**Diary Entry**
Her father gave her away to a beggar because she was born blindwhat followed left everyone speechless.
Eleanor had never seen the world, yet she felt its cruelty with every breath. Born blind into a family that prized beauty above all else, she lived in the shadows while her two sisters were admired for their striking eyes and graceful figures. Eleanor was treated as a burden, a shameful secret kept behind closed doors. Her mother died when she was only five, and from that moment, her father changed. He grew bitter, resentful, and cruelespecially toward her. He never called her by name, only that thing. She wasnt allowed at the table during meals or near guests. He believed she was cursed, and when Eleanor turned twenty-one, he made a decision that would shatter what little remained of his broken heart.
One morning, he entered her cramped room, where Eleanor sat quietly tracing the braille of a worn book, and dropped a folded piece of fabric into her lap.
Youre to be wed tomorrow, he said coldly.
She froze. The words made no sense. Married? To whom?
A beggar from St. Marys, he continued. Youre blind, hes poor. A fitting match.
Her face drained of colour. She wanted to scream, but no sound came. There was no choice. Her father had never given her one.
The next day, she was wed in a rushed, quiet ceremony. She never saw his face, and no one dared describe him. Her father pushed her toward the man and ordered her to take his arm. She obeyed, numb, like a ghost in her own body. Whispers followed them: A blind girl and a beggar. Afterward, her father shoved a small sack of clothes into her hands and turned away.
Now youre his problem, he muttered without a backward glance.
The beggarwhose name was Thomasled her silently down the road. For a long while, he said nothing. They reached a crumbling cottage on the village outskirts, smelling of damp earth and woodsmoke.
Its not much, Thomas said softly, but youll be safe here.
She sat on an old mat inside, fighting tears. This was her life nowa blind girl, married to a beggar, in a cottage built of mud and hope.
But something strange happened that first night.
Thomas brewed tea with gentle hands. He gave her his coat and slept by the door like a guard at a queens side. He spoke to her as if he truly caredasking what stories she loved, what dreams she had, what foods made her smile. No one had ever asked before.
Days turned to weeks. Thomas walked her to the river each morning, describing the sun, the birds, and the trees so vividly that Eleanor began to see them through his words. He sang while she washed clothes and told her tales of stars and distant lands at night. For the first time in years, she laughed. Her heart opened. And in that strange little cottage, the unexpected happenedEleanor fell in love.
One afternoon, as she reached for his hand, she asked, Were you always a beggar?
He hesitated. No, he admitted quietly.
But he never said more. And Eleanor didnt press him.
Until the day she did.
She went alone to the market for vegetables, following Thomass careful directions. But halfway there, someone grabbed her arm.
Blind rat! hissed a voiceher sister, Margaret. Still alive? Still playing at being a beggars wife?
Tears pricked Eleanors eyes, but she held firm. Im happy.
Margaret laughed cruelly. You dont even know what he looks like. Hes rubbish. Just like you.
Then she whispered the words that shattered Eleanors heart.
Hes no beggar. Youve been tricked.
Eleanor returned home in turmoil. She waited until dusk, and when Thomas returned, she asked again, firmly this time.
Tell me the truth. Who are you?
He knelt before her, took her hands, and sighed. I should have told you sooner.
His pulse raced under her fingers.
Im not a beggar, he confessed. Im the Earls son.
The world spun. His kindness, his quiet strength, his storiessuddenly, it all made sense. Her father hadnt married her to a beggar. Hed given her to a prince in disguise.
Thomasno, *Lord Thomas*knelt beside her. I didnt mean to hurt you. I came to the village in disguise because I was tired of women who wanted a title, not a man. I heard of the blind girl cast aside by her father. I watched you for weeks before I asked for your hand, knowing hed agreebecause he wanted rid of you.
Tears streamed down her face. The pain of her fathers rejection clashed with disbelief that someone had gone so far to find a heart like hers.
What now? she whispered.
Now, he said gently, you come with me. To my world. To the manor.
But Im blind, she breathed. How can I be a lady?
You already are.
The next morning, a carriage arrived. Guards in black and gold bowed to them. Holding Thomass arm, Eleanor stepped inside.
At the manor, crowds gathered, stunned by the return of the missing heirand more so by the blind girl at his side. His mother, the Countess, studied Eleanor for a long moment before embracing her.
Then this is my daughter, she said.
That night, standing by the manor window, Eleanor listened to the sounds of her new life. She was no longer that thing locked away. She was a wife. A lady. Loved not for beauty, but for her soul.
The next morning, she was summoned to the hall. Nobles whispered as she entered, but she held her head high. Then Thomas spoke.
I will not take my title unless my wife is honoured here. If she is not, I will leave with her.
Gasps filled the room. Eleanors heart pounded. Youd give up your birthright for me?
He met her gaze. I already did once. Id do it again.
The Countess rose. Let it be known: from this day, Eleanor is not just your wife. She is Lady Eleanor of this house. To slight her is to slight the family name.
**Lesson Learned**
The world measures worth by sightbut love sees deeper. Sometimes, the greatest blessings come disguised as loss.
