Lily's breath caught. Whatever she'd been expecting as an explanation to her rhetorical question, that had certainly not been it. She sat silently for a few moments, aside from the occasional dry sob. But then, suddenly, she was angry, livid with Severus for wanting the only thing she couldn't give to him. He had made it impossible for her to ever be enough for him.
Maybe, maybe if it had been years ago. There had been a point in her life when she could have allowed something else between them to develop. But now? Now she loved James and the one thing Severus probably--it made sense now that it had been finally pointed out to her--wanted was something that would require her to give up what she wanted. Was this the universe's idea of a cruel joke? Because the universe was winning.
Damn him for wanting her, for being selfish, for putting her in an impossible situation where no matter what she got, she would lose too much. On her kitchen table, the glass flower vase her mother had bought when she'd moved into the flat exploded, sending flowers, water and shards of glass showering over the table. Angry and hurt, Lily jumped up startled and silently moved to clean up the mess. Damn him. Leave it to Severus to render her out of control, of the situation, of the outcome, of her own sodding magic.