald didn't see it that way. He hadn't seen his first love for a few years and during that time, he met the novel's female lead, Elisa Wright.

Elisa had a crush on Ronald since high school and knew he still held feelings for Sarah. So, Elisa deliberately imitated Sarah's style and eventually succeeded in becoming Ronald's girlfriend.

But how could a CEO novel be without some dramatic twists?

Of course, his first love returned!

Seeing the man she once loved now with a girlfriend, the once noble and elegant Sarah turned into a villain, constantly making life difficult for the female lead and scheming against her. She even married another man to make Ronald jealous.

As a result, the female lead, Elisa, was repeatedly misunderstood by Ronald. Again and again, Ronald discovered the truth and saw Sarah's true colors.

The villainous second female leads never have good endings, right? In the end, Sarah fell onto shattered glass, her beautiful face bloodied and mangled, and she plummeted from the 28th floor.

The female lead, Elisa, still with her imitated looks and behaviors, lived happily ever after with Ronald and had three sons with him.

Time-traveling into a novel and having become the tragic second female lead, Sarah needed some time to process everything.

The man talking to Sarah was David, a mutual friend of Sarah and Ronald.

In the original story, David didn't like the female lead, Elisa, because he thought she was too cunning, always imitating his good friend Sarah to become Ronald's girlfriend.

David and Sarah were neighbors, and their fathers were good friends. David used to call Sarah "Big Sis," but as he grew older and realized he looked even more worn out than Sarah, he started calling her by her name.

Because of this, David firmly stood by Sarah's side, believing that she and Ronald were a perfect match. He always acted as her little helper.

Naturally, anyone who disliked the female lead became a victim in the story. David met a miserable end; not only did his company go bankrupt, but his wife also cheated on him with his bodyguard, making him the laughingstock.

Sarah felt complicated emotions. "Are you David?"

David was puzzled. "Sarah, did you hit your head when you fell into the water? We've been friends for years, and you don't recognize me?"

Sarah's feelings grew even more complex. They were both unfortunate souls—one disfigured and fell to their death, the other lost their company and had their wife run off with their money.

"I know you're upset. You've loved him for so many years..." David lit a cigarette. "Damn, that wretched woman's friends are just as bad. They were all targeting you, and then they pushed you into the pool."

As they were talking, Ronald and Elisa walked over, with three other girls trailing behind Elisa. These three girls looked at Sarah with provocative expressions—they were the ones who had pushed her into the water.

Ronald was the epitome of a CEO with his standard looks: more than six feet tall, with broad shoulders, long legs, and chiseled features. He also exuded an aura of dominance.

Elisa, on the other hand, had the standard "innocent girl" look, with shoulder-length golden hair and a white dress. Her slightly furrowed brows made her look pitiful.

Seeing Elisa's somewhat familiar face, Sarah felt a bad premonition. She grabbed David's phone from the table and used it as a mirror.

Sure enough.

Elisa looked a lot like her.

No one likes being imitated, especially when it comes to their face. Sarah now understood why the unforgettable crush always tried to harm Elisa.

Who wouldn't go crazy in such a situation?

However, Elisa's looks were a bit plain, mostly relying on makeup and clothes to stand out. After all, in the original story, Elisa wasn't written as a beauty but as an ordinary girl who rose to the top.

At a glance, Sarah's features were more defined. After falling into the water, all her makeup had washed off, and she was wrapped in a towel with her damp golden hair draped over her shoulders. She looked like a pearl with its own soft glow, seeming to belong to a different world from everyone else.

In the original story, Sarah stepped forward and slapped Elisa, aggressively demanding that Elisa's three friends kneel and apologize. Elisa cried so pitifully that Ronald felt sorry for her, argued with Sarah, and left with Elisa.

David was truly the loyal sidekick to Sarah. If he were a girl, he would've definitely gone up and fought those girls.

He stood up suddenly and said, "Why did they push Sarah into the water? Ronald, you need to explain!"

Ronald frowned. "It's just a little fall into the water, no injuries. It's not a big deal..."

Elisa's friends chimed in, each one speaking over the other.

"We didn't do it on purpose."

"Ronald, you're Elisa's boyfriend. Why invite other women here?"

"Some people just shouldn't be here today. He has a girlfriend, yet she still clings to him."

Sarah's eyes were cold as she gave David a look to make him sit back down. Then she said, "Where are my bag and phone?"

When Sarah fell into the water, she had been carrying a bag. The people had only pulled her out, not her things.

David quickly had someone retrieve Sarah's belongings.

Her bag was a limited edition, which couldn't even get rained on, let alone be soaked in a pool. It was completely ruined. Her phone and other items had been submerged for quite a while; who knew if they'd still work?

Sarah took inventory of her things. Luckily, the brands and prices in the novel were the same as in her real life.

Elisa and her friends didn't understand Sarah's actions.

Elisa knew how important Ronald was to Sarah.

In high school, Sarah had been the school beauty, attracting attention from other schools. Elisa had been average in high school but had undergone a 360-degree transformation to steal Sarah's crush. Surely Sarah must be furious.

Elisa often used such tactics to anger Sarah and make her lose her cool in front of Ronald. She thought Sarah should be confronting her after such an embarrassing fall.

Elisa, thinking to herself, then said tearfully, "Sarah, I'm sorry, it's all my fault."

Elisa's friends were displeased and pulled her back. "Elisa, don't apologize to her!"

"This wasn't your fault!"

"I can't stand people coveting others' boyfriends!"

"Whoever did it should take responsibility. We did it, and we'll admit it."

"..."

Sarah had already calculated the costs in her mind. She smiled slightly. "So, whoever did it should take responsibility, right? My dress costs 269,000 dollars, my shoes 55,000, my bag 490,000, and my phone 18,000. They're all ruined from the water, totaling 832,000 dollars. Whoever did it should pay up."