"You and Declan are on the cover of The Sun. Someone caught you kissing last night at Wembley."
"What?" I say, quickly sitting up.
"Someone saw you and took some photos and a video" David says.
"That... That can't be."
"I'm so sorry, Eleanor. It was all my fault. I should have been paying more attention, tell you to go somewhere else, to be more careful. It's all my fault."
"Eleanor, what is it? What happened?" Declan says next to me. "You've gone so pale..."
"They..." I mutter, David still apologizing over the phone.
"They what?"
"I... I..."
"Eleanor, take a deep breath."
"I can't. I can't breathe" I manage to say.
"Hey, look at me" Declan says, gently grabbing my chin and making me look at him. "Breathe."
"They... They know."
"Who knows?"
"The... Press" I say, trying to take a deep breath. "Dec, I..."
"It's ok, it's ok" he says, caressing my cheek. "Breathe."
"I can't" I sob.
"Yes, you can. Inhale..." he says, making me follow him. "Exhale. That's it, c'mon."
"Inhale..." I repeat. But I can't keep going. My words are getting stuck in my throat, my legs shaking. And I am feeling so hot.
"Eleanor. Eleanor, hey" Declan says, his blue eyes looking bigger than ever. "Eleanor!"
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"Hello, you."
"Hi" I whisper.
"How are you?" Declan asks, putting a lock of hair behind my ear.
"Thirsty."
"One minute" he says, leaving the bed. While he is gone, I try to process where I am. What has happened. Why do I feel so... Rough. "Here you go."
"Thank you" I smile, slowly sitting up.
"Feeling better?"
"Yeah. What... What happened?"
"You had one of the big attacks. I can't remember the last time I was that scared."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be, it wasn't your fault."
"It was... Oh, no. Dec, what... What are we going to do?" I say when I remember David's call, what he told me.
"I don't know yet. I've been too worried about you to think of anything else. But whatever happens, whatever we do... We'll do it together, ok?" Declan says, cupping my face.
"Together."
"I love you, Eleanor" he says, resting his forehead on mine.
"I love you too" I reply, not ready to face what is coming our way.
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"Finally!" I say when Declan walks through the door, throwing myself at him and hugging him. "Congratulations on today's win!"
"Thank you."
"What took you so long, tho? The game ended hours ago."
"Pick a guess" he sighs, taking my arms from around his neck and moving to sit on the sofa.
"That bad it was today?"
"Yeah... They were waiting outside the stadium, then at Rush Green, and then here. I'm pretty sure they also are waiting at my place, ready to catch me arriving home."
"I'm so sorry, Dec" I say, sitting next to him.
This has been what we have had to deal with since those photos of us together made it to The Sun. Being stalked everywhere we go.
For the past couple of months, paparazzis have been waiting for Declan every time he left his house, when he arrived and left for training, outside the stadiums where he played, outside his parents' and his brothers' houses. One day they even went to take photos at his nephews' school. And, of course, they've also been waiting outside my house and the palace, following me to all the events I've had to attend, many of them getting canceled because of how many of them were trying to get a glimpse of me.
My parents released a statement the day after the photos were out asking the paparazzis to respect our privacy, not confirming nor denying our relationshipto. But a couple of days after, they had to release another one asking them think of our safety and theirs too. More than once we have been close to hitting one of them with our cars while they tried to get a photo, and even between themselves there have been some incidents while trying to follow us.
And then, of course, were the things they wrote.
The princess and the football player they all called us.
Every day there were a couple of new articles talking about us, most of them just full of lies. For example, they talked about my grandmother not accepting Declan because of his Irish blood, that it was an insult to the crown. Little did they know...
Though the hardest part was the chants Declan had to listen to during the games. He didn't care about the things rival fans said about him, he was used to it. But when they were about me...
"You need to focus on the game, ok? Don't let them get to you. Especially not now that things are going so well" I said to him after a game against Leeds.
That probably was the only good thing that had happened since our world turned upside down. That West Ham had started winning their games again, that Declan was back to playing like only he knows, and that the goal of staying in the Premier League was closer and closer. They just needed six points of the nine that there were left.
"Eleanor, I..." he says, running a hand through his hair. "I think we need to talk."
"Oh... ok" I reply.
"You know... You know that the toughest part of the season is about to start. That I need to be focused if I want to give my everything to help West Ham and then be ready for the Euros."
"I know."
"But I... I can't..."
"What is it, Dec?" I ask.
"I can't do this anymore, Eleanor" he says, wiping away a tear.
"What... What do you mean with this?"
"This. Us."
"Us?" I ask, my throat hurting as I try not to cry.
"Us, yes. I thought... I thought that after playing football for so long I would be ready to deal with the press and the fans, to manage the hate and having the spotlight constantly on me. But it is too much, and it has started to affect me mentally and I... I can't, Eleanor. I can't."
"I see" I sob, not being able to contain my tears anymore.
"I need... I need to be focused on my career. That's the most important thing right now. And I can't do that if I'm..."
"If you are Princess Eleanor's rumored boyfriend."
"Yes" he whispers. "I... I don't want to do this. I love you, Eleanor. I love you more than anything."
"Doesn't look like it" I snort. "Sorry. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that."
"No, I get it. You must think that I am picking football over you because I love it more than I love you. But I don't, it's different. I... Urgh" he says, desperately running both hands through his hair. "I wish there was a way to still be with you without it affecting my career. I wish I was able to deal with both things at the same time, that I was strong enough to fight for us like I promised you so many times I would. But right now... I can't."
"Is this over, then? Is this a goodbye?" I ask between sobs.
"What? No, no" he says, taking my face in his hands and making me look at him. "Eleanor, this isn't a goodbye. I know it looks and feels like it, but it isn't. This is a see you soon."
"How soon?"
"I... I don't know."
"That doesn't help" I cry.
"I know, I know. I just... I need time. I... I love you, Eleanor" he says, kissing my forehead and getting up from the sofa.
"Dec, please..."
"See you soon" he whispers before closing the door behind him.
At first, I don't do anything. I just stay still, trying to process everything that has happened. That he's gone. That he is not coming back. That it is over even if he said it wasn't.
"No!" I yell, throwing the first thing I find against a wall. The TV's remote control.
"Ma'am?" someone from my security team says, walking into the room. "Ma'am, are you ok?"
But I can't talk. All I can do is cry, my whole body shaking as I fall to the floor.
And then I feel some familiar arms around me. Arms that have always been there for me when I needed them the most.
"He's gone, mum" I cry, hugging her back.
"Who is gone, darling?"
"Declan. He broke up with me."
"Oh, Eleanor" she says, kissing my head like she used to do when I was a kid, trying to calm me down, to comfort me. "I'm so sorry."
"I love him, mum. I love him so much" I say between sobs.
"I know you do. I know" she whispers, hugging me as tight as she can.
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Author's note: Sorry about the ending of this chapter 😔 But thank you very much for 10k views! I wasn't the happiest with this story when I finished it, so seeing so many people liking it means a lot 🥺