A mum finally won the lottery after playing it since it began in 1994 - but she decided not to tell a soul apart from her own family.
In an exclusive piece for Metro, her daughter, who writes under the pseudonym Charlotte Thomas, describes how she was just minutes into her usual 10-4 shift at a coffee shop on Mother's Day in 2011, when her boss approached her saying her mum was on the phone.
After hearing her mum wanted to speak to her urgently, Charlotte held the phone to hear ear and listened as her mum said "I've won. I've got six numbers".
Speaking about her mum, Charlotte wrote in Metro: "It was always her goal to retire early and put her feet up, but for it to actually be possible was beyond her wildest dreams."
And yet, she had won a whopping £2.2million.
Charlotte's mum had always organised the syndicate at work, and a lot of people had dropped out over the years. But she and her best friend decided to continue playing every week, and finally it had paid off as they both became millionaires.
Charlotte said it was pretty frustrating having to go through the rest of her coffee shop shift without telling anyone when she just wanted to rush home and check the tickets.
When she got home she said it hit her how much her family's lives were about to "change forever" - although it wasn't quite in the way she "expected".
After she graduated just a few months later, Charlotte said her mum told her to quit her job and that she'd support her until she found work linked to her degree.
She describes how her life became filled with "long lunches" and luxury shopping trips, explaining how work didn't even really cross her mind as she just loved spending lots of time with her "best friend".
Charlotte went on to say how, although she knew her mum was very lucky she couldn't think of someone that deserved the win more than her mum.
"I was happy this had happened to her – yes, I was biased, but I couldn’t think of a more deserving person," she said.
Her mum went on to treat Charlotte and her siblings to new cars and bought herself a new house. Charlotte also got a Chanel handbag for Christmas.
But Charlotte said it all caught up with her when, just three years after graduating, she was in the red by £2,500.
She explained how it wasn't really due to big purchases, but she did spend a lot on lunches, clothes and nights out with mates - and her money started going down because she didn't have a job.
Deciding that "enough is enough" Charlotte said she realised she had to make a change. Despite having studied hard for her degree, she said she felt like a failure because she hadn't done anything with it.
Determined to change her way of life, Charlotte bagged a job with a recruitment agency managing their social media.
And since then she's moved into a job she's always wanted to do - copywriting work for a number of brands.
While her mum knew she had an overdraft, Charlotte explained she didn't know how much debt she was in.
But taking it upon herself to tackle her problems, she said she gradually began paying her overdraft off once she was working. She never asked her mum to help pay it.
From it all, Charlotte said she learned a really important lesson.
She said that while winning the money has had an "amazing" impact on her family, it has also caused problems. And outside of this, she's seen how much damage money can do.
For her mum's friend who won the lottery too, the money has had a devastating impact.
After winning she retired in her late 30s and ended up divorcing her husband.
Left with nothing to do, she turned to drink and unfortunately developed an alcohol problem. She lost her driving licence due to drink driving, became very isolated and unfortunately died.
Charlotte said her friend's death "shook her to the core".
The money also caused problems within Charlotte's family.
She describes how her eldest sibling - her sister - has always lived beyond her means and keeps requesting money from her mum.
It has damaged their relationship and caused rifts, and Charlotte said she'd never want the money to come between her and her mum.
While she's never spelled out that she wants some distance from the money, Charlotte says it's become clear to her mum now. When they go out they will share costs and both pay for things. And they've also set a budget for birthday and Christmas presents.
The lessons learned have completely changed Charlotte's attitude to money and shopping habits, and she says she now gets a thrill from seeing her savings build up rather than buying expensive handbags.
Where previously she would walk into the supermarket and buy whatever she wanted for dinner, now she says she meal plans and keeps an eye out for yellow sticker items in order to save money.
She admits that saving money "comes quite easily" to her and her boyfriend as they don't really drink alcohol and, after one too many bad meals out, they prefer cooking at home.
Charlotte has multiple savings accounts for the one-off expenses like insurance and Christmas and birthday gifts, and she says she also has an emergency funds account.
She describes her relationship with money as much better, only usually spending on necessities so that when she does treat herself to books or clothes she doesn't feel bad.
"Nine years on, nobody outside of our immediate family knows my mum won the lottery; she didn’t want the attention that came with going public," she explained.
Charlotte says, despite everything, she does still play the lottery because she's also seen the positive impact it has had on her life.
If she hadn't won, she said her mum would still be struggling to make ends meet. Instead she has been able to give each of her children £10,000 to help them get on the property ladder.
Charlotte said she is "eternally grateful" to her mum for helping her out.
