Chapter 12 - Breathing


It's been almost two weeks since their little adventure in Vegas and it had been the best two weeks of Eleanor's life. After their talk with the queen she had packed some clothes and went home with Jasper.

Since she knew their time was limited she had made it her mission to save every second spent with her husband. Solemnly waking up next to him in the morning made her incredibly happy. The two of them slipped into a comfortable routine, from cooking to watching movies in the evening to doing laundry, which was all so new to Eleanor.

The first time Eleanor decided to wash some clothes Jasper had been out, buying groceries. In the end he came home to find several of his shirts bright pink and around the size of a three year old child. Needless to say he hadn't been happy but he couldn´t stay angry at his wife for longer than a couple of hours anyway.

Eleanor's regular schedule of partying and visiting charities was basically none existent by now.

Why would she go to parties, get drunk and high, when she could also have a Harry Potter marathon with the hubby?

As to the public events she was technically obligated to go to. The queen's orders to keep a low profile kept her from having to go most of the time. Only one time in those weeks Eleanor had to go somewhere to visit a charity and the queen made sure she was to leave as soon as possible without her disappearance causing anyone to ask questions, especially the press.

But with each passing day Eleanor grew more anxious. Even Jasper was slowly getting restless, being unable to relax more and more.

"Why didn´t we get those papers yet? It can´t take that long to divorce us. I mean, we told them it needs to be done as fast as possible, didn´t we?"

"Yes we did. And I am sure they are doing it as fast as they can. Can you give me the eggs from the fridge?"

Eleanor handed him the eggs before going back to slicing vegies. Cooking was something she surprisingly enjoyed the most in the day to day life of a regular citizen.

"Don't worry Princess. You will get rid of me soon enough."

Whenever the topic of their divorce came up his voice had this sad undertone which made her want to confess her feelings straight away every time. But she held her tongue none the less.

For as long as they had been in Britain again Jasper had not been working. This was also new for Eleanor – worrying about money. Not a single day in her life did she have to consider where to spend and on what to spend but Jasper obviously did not have this luxury. Eleanor knew if this took any longer he would eventually have to get a job here in this country instead his casino security job back in Vegas.

Long story short there was absolutely nothing positive here in Britain other than sex with the princess. He could have easily stayed back in the U.S and wait there for their marriage to end. But he didn´t. We was here in London – with her – wasting his savings on an apartment he didn´t need.

Eleanor snapped out of her thoughts. Dinner was ready and she was really not supposed to stare lovingly at the man she was not supposed to love.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Of course he noticed her starring. She rolled her eyes with a smile.

"I was just thinking about how you are wasting your money."

He laughed. "That's something I never thought to hear from you. What´s wrong?"

"I am the princess. I´m sure I could help you with the rent and all that as long as you are here."

"You could, Princess. But that would mean to ask your mother and I don´t think this is the best idea."

He was right.

Of course he was.

Eleanor sighed. As much as she loved her life as it was right now, the waiting made her anxious about so much. This shouldn't take this long.

She stayed silent during dinner and Jasper seemed to be just as lost in thought as she was.

When suddenly Jaspers phone was ringing Eleanor almost dropped her fork. Damn, he really needed to change his ringtone to something a little calmer.

Jaspers eyes widened when he saw the number on the screen.

"It's the lawyer."

The Princess couldn't help but to hold her breath. Soon the torturous wait would be over.

"Put in on speaker" she whispered while Jasper pressed the green button.

"Mr. Frost. I have good news for you."

Mr. Meyers voice was calm as always, but he still sounded a little relieved.

"You didn´t send us the papers to sign. Is everything alright?" Jasper asked.

"Your, well, situation wasn´t even a situation to begin with."

Eleanor was confused.

"You mean our marriage situation? What do you mean by that?"

"You see, every wedding usually has a certificate with signatures of the bride and the groom and others. But most importantly the couple. It took my assistant a while to find yours and this certificate is essential in terminating a marriage."

"Please come to the point, Mr Meyers."

"Yes, of course. Well, While you, Mr Frost signed the certificate Miss Henstridge only wrote `THE Princess` where her signature should be. Nothing unusual for a Vegas wedding when a lot of alcohol is involved."

Eleanor didn´t know what to say. Neither did Jasper according to his silence.

As stupid as the whole thing was, it was totally something she would do under the influence. She could feel the rage boiling in her chest, aimed at no one but herself. She wished she could go back to just a few minutes ago, still embraced in domestic bliss with Jasper.

"And…and what exactly does this mean for us?"

"Very easy. This marriage was never legally binding to begin with. It could as well never have happened. No one knows of this incident except the two of you and all the people you told. You can go separate ways from now on."

Jasper was still silent, staring at the phone. To her surprise Eleanor was the first one to speak.

"Thank you Mr. Meyers."

The call ended and Eleanor stared at Jasper while he was still looking at the now silent phone.

"So…that´s it? It´s over?"

It felt like a little eternity passed before Jaspers eyes met hers.

"Yes, Princess. That´s it."