Starting Over, I Tear Apart the Fake and Poisonous Best Friend

I won 10 million in the lottery, and my best friend warned me to be cautious of my family.

“Stepmothers always bring ‘stepfathers’! Do you really want to become a doormat for your halfbrother?”

I believed her.

In the end, she tampered with my medical records, and I died a slow, agonizing death in a rented apartment.

My father’s hair turned white overnight, while she enjoyed my money, living a carefree life.

Now, given another chance, that treacherous ‘friend’ better stay away from me!

——

“Come on, tell me already – how much did you win? Hello? Speak up!”

I snapped back to reality, staring at the lottery ticket in my trembling hand, the date printed clearly. My fingers shook uncontrollably.

I had been reborn!

“How much did you win?”

On the other end of the line, Maeve Kaur’s voice was starting to sound impatient.

Suppressing the overwhelming excitement rising in my chest, I responded, pretending to be cheerful, “Only two hundred bucks, but still, pretty good, right?”

The moment I said that, she lost interest.

“Only two hundred? Ugh, and here I got all excited for nothing. Well, whatever. Let’s still go out for some pizza tonight.

With that, she hung up, not even waiting for me to finish speaking. She had simply assumed I’d be paying.

This dynamic wasn’t anything new. It had been this way since middle school.

Back then, my parents had split up, and my father spent most of his time working away from home. As a result, I grew up shy and insecure, constantly feeling like I didn’t belong.

Maeve was the only one who showed me any kindness.

At first, she truly seemed like a good friend. But gradually, she began taking things from me – pens I liked, new hairpins I’d bought.

If I showed even a hint of hesitation or reluctance, she’d get upset.

“Aren’t best friends supposed to share everything? If you’re going to be this selfish, I won’t hang out with you anymore! See? Nobody likes you but me. I’m the only one who bothers to be your friend.”

Under her constant emotional manipulation, I would even give her my breakfast and spend most of my allowance on her.

Just one sentence about how I was her best friend, and I would do anything for her.

But who would have thought that this socalled “best friend” would end up killing me?

In my previous life, after winning the lottery, I had rushed to share the news with Maeve.

She had immediately advised me to keep it a secret from everyone, especially my family.

Her reasoning? My father had remarried during my high school years and had another child with his new wife.

Maeve constantly fed me the narrative that stepmothers lead to neglect, and with a stepmother, came a “stepfather” mentality.

If I told them about the money, she warned, they’d take it and spend it on my younger brother.

Since my little brother’s birth, I’d always felt like the outsider, so in my last life, I believed her.

I truly thought Maeve had my best interests at heart.

After cashing in the ticket, I had even sent her a hefty ten grand out of gratitude.

Little did I know that Maeve had darker plans. She altered my medical records, intentionally delaying my treatment.

By the time I realized something was wrong, it was too late. The illness had progressed too far.

It was then that Maeve revealed her true self.

She locked me up in my tiny apartment, refusing to let me contact anyone.

I’ll never forget that day. The pain was unbearable. I was on the floor, pleading with her for just one painkiller. She responded by kicking me aside and cursing at me.

“You’re nothing but a burden. The sooner you die, the better!”

Right in front of me, she transferred all my money into her own account, bit by bit.

That was when I realized that every kind word, every gesture of friendship, had been fake.

I died, but my spirit refused to leave.

I watched as Maeve took my money and lived a carefree life with her boyfriend, while spreading lies about me.

I also saw my father’s hair turn white overnight when he learned of my death.

Turns out my father hadn’t stopped caring about me after all. It was Maeve who had been poisoning our relationship.

She’d manipulated both sides – feeding me lies to make me resent him, while telling him things that made him hesitant to reach out to me.

It was all her doing. Every ounce of my pain, every moment of estrangement, stemmed from her twisted actions.

The hatred I felt in that moment was beyond words.

But now, I had a second chance. A chance to change everything. I had come back to the very day I won the lottery.

After cashing in my winnings, I dialed a familiar number I hadn’t called in years.

“Holly? Why aren’t you saying anything? What’s wrong?

“If something’s happened, don’t worry, I’m here. I’ll be right there – I’ll get a ticket and come see you at school!”

Hearing my father’s voice again brought tears to my eyes.

Maeve had made sure we were estranged for so many years, poisoning my thoughts against him.

I steadied my voice before speaking. “I’m okay, Dad. I just wanted to hear your voice. I miss you.”

I could tell he was holding back tears. “I’ll come visit you right away!”

“No need, Dad. I’ll be home soon for break.”

I had more important matters to take care of first.

As soon as I pushed open the door to the dorm, Maeve rushed toward me like a bullet.

