**The Illusion of a Prince Shattered**
He wasnt the prince of her dreams
Emily met Daniel just after hed returned from military service. He looked as if hed stepped out of a fashion magazinetall, athletic, with striking green eyes and dark, wavy hair. Next to him, Emily felt plain, though she was pretty in her own wayblonde, slender, with a gentle smile. She could hardly believe her luckout of all the girls, hed chosen her.
*What does he see in you?* her friends whispered. *Someone that handsome wont stay single for long. Hell leave you.*
But Emily just smiledshe believed in their love. They went to the cinema, to dances, met with friends. Daniel rarely complimented her looks, but he was always by her side, and his touch made her dizzy. When she first brought him home, her motherMargaretfrowned. Later, in private, she whispered to her daughter:
*”A handsome man is another womans man, dear. Theyre rarely loyal. Wait before marriage, test him. He seems too polished.”*
Emily was upset. She trusted Daniels feelings and refused to listen to doubts. But her mother had planted a seed of unease in her heart.
Slowly, Daniel changed. First, it was the gym, then swimming, then new acquaintances. Emily, trying to stay close, joined the same training sessions but felt clumsy among the attractive, toned girls. Daniels eyes wandered toward them, and shed leave early, hiding her tears.
*”Youre as delicate as a doll,”* he once laughed when she caught a cold after swimming. *”Better stay home with your books.”*
The words stung, and she remembered her mothers warning. She felt Daniel growing distant. More and more, he went out aloneno calls, no invitations, no explanations. Then, one day, he simply vanished. He stopped answering altogether.
*”He hasnt called?”* her mother asked.
*”No”* Emily murmured, turning her face to the wall.
*”Come on, up you get! Were going to the hairdresser!”* Margaret ordered. *”A new hairstyle is the first step to a new life. Then well sew you a dressyouve always been good at that.”*
They bought fabric; Emily sketched designs, trying to forget. Rumours of Daniels new flings reached her, but she held firm. When she reappeared at the dance weeks laterwearing her new dress, radianteveryone turned to look. She was noticed.
A quiet, unassuming man named Stephen began to court her. He wasnt handsome, but his eyes held only warmth and sincerity for Emily. Within a month, he asked for her hand.
*”Now thats a proper man!”* her mother said. *”When he falls in love, he commits. What do you say?”*
*”I accept,”* Emily replied calmly.
*”Do you love him?”*
*”How could I not? Hes kind, hardworking, faithful. Im all he needsand only me.”*
The wedding was warm, full of heart. Emily and Stephen started from scratchtheir first chair, their first plate. A year later, their daughter was born, and three years after that, their son. Family, love, happiness.
She rarely thought of Daniel now. Only occasionally did she hear storieshow hed left his wife, run off with a mistress, and now drifted from place to place. Emily would smile:
*”What was between us? Just a part of being young. Let him be happy, if he can.”*
At home, her children and husband waited. And her motherwise, kind, the dearest of all. The one whod saved her from true heartbreak. The one to whom she owed her quiet, steady happiness.
*Mum always be close. Without you, life isnt half as bright.*
