Soulmate (Chapter 2) Her hazel eyes met his lustrous emerald. Nothing, no amount of pep talks, could have prepared her on how not to gaze into those eyes, and be drowned in them. Lily forced herself to remember the times when those beautiful eyes held nothing but anger, or mockery. She managed to take a deep breath, and steady her fluttering heart. "Hello", she murmured quietly, playing with a strand of her hair like a nervous child. "How've you been Lil? You look fantastic, lost some weight?," Rage, hot and strong, flashed through her. She wanted to tell him how she hadn't eaten properly for months after he'd left, of how tasteless food was without him to share it with. But the bastard would never know how much he'd hurt her. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. "Yes actually, on one of those protein shake diets you know? You look like you've put some on to be honest, must be eating well?" His eyes narrowed for a split second. "Good", Lily grinned to herself, he'd noticed the intended jibe. "Yeah, I suppose I have! Been living back with my mum so you know what she's like, feeding me up, telling me growing lads need to eat!" "Oh, you live with your mum? You find there's a lot of people our age who just can't get their feet on the property ladder. It's a social problem. Luckily, I managed to buy the flat outright a month or so ago.", Lily savoured her superiority. He lived with his mum, and she lived in her own house with her perfect fiancée! Brilliant! "I actually moved back in with my mum after her operation, to help her out a bit. She's not young anymore, and I worry about her. But you bought the flat? That's great, I didn't think you'd be able to afford it, are you not still at the travel agents?" Lily wanted to laugh. Here was the big reveal of how amazing her #life really was. It stung her slightly to realise that he never expected her to do well for herself, every grudging compliment, her appearance, her financial stability, was borne of complete surprise. That made it all the sweeter. She had succeeded despite him ripping her heart into tatters. "No, I'm a counsellor at a high school now. It's what I've always wanted to do, but I didn't have the right connections until I met Andy, my fiancée." Lily proffered her hand towards him, the beautiful diamond catching the soft light and shimmering magnificently. Now his face showed real shock. He'd almost turned white, Lily saw gleefully. "Engaged?! Wow, that's, I mean, God Lil, well, congratulations!" His stumbling, stuttering response was the best engagement present she could wish for.