The Path Least Expected: Almost A Tragedy

Almost a Tragedy
By Misha

Disclaimer- Not mine. I’m just borrowing them for a little while and will return them when I am done.

Author’s Notes- This was my original follow-up to “Take You Away From This Place” until it ended up becoming a whole series of fics. This is set six months after Eleanor leaves Liam and this deals with Liam and also helps tie up Liam’s story (though I may address things further in the future). This is also a response to the prompt “Comforting hugs from behind”.

Pairing- MC/Other (Dante/Eleanor), angsty Liam/MC

Rating- PG

Summary- Six months after Eleanor leaves Liam, things in Cordonia reach a breaking point, making her think about the past and the way her story ended.

Words- 2394

Eleanor’s been in London for just over six months when the scandal breaks in Cordonia. She’s mostly avoided news of Liam and Cordonia, and her friends had been nice enough to respect that, but a scandal this big is international news and impossible to avoid.

It turns out there has been a decades-old conspiracy to overthrow the royal family and that the new queen is involved. There was an attempt made on Liam’s life, news that makes her feel sick and unhappy even though she has no right to care, which lead to reveal of the conspiracy and Madeleine’s role in it and Eleanor can only imagine what it’s like in Cordonia, sure that the newspapers are only skimming the surface of the situation.

She accompanies Dante to a dinner party the night after the scandal breaks and it comes up in conversation because everyone loves a scandal. She stiffens when someone mentions “the American” but thankfully that line of conversation doesn’t go anywhere. No one there seems to realize that Dante Nevrakis’s fiancé is the scandalous American who broke a King’s heart and Eleanor is grateful for it. She’s had enough scandal and gossip to last her a lifetime.

“Have you heard from Olivia?” Eleanor asks once she and Dante arrive back at their apartment.

“Not recently,” he tells her, pouring himself a glass of scotch. They’d gotten a very vague e-mail just before the scandal had dropped and silence since then.

“Nothing from Maxwell or Penelope either,” Eleanor muses. Hana had left Cordonia shortly after she had and was actually in England, thanks to some magic on Dante’s part and Drake hadn’t spoken to her since she’d left Cordonia, so any information comes from Maxwell and Penelope or Olivia. But generally she doesn’t ask and they don’t volunteer. However, given the gravity of the situation, surely they’ll hear from them eventually.

“I’m sure she’s busy. Liam needs all the support he can get,” Eleanor comments, the old familiar guilt hitting her again. Liam’s wife was involved in a plot that involved attempting to assassinate him. He could have been killed.

Even though she was content with her choice, in fact this had just made her even more sure that she had chosen correctly, the news that someone had tried to assassinate Liam had still shaken her, after all a part of her would always love him.

“Do you wish you were there?” Dante asks in a quiet voice as he discards his tie and jacket before taking a seat on the couch.

“No,” Eleanor says and it’s mostly the truth. She feels bad for abandoning Liam but the news of the last few days has been enough to convince her that she made the right choice. She would not have been able to handle the realities, and the dangers, of his life.

She sits down beside Dante, resting her head on his shoulder. “If I did, I wouldn’t be wearing your ring,” she reminds him, unable to resist admiring the stunning diamond and ruby ring. It has only been a week since Dante had placed it on her finger and she is still completely captivated by it and certain that it is never coming off.

“Good,” Dante says before capturing her mouth in a deep kiss.

Eleanor melts into his kiss, wondering if she’ll ever get tired of kissing this man. Somehow she doubts it.

The kiss is interrupted by an insistent ringing. Dante swears and grabs his phone, his expression immediately sobering. “It’s Olivia.”

Eleanor just nods as he stands up to take the call, as complicated as her feelings are, she knows they are both eager to hear news about the situation, something more concrete than speculation and rumor. She might have left Liam, left Cordonia, but that didn’t mean she immediately stopped caring. It wasn’t that simple, it had never been that simple.

