Chapter 2

Hailey and I met in middle school.

My dad had taken me on a trip to inspect a project in a run-down, impoverished rural town, wanting me to experience a simpler life. That was where we crossed paths with Hailey.

Her hometown was backwards and deeply misogynistic.

Hailey had an older brother, and her parents refused to let her continue school. They wanted her to drop out and marry an older man so they could use the dowry money to buy her brother a house and pay for his wedding.

Even back then, Hailey was calculating. While her father was beating her in public, she deliberately ran over and collapsed in front of us.

My dad, having a daughter of his own, despised abuse and misogyny. He stepped in immediately to stop the man and questioned the local authorities.

I helped the battered, crying Hailey up and wiped her tears.

Hearing her story, my dad and I felt immense pity. When we told my mom, her heart ached for this girl our age.

Together, my family decided to sponsor her.

Sadly, we were blinded by her helpless facade, completely missing the gleam of triumphant cunning in her eyes.

Who would suspect a fifteen-year-old girl of such cold calculation?

Pity often blinds us to malice. There was nothing wrong with wanting to escape her abusive family, but why did her happiness have to be built on my destruction?

With our sponsorship, Hailey left her backwater town, and I began funding her life.

I was just a kid from a wealthy family with no real concept of money.

Worried she’d feel embarrassed asking for cash, I gave her a supplementary credit card under my name with no limit.

Afraid she’d feel lonely, we brought her on our family vacations. My mom bought her designer clothes whenever she bought mine, and invited her over for holidays, treating her like a second daughter.

Later, we attended the same private high school.

That was when she transformed from my friend into a monster.

My family gave her everything, yet rumors began circulating that I was just Hailey's clingy, wannabe follower.

When Hailey’s greedy parents discovered my family's wealth, they demanded Hailey send them twenty thousand dollars a year, threatening to track her down in the city and drag her back if she didn't pay.

Seeing her sob uncontrollably, I handed her the money without hesitation.

That money was meant to keep her leeching family away, but with her silver tongue, Hailey spun the story to our classmates, claiming she was a philanthropist making annual donations to charity.

Meanwhile, she used my credit card to buy designer clothes and jewelry, cementing her status as an "heiress."

Our kindness was weaponized against us.

She twisted the narrative, painting me as a vain freeloader riding her coattails, while she reigned as the benevolent, wealthy socialite.

Over time, the students worshipped her and looked down on me.

In my past life, I was utterly fooled. Whenever she offered her fake comfort, I ignored the rumors, thinking having one true friend was enough.

I had been an absolute fool.

Now that I have a second chance, I will never let myself be crushed again.