Dear Tineoidea,

she has a heavy dislike for her brother. She mentioned that when they were growing up, he always belittled and discredited her even though she performed better academically and such

That’s interesting. I see a similarity in her brother discrediting her and your former friend discrediting her too in the beginning. But then your former friend “turned around” (unlike her brother) and probably started flattering her and praising her… and it could be that she felt finally validated, like she never felt before. If this is so, your former friend is like a proxy for her brother and soothes her original wound, inflicted by her brother.

If so, she really wants to hear those praises from someone who reminds her of her brother, and she is blind to the fact that this person has a bad influence on her and is manipulating her. She sees him through rose-colored glasses and demonizes you, because that’s the only way her relationship with him can survive.