A Little Window Into Patrick's Soul

With the end of Eleanor I revamp drawing near to the end, I think it's best to take some time out and focus on the other, equally important character in this novel - none other than the leading man, Your Highness Prince Patrick. So this is a little excerpt giving us a glimpse of his personality from a letter he wrote to Eleanor during the two years he was studying abroad in Norway.

Eleanor, I wish I could tell you that there was someone I could rely on to ease the pain I felt when my Mother passed away. My Mother never failed to show me her unconditional love every day she was alive, whereas I had to seek high and low for even a hint of affection from my Father. She gave me encouragement to be the person that I was, whereby my Father tried to mould me into someone else; a person I wasn’t comfortable with. With her, I never had to hide my feelings, whereas my Father demanded formality and detachment at all times. She was gentle and compassionate, and I turned to her time and again for advice and reassurance.

When she passed away, my world came crashing down. I was inconsolable for a very long time. My Father channelled his grief from losing my Mother by seeking solace in the arms of countless maids and ladies-in-waiting, and spared very little of his time for me. For a long time, I was convinced that he hated me; I inherited so much of my Mother in me and perhaps very little of him. Every day that passed the distance between us grew bigger, and our relationship became more estranged than before.

If you ask me do I love my Father, then my answer would be yes; of course I do. But do I love him genuinely or out of obligation that every child should love his parent, I honestly don’t know. It is something I am still trying to determine for myself. Living with my Father after my Mother passed away had been filled with countless arguments, with him trying to instil his strict ways and me rebelling against it, trying to hold on to my beliefs. Throughout the years I felt a change gradually came over me, as I grew more stubborn and frustrated towards him. Dealing with my Father brought out a different side of my personality, Eleanor, one I do not want to harbour and one that I certainly never wish to show you.

I have never conveyed any of this to anyone, Eleanor. When my Mother was alive, my life seemed simpler, and the world I live in seemed so much brighter. Life after my Mother passed away was years of loneliness and yearning until I learnt to put aside my sadness, pick myself up from the ground and move on; I’m sure you can relate to this. The day I met you, a feeling I have buried deep inside my heart a long time ago began to climb out, struggling to see the light again. The day you returned my affection, that feeling intensified a thousand times, and the sun has finally able to shine brightly upon it. You, my dearest, have melted the ice around my heart, and I once again see the world in an entirely new light.