We all want to live happily ever after with our beloved.

But what if it doesn't happen?

What happens if you end up with a prince who breaks your heart instead of whisking you off to his castle to make you his princess, forever?

A heartbreak prince

More than 20 years ago, I reluctantly ended my relationship with the man I adored. He was the love of my life. I wanted to marry him, have children with him, grow old with him. I loved him more than I loved any man, before or since.

But our relationship was not to be. Spoiler alert: he broke my heart. There was no happy ever after for me.

In this e-book of five short chapters, I retell our relationship as a modern day fairy tale, from when we first met, to the moment my heart shattered into a million pieces.

It's a sad fable that says a lot about love, without being an angsty heartbreak romance. There are lessons to be learned for those who still believe in fairy tales – and their own happy ever after ending.

The night of Their First Real Date, the prince picked the princess up in his chariot (actually it was a Holden station wagon but it felt like a chariot) and took her to a delightful Italian restaurant in North Adelaide. They talked the entire night and were the last ones to leave. The hours felt like minutes, time went so fast. It was exactly as the princess pictured it: they were so comfortable in each other’s company that it was as if they had known each other forever. And he paid for it all: meal, drinks, everything.

Afterward, in a dark corner of the Old Lion Hotel, they had their first kiss. The princess swooned. That kiss was all she thought it would be; warm, sensuous, passionate, all-consuming. That kiss wrapped around her and she wanted to drown in it, it was so beautiful. And they went back to her castle and kissed some more.

If you've ever had your heart broken and wondered what happened to your HEA ending – and why it all went so horribly wrong, this book is for you.

I hope you've found your prince. Sadly, that has not been my destiny.