“Holly, you were joking on the phone earlier, right? You hit the jackpot, didn’t you? 10 million dollars, right?!”

“I checked the winning numbers, and it’s your birthday – you always play that set!

“That’s 10 million dollars! I’ve never seen that kind of money before. But listen, you absolutely can’t tell your dad about this. He’s got a new family now, and a son! If he finds out you won, they’ll bleed you dry like a cash cow!

“And what if they get wind of it and try to track your bank account? How about you just keep the money with me? There’s no way they’d trace it back that way.”

Her words mirrored exactly what she said in my previous life. Every sentence sounded like she had my best interests at heart.

But this time, I wasn’t as naive as before.

I pretended to joke, “But my dad is still my dad. If you’re eyeing my money too, I’d be left with nothing!”

I didn’t miss the fleeting stiffness in her expression, so I continued, “Besides, I already transferred all the money to him.”

At this, Maeve exploded.

“Holly, are you out of your mind? You gave the money to your dad?! Haven’t you heard? Stepmoms bring stepdads, and they’ll just spend your money on your brother! You’ll end up with nothing! I’ve never met anyone as stupid as you! What’s wrong with you?”

While Maeve was still screaming at me, our other two roommates, Sara and Emily, walked in.

They thought I was having a fullblown argument with Maeve and rushed to break it up.

“What’s going on here?” they asked.

With tears in my eyes, I explained everything that had just happened.

Their expressions were priceless, exactly what I expected. After all, they’d overheard how awful Maeve had been.

Sara was the first to speak up.

“Come on, it’s Holly’s money. She should be the one deciding how to use it.”

Emily chimed in, “Exactly! And if you can’t trust your own dad, who can you trust?”

Maeve’s face turned bright red from their comments, stammering before finally storming out with a huff, saying, “None of your business!” and slamming the door behind her.

After she left, I took Sara and Emily out for a celebratory dinner.

That night, Maeve didn’t return to the dorm.

When she finally showed up the next day, she acted as if nothing had happened, speaking to me like everything was normal.

It was obvious why – she wasn’t about to lose her longterm meal ticket, especially now that she knew I’d won the lottery.

Trying to butter me up, she suggested, “Holly, why don’t we go out and celebrate your win over dinner?”

Her shamelessness knew no bounds.

Suppressing my sarcasm, I smiled and replied, “Sure, but I transferred the money to my dad yesterday, so I’ve only got about a thousand left for myself.”

“A thousand dollars?”

Her face was filled with disbelief, but then she quickly added, “Well, okay, a thousand it is.”

“I’ve been dying to try out that new sushi place by the school.”

We hadn’t even made it to the restaurant when a group of guys approached us.

The moment Maeve spotted them, her eyes lit up, and she waved eagerly.

“Harry!”

That was the guy Maeve had been crushing on.

Though they weren’t together yet, she’d been secretly pining for him.

“Maeve? Wow, what a coincidence! You guys here for dinner too?”

Harry had barely said much to her, yet her face turned beet red with excitement.

“Yeah, why don’t we all eat together? I’ve heard this place is amazing!”

To her delight, Harry and his friends agreed to join us.

Maeve practically floated beside him as we walked.

I tugged at her sleeve. “There are so many people, and I only have a thousand bucks. I’m not sure it’ll be enough.”

But Maeve, caught up in her fantasy of dining with her crush, couldn’t care less.

“Relax, we’ll figure it out later. Worst case, I’ll cover the rest.”

After we sat down, Maeve took charge, generously encouraging everyone to order. It was as if she forgot who was footing the bill.

“Order whatever you want – go all out! Today–”

Before she could finish, I chimed in, “Yeah, Maeve said today’s on her, so order anything you like. She’s got it covered.”

She looked momentarily puzzled, but didn’t say anything.

Harry and his friends, amused by the situation, laughed and said, “Wow, Maeve, you’re really treating us. Guess we won’t hold back!”

While everyone else was busy ordering dish after dish, Harry poured her a glass of water.

“Thanks for treating us today. Let me treat you next time.”

His simple words sent Maeve into a frenzy of delight, prompting her to order an extra lobster dish.

I watched coldly, knowing she’d already forgotten my earlier warning at the door.

Or maybe she never cared at all.

She was likely counting on guilttripping me after the meal, just like she always did, to get me to cover the bill.

As the group indulged in seafood and wine, the meal dragged on for over four hours.

When everyone was full and satisfied, the server walked in with the check.

“Your total today is 14,876. Would you prefer cash or card?”

Maeve nudged me, and I pulled out the 1,000 cash I’d prepared.

“Here’s 1,000. Maeve will handle the rest!”