Eleanor stands up, suddenly feeling restless, and moves to stare out the window. Suddenly all she can see is Liam’s face that last night when she told him she was leaving…

//”You came,” Liam said as he let Eleanor into his room, “I wasn’t sure you would.” His expression was warm as he studies her and he leans in to kiss her but she stepped away.

“I… I didn’t come for that,” she told him quietly. “I came to say goodbye. I’m not going back to Cordonia.”

Liam stared at her. “What do you mean? Earlier you said we had two weeks.”

 She had said that and she’d meant it. But she knew now that two weeks wouldn’t change anything. She and Liam weren’t going to have a happy ending and not just because of the scandal.

“I know,” she said softly, “but do you really think two weeks is going to change anything?”

Liam was quiet. “I can talk to my father, tomorrow,” he promised and Eleanor could see the desperation on his face and it broke her heart. Especially since she knew she was going to break his because his offer wasn’t enough.

“Even if your father is behind it, it doesn’t fix things,” she pointed out, “it’s not like we could just announce that the king set me up.”

It was something she had been thinking about for some time. “It might be an answer,” she continued, “but it’s not a solution and we don’t know why he did it, I’m sure he had his reasons.”

“So you just want to give up?” Liam asked her. “Just like that?”

“No,” Eleanor corrected, “not just like that. This… This has been months in the making, Liam, I think we both know that and it’s more than the scandal.” She sighed. “I wasn’t prepared for this, for scandal and having people gossip about me, having people use me as a pawn for reasons I don’t understand, but also how dangerous your world is. That scares me most of all.”

Liam’s expression softened. “Ellie, I’d never let anyone hurt you, you must know that.”

“I know you’d try,” she assured him, “but you’re not invincible Liam and it’s not my own life. If I stayed, I’d also worry about you, but also about our children. I’d be terrified from the moment they were born.” It was a thought she’d never voiced before, but one that needed to be said.

“This life isn’t the one for me,” she told him quietly. “I see that now.”

“What changed?” Liam asked her. “A few hours ago, it seemed like you still believed that we could have a future.”

“I wanted to believe that,” Eleanor corrected gently. She bit her lip, this was going to be the hard part. “I’m not going back to New York.”

“Then where are you going?” Liam asked in confusion.

“London,” Eleanor answered and she could see the understanding dawn on his face before it shuttered, growing cold.

He stepped back from her. “I see.”

“He came to me tonight,” Eleanor explained, “and offered to take me away from all this.”

 “And you decided to accept,” Liam said coldly. “So that’s what this is about, you chose him.”

“It’s not that simple.” Eleanor defended. “I’m not choosing Dante over you, Liam.”

He raised an eyebrow but stayed silent.

“I would be leaving either way,” she said softly, knowing now it was true, “except it would be in two weeks instead of now and New York instead of London. The result would be the same, Dante just changed my timetable and destination.” It was true, she knew that now. There wasn’t going to be a miracle, she wasn’t going to stay with Liam and not just because of the scandal or Dante, but because of many, many factors.

“Nothing’s happened between Dante and I,” she added, though she knew she didn’t have to explain herself. But she wanted to make sure Liam knew that she was leaving because this was right for her, not because of Dante.

 “But you are leaving with him,” Liam pointed out. “Do you love him?”

“I don’t know,” Eleanor said honestly. Did she love Dante? She cared about him, she was drawn to him in a way she had never expected to be drawn to anyone other than Liam and a part of her really wanted to see what there could be between them, but she wasn’t ready to define it yet.

“Do you love me?” Liam pressed, stepping closer again.

“Yes,” Eleanor answered without hesitation, “but not enough to stay.”

Liam clenched his jaw and she could see how much her words hit him.

“I do love you,” she assured him, “I think I always will, but… It’s not enough, Liam, and it hasn’t been enough in months. We’ve been falling apart since the Coronation. It just took Dante to make see it. He didn’t break us up, he just made me realize how broken we are.”

Liam nodded. Eleanor could tell that he had retreated into himself, which was to be expected. Liam wasn’t the type to rant or rave. She knew she had hurt him and she hated herself for it. But she also knew that she couldn’t stay. Even if Dante didn’t exist, this ending still would have been inevitable.

