- 3.
My family used to live next door to Nicole’s family. Back then, we were better off than
they were.
But after my parents died in a car accident, everything changed.
My grandmother, biased and cold–hearted, funneled everything my parents left behind to my uncle’s family. In her eyes, I was just a girl–an outsider–unworthy of inheriting my
father’s estate.
Nicole’s mom, noticing my pitiful situation, stepped in and offered to financially support
- me.
At the time, I was grateful. But later, I regretted accepting their help more times than I
could count.
Nicole made sure everyone knew about it. She loved to tell people how her family had
“saved” me, how I’d never have finished school without their help, and how I would’ve
ended up in an orphanage if it weren’t for their generosity.
From then on, I was always a step below her.
If I did well in school, she hated it–so I started intentionally scoring lower just to appease her. I became her shadow, the sidekick she could outshine.
Even the friends I made slowly drifted away whenever Nicole appeared, drawn to her
magnetic, self–centered charm.
And when I got a boyfriend in college? Nicole made a special trip during fall break just to
steal him.
“Lily, don’t be mad,” she said with a sweet smile. “I just wanted to test if he really loved you. You’re my best friend, after all, and I didn’t want to see you get hurt by some loser.”
She had the audacity to add, “See? Now you know the truth. You should be thanking me.”
So I forced myself to smile back and said, “Thank you,
Nicole.”
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Her grin widened with smug satisfaction. “Of course! That’s what best friends are for,
right?”
Inside, I was seething.
The word best friend had been thoroughly defiled by people like her.
But as much as I wanted to cut her out of my life, I couldn’t. Her mom had helped me when I needed it most. I couldn’t bear to repay that kindness with hostility or risk upsetting her family.
That was my past life.
The moment Nicole shoved me off that cliff, all debts were erased. I didn’t owe her or her family a single thing anymore.
