“My goodness! You have such pretty eyes!”
I truly wish I had a dollar for every single time I’ve heard this. I mean I know they’re pretty but at least let me get rich of off them!

Instead Chloe smiled as she reached for the Styrofoam cup of coffee that was being passed to her by an awestruck waiter gazing into her eyes at the café she had stopped by.
“Thank you. I am often told so.”
“I’m not surprised! I’ve seen many with hazel eyes but not with such a piercing green such as yours, it’s rare and beautiful! Man, I’m so jealous! I wish I had gorgeous eyes like you!”
Chloe chuckled in replacement of the snarky retort that she bit back to be polite, nodded her thanks again for the coffee and turned to leave while she could.

It wasn’t so much the incessant praising that bothered her, as much as people’s frivolousness of being ‘jealous’ for things they’d not give a second thought to at any other time but thinking that’s a compliment to say. The inauthenticity of it all bothered her.
A few hours later while seated as a guest at a wedding ceremony, she recalled her thoughts earlier in the day.
No… she thought as she watched the bride and groom exchange vows to each other, their eyes filled with so much hope, so much promise, so much love and joy.
Emotions that once filled her own eyes once upon a time.

No… if one was to be jealous, it would be for something deep and serious like the loss of an engagement after catching your fiancé cheating with your trusted co-worker and friend.
That after confronting them both, the ultimatum of choosing who her fiancé wanted to be with for “having feelings for both”.
It would be for having to experience the double betrayal from the person she loved, the abandonment of her heart and the crushing blow to her pride and self-esteem at having her co-worker witness her loss in haughty victory.
It would be for having to resign from her workplace as no actual HR violation had been committed by her co-worker but the rumour mill had been hot off her broken engagement.

What did having beautiful green eyes matter when her world had been destroyed by two people she had loved and cared for, job security and all?
If anyone was jealous, she deserved to be so.

However, she was also genuinely happy for her university friend now getting to advance one step further and actually tie the knot, in what could only be described as a fairy-tale wedding. Chloe had to admit was she enchanted by the outdoor floral decorations, fairy lights, candles and silver and gold thin streamers that were wrapped around the chairs, pillars and tables in the garden where the wedding was held. All the decorations enhanced the beauty of the rose arch where the ceremony was being conducted, as well as the white vined patterned fences used to partition sections of the garden for the guests.

The weather was perfect, the late afternoon sun not too glaring and the fairy lights twinkled softly in the lush rich foliage of the immaculately trimmed bushes in the garden.
At night, it’d transform into another romantic forest-like fairy-tale space.
She was happy at least someone she knew and cared for was experiencing such magic, beauty and love.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I truly appreciate you attending today Chloe. I know… how incredibly difficult this must have been for you.”
Newlywed Grace was just as courageously looking into the kaleidoscope of emotions quietly reflecting in Chloe’s emerald green eyes. She knew Chloe was trying to be brave and positive for her sake after the loss of her own engagement. Just a mere few months ago, both had celebrated their own wedding plans and good fortune and promised to be bridesmaids at their own ceremonies but now with bittersweet resentment, Grace had to continue alone without giving notice to the small pocket of guilt and sadness that had emerged at the shocking news.
Chloe gently squeezed Grace’s hands in her own.
“We’ve already had this conversation many a time. While I couldn’t be there for you as a bridesmaid, it was truly an honour to attend and be part of something so magical and splendid. The day was beautiful, you’re beautiful and I hope you’ll have a beautiful marriage, too.”
Chloe gently released her hands to embrace her in a hug, to say the following without having to reveal the tears brimming in her eyes.

“Be happy, okay? For the both of us.”
Grace nodded, grateful that she could also hide the tears brimming in her own.

(Scroll on or click 'next' for part 2!)