Even if a miracle occurred and her name was cleared, there was still so much standing between them. Too much. As much as she tried, as much as she wanted to, Eleanor knew she wasn’t meant for Liam’s world. It might have taken Dante to make her see that, but it had been true long before he’d come into her life.

“I should go,” she said after a moment.

Liam watched her for a long moment and though his face was blank, Eleanor knew him well enough to know that he was in pain. “Please be happy,” he told her finally.

Eleanor had to bite her lip to fight back tears. That simple comment was so Liam, she was breaking his heart and he still wanted her to be happy. “I’ll try,” she promised.

She didn’t ask the same of him because they both knew his future looked pretty bleak and she hated that. Hated that she was leaving him to Madeleine’s clutches while she ran off with another man. And that thought was almost enough to make her change her mind, to throw herself into Liam’s arms and take it all back, but… She didn’t. Because as much as she hated the idea of Liam married to Madeleine, she knew she had to do what was best for her and that was to leave.

“Goodbye Liam,” she said instead, reaching for the door and turning to leave Liam behind her.//

Eleanor is brought back to the present by the feeling of two strong arms wrapping around her from behind and she instinctively leans into Dante’s embrace, taking comfort in his strength.

“What’s going on?” She asks after a moment as they stand there together, looking out the window.

“Basically what we’ve been hearing on the news,” Dante tells her, “with a few clarifications: such as the fact that Liam confronted Madeleine about her role in the plot against you, and the crown, and asked her for a divorce shortly before the assassination attempt.”

“She was desperate,” Eleanor muses, “She figured she had nothing left to lose and everything to gain.”

“Except now she’s facing charges of treason and attempted murder,” Dante points out dryly, “while before Liam was apparently willing to let her go quietly, as long as she agreed to the divorce.”

“She would never have done that though,” Eleanor says, making a face, “This was the only way it was going to end.” Or it could have ended in tragedy, but Eleanor refuses to think like that. “And Liam?”

“He’s fine,” Dante assures her, “Physically at least. Olivia seems worried about him, but it’s a very stressful situation. I think it would be unusual if he was 100% alright.”

Eleanor nods and her heart aches for Liam, but at the same time, she knows there’s nothing she can do for him. Even if he would want her comfort, and she seriously doubts that he would, it’s not her place. Not anymore.

“Olivia says that your name has been cleared,” Dante says quietly, “the press has picked up on the fact that you were another victim of the plot.”

Eleanor shrugs. “That’s nice, I guess.”

It is nice to have her name clear, but it’s not as crucial as it was once. Dante is quiet and Eleanor turns to face him. “I don’t want to go back,” she assures him, “this doesn’t change anything. The scandal was only part of why I left.”

“I know,” Dante says after a moment, “I guess, I just needed to hear you say it. Part of me still feels guilty, like I took advantage of your unhappiness to get you to come away with me.”

“You gave me another option,” Eleanor corrects him, “and you made me realize there was more than one ending to my story. I was the one who chose to take it.” She presses her lips to his, her arms sliding around his neck. “I love you,” she tells him softly, “and I can’t wait to be with you, forever. Knowing that Liam is free doesn’t change that, though I am happy that he’s not tied to that witch any longer, and I hope he can find real happiness—the kind I’ve found with you.”

“I didn’t even know this type of happiness existed until I met you,” Dante tells her, gazing down at her lovingly.

“My story was bordering on tragedy when I met you,” Eleanor reminds him, “and you changed that. You were my happy ending, Dante, and I wouldn’t change that for anything.”

“Good,” he says before covering her lips with his in a deep kiss, pulling her body tight against his.

Eleanor surrenders to his kiss, eagerly opening up her mouth to him and pressing her body as close as possible, seeking his familiar heat. All thoughts of Liam and Cordonia flee from her mind because all she can think of Dante. He wasn’t what she was expecting, true, but he’s everything she wants and she wouldn’t change the ending of her story for anything in the world because she knows this is where she was meant to be. With this man. Forever.

• End