Chapter 1

How to survive and live a long life as Beatrice Hatter:

1) Befriend the protagonist/s ~ will help in preventing being killed by them

2) Stay away from protagonists and live a quiet life somewhere ~ won't increase their hatred for Beatrice so will be able to avoid death

3) Be pretentious and take back the love of the father and fiancé ~ will be able to get revenge on stepsister and also get love and attention from dad and fiancé **however potential risk of death if truth is found out

4) Erase the root of the problem and kill the fiancé before he can kill me ~ will probably land me in prison (this will be my final resort)

So far I only have three strategies which may work. The last one would probably land me in prison and I'll get a death sentence which is ultimately death anyway. I put the pen down as I ponder over my options. I'll start with the easiest one and try to be nice and friendly to the stepsister.

Beatrice's hatred for her stems from her father's love and attention which she stole from Beatrice. After the step mother died, Beatrice's father hasn't so much as glanced at his own real daughter and instead dotes on the step daughter.

"Beatrice, here is your water." The blonde haired woman from earlier brings me a glass and stands in the doorway.

"Thank you."

So this is the stepsister, the beautiful Bella Hatter. She widens her blue eyes at me as I drink the cool water.

"What?" I ask as she continues staring at me.

"Are you not feeling–"

"I am not ill!" I slightly raise my voice in irritation. How many times have I been asked that?

She looks like a frightened rabbit which you naturally want to protect but I don't have that kind of patience. Wait, didn't I plan to befriend her? I need to stay calm.

"Sorry Bella. I didn't mean to shout." I say apologetically.

"N–no, it's fine."

Why does she sound more scared? I simply apologised. Is it something to be afraid of? I guess I can't really blame her when she has been on the end of Beatrice's hate-radar for far too long.

Sighing, I stand up and walk out of the room. I'll bake some cookies to calm down. The kitchen is huge with a lot of space to walk around and a table to eat on. I can bake and cook in peace here.

Searching the fridge, I get the eggs out and after familiarising myself with the rest of the storage in the kitchen, I manage to find all the ingredients. Fortunately, I have everything here. I even found a packet of chocolate chips.

After I have carefully placed the tray into the oven, I hear footsteps and whispering from outside the kitchen.

"She must have gone crazy from the illness."

"She's lost her head. Is she seriously ill?"

"Doesn't she usually only throw tantrums? She doesn't even know how to do anything else!"

"Shhhh, she might hear you and punish you."

"Is it too late to stop her? She'll probably kill us if we disturb."

"Let's just leave her. We don't know how she will punish us if she finds us."

Ignoring the whispers from the doorway, I find some fancy trays and prepare them for the cookies. I might as well take advantage of living as a rich woman.

I had always loved cooking and baking in my previous life. I had even planned to open my own bakery but I met my death before I could. Maybe I should open a bakery here! I have enough money in this world anyway. I don't need to rely on anyone to support me, I can focus on my career as a baker instead of futilely pursuing a man who wants to kill me.

Once the cookies are baked, I carefully take them out of the oven and wait for them to cool down before arranging them on the beautifully decorated trays. Smiling as the delicious scent wafts into my nose, I walk out of the kitchen.

"Here, have a cookie." I call as I see a few servants scurry pass me. They look frightened when I call them, their faces pale. Am I really that scary?

"Y-yes Lady Beatrice." They stutter and cautiously take one each. I know they simply took it because they're scared of me but there is nothing I can do right now to change their attitudes towards me. I will slowly have to melt their hearts by using the method of pouring water over a stone.

If I act amiably towards them, I am sure some of the servants will realise that I am not someone to be afraid of. To survive, I will have to change Beatrice's personality.

As I smile and walk towards another group of servants, I clearly hear the ones who I just gave the cookies to mutter, "Did she poison them? I don't want to die so young. Let's throw them away."

Holding my smile is difficult as majority of the servants have similar doubts about my baked goods. Was Beatrice someone who would even poison others? I don't think she ever went as far as to kill someone. She was just a broken girl yearning for her father's love. When she didn't receive it, she took it out on her sister who was the apple of her father's eye.

No, I don't have time to pity her. I need to start putting my plans into action. I grin as I imagine the kind of bakery I could open here. I need to visit town and see what the area looks like.

This is my chance to fulfil my dream of owning a bakery. Maybe starting this new life isn't all that bad.

You can do it Scarlet!