Why do people go out of their way to manipulate others to avoid you because you THEM?

Me (45f) and another team member (60f) had a verbal incident that caused us to no longer speak to each other. It was a simple misunderstanding that she took out of context before going around seeking validation for her behavior. (She told a lot of others that her and I had a fallout). When others came to me asking about it, that alone notified me of what type of person she was (an old messy as woman who ain’t got nothing better to do but find reasons to be mad at somebody) so I chose to stay away from her. She started having loud conversations with groups of people (particularly when I walked by so I could hear her childish words) all in hopes of her friends perceiving me the way she does. I’ll walk right by them and never give her or the people she talks to eye contact. That pisses her off even more because I’m not playing the “ugly stare” game with her. I mean, I get the miserable part and that sht always want company. What baffles me is people will literally go through the changes that they do to make everyone else hate you, all because you refuse to acknowledge their messiness. It’s not only females, it’s men too. If you’re not acknowledging them then they’ll try and persuade others to not acknowledge you. Why is that?