The Illusion of a Prince Shattered
He wasnt the prince of her dreams
Emily had met Daniel just after hed returned from his military service. The man looked like hed stepped straight 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 way: blonde, slender, with a gentle smile. She couldnt believe her luckout of all the girls, hed chosen her.
“What does he see in you?” her friends whispered. “A man like that doesnt stay single for long. Hell leave you.”
But Emily just smiledshe believed in their love. They went to the cinema, danced at clubs, met up with friends. Daniel never complimented her looks, but he was always by her side, and his touch made her dizzy. When she first brought him home, her motherMargaret Wilsonfrowned. Later, in private, she murmured to her daughter:
“Handsome men belong to everyone else, dear. Rarely are they loyal. Wait before marriagetest him. He seems a bit ornamental.”
Emily was cross. She trusted Daniels feelings and didnt want to hear 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 friends. Emily, desperate to keep up, joined his workouts but felt awkward among the toned, glamorous girls there. Daniels gaze wandered toward them, and shed leave early, blinking back tears.
“Youre as weak as a kitten,” he laughed once when she caught a cold after swimming. “Better stay home with your books.”
The words stung, and she thought of her mother. She could feel Daniel growing distant. More nights out alone, no calls, no invitations, no explanations. Then, just like that, he vanished. Stopped answering altogether.
“Hes not calling?” her mother asked.
“No” Emily whispered, turning her face to the wall.
“Up you get! Were off to the hairdressers!” Margaret ordered. “A new hairstyle is the first step to a new life. Then Ill sew you a dressyouve always had an eye for design.”
They bought fabric. Emily sketched patterns, trying to forget. Rumours of Daniels new flings reached her, but she held firm. Weeks later, when she appeared at the local dancein a new, elegant dress, glowingevery head turned. She was noticed.
A quiet, unassuming man named Thomas began to court her. No heartthrob, but his eyes never strayed from Emilywarm and sincere. A month later, he asked her to marry him.
“Now thats a proper man!” Margaret declared. “When he falls, 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 all he wants.”
The wedding was cosy, full of heart. Emily and Thomas started from scratch: their first chair, their first plate. A year later, a daughter arrived, and three years after that, a son. Family, love, happiness.
She barely thought of Daniel anymore, though shed occasionally hear gossiphow 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 bit of youth. Let him be happy, if he can.”
At home, the children and her husband waited. And her motherwise, kind, the dearest of all. The one whod saved her from real heartbreak. The one whod helped her find her quiet, true happiness.
Mum always stay close. Without you, life isnt half as bright.
