Awareness!
It's be wrong to say I like manipulative people, I don't , more like those who are self absorbed, often to the point that they like to cause other people pain or make them feel small without realising that not only do they lose them but they never come back! leaving them, those who are manipulative , often self absorbed in the company of others, who , because of their similarities, have no interest in them either and so they destroy themselves...
Best to remember or at least be aware then, as was once pointed out to me and is apparently well known amongst medical health professionals,particularly those specialising in matters concerning the ability to think cognitively, that there are some people who, no matter what you do for them or offer them will always destroy themselves...often to be found, and there are lots of them. Amongst those who play at life and don't recognise reality (adversity) until it hits them in the face!
As Seneca said,'Adversity is a training exercise..' so is reality in which,'The only power you have is over your mind (not other people), everything else is external events. Realize this and you will gain strength,' - Marcus Aurelius.