The Illusion of a Prince Shattered
He was not the prince of her dreams
Eleanor had met Daniel when hed just returned from his service in the army. The young man seemed plucked from the pages of a fashion magazinetall, athletic, with striking green eyes and dark, curly hair. Beside him, Eleanor felt plain, though she was pretty in her own way: fair hair, a slender figure, and a gentle smile. She could scarcely believe her luckout of all the girls, hed chosen her.
“What does he see in you?” her friends whispered. “Handsome lads like him dont stay long. Hell leave you.”
But Eleanor only smiledshe believed in their love. They went to the cinema, to dances, met with friends. Daniel never praised her looks, but he was always by her side, and his touch made her heart race. When she first brought him home, her motherMary Evansfrowned. Later, in private, she whispered to her daughter:
“A handsome man is another womans man, dear. Theyre rarely faithful. Wait before you wed, test him. He seems too polished.”
Eleanor was cross. She trusted Daniels feelings and refused to listen to doubts. Yet her mother had planted a seed of unease in her heart.
Slowly, Daniel changed. First, the gym, then swimming, then new acquaintances. Eleanor, desperate to stay close, joined his training sessions but felt awkward among the attractive, toned women there. Daniels gaze wandered toward them, and she often left early, hiding her tears.
“Youre weak as a doll,” he laughed once when she caught a chill after swimming. “Best stay home with your books.”
The words stung, and she remembered her mothers warning. She felt Daniel growing distantmore outings alone, fewer calls, fewer invitations. Then, without a word, he vanished. He stopped answering altogether.
“He hasnt rung?” her mother asked.
“No” Eleanor whispered, turning her face to the wall.
“Up you get! Were off to the hairdresser!” Mary Evans commanded. “A new style is the first step to a new life. Then well sew you a dressyouve a clever hand for it.”
They bought fabric, Eleanor sketched designs, trying to forget. Rumours of Daniels new loves reached her, but she endured. When, weeks later, she appeared at a dancein her new gown, radiantevery head turned. She was noticed.
A young man, Stephen, unassuming and kind, began to court her. He was no beauty, but his eyes held only warmth for Eleanorsteady and true. Within a month, he asked for her hand.
“Now theres a proper man!” her mother said. “If he loves, he marries. What do you say?”
“I accept,” Eleanor replied quietly.
“Do you love him?”
“How could I not? Hes good, hardworking, faithful. Im all he needsand only me.”
The wedding was warm, full of heart. Eleanor and Stephen started from scratch: their first chair, their first plate. A year later, their daughter was born, and three years after, their son. Family, love, happiness.
She seldom thought of Daniel. Only occasionally did she hear tales of how hed left his wife, run off with a mistress, and now wandered from place to place. Eleanor would smile:
“What was between us? Just a fragment of youth. Let him be happy, if he can.”
At home, her children and husband waited. And her motherwise, kind, dearest of all. The one whod spared her true heartache. The one to whom she owed her quiet, lasting joy.
Mother always stay near. Without you, life isnt half as bright.
