also hamiliza with jon and carleigh 😇😇

Eliza, taking Alexander's hand: It's quiet uptown.

//Thank you for your request! I love Hamilton, I won’t be leaving this fandom any time soon. :) I hope you enjoy it! 

P.s. Mr. Norton is a made up character. He is not based on anyone, either.

-----

Eliza giggled as Mr. Norton paid her yet another compliment. She made sure to be purposely loud in her responses. 

“You are too kind. What ever did I do to deserve such comments to be bestowed upon me?”

Mr. Norton smiled triumphantly and took one of Eliza’s hands, carefully holding it.

“A woman like you deserves such compliments and more.”

Eliza cringed on the inside and wanted to retract her hand from his. She looked to the corner of her eyes, noticing that Hamilton would intermittently glance towards them. He appeared to be having a conversation with someone, but he was not listening much to them. 

She smiled to herself, her gaze swinging back to Mr. Norton. Eliza forced a charming smile on her face, which caused him to squeeze her hand.

She wanted to slap him right then and there, but the knowledge that Hamilton saw them gave her all the strength she needed to continue. Unfortunately for Mr. Norton, when Eliza noticed that Hamilton’s attention was back to his talking companion, she retracted her hand and excused herself. 

A sigh of relief escaped from her lips as soon as her back was turned. She had kept this act up for two weeks now, and her husband said nothing about it. Eliza knew that Hamilton was not an easily jealous person, but this was getting ridiculous! She was trying so hard to make him envious, and yet he said nothing! 

There were only two explanations for her husband’s bewildering behavior in her mind. Either Hamilton did not love her anymore, or he was so ashamed of himself that he was just taking the punishment. No matter how upset she currently was at him, she refused to believe the first option. The latter fits more to his character, she thought (besides him being so quiet, that was strange of him).

Even after the pamphlet, he managed to unpleasantly surprise Eliza yet again. 

-----

Two weeks. 

Betsy had been doing this for two weeks, and Hamilton was not sure anymore if she was doing it just to upset him. That is what he had expected at first, but as more time passed, the more he became unsure of that. By now, he believed that she held some sort of genuine affection for this ‘Mr. Norton’. After all, it was not in Betsy’s nature to be so cruel. This must be real; Hamilton’s living nightmare.

He wondered how long it would be until she asked for a divorce to run away with Mr. Norton. That was ridiculous, of course, but his panicked, self-conscious brain was not rationally thinking about the situation. 

Hamilton did not know what to do. He did not want to let Betsy run away with some other man, but he knew that is what he deserved. He just wanted her to be happy again...and if Mr. Norton made her happy, why should he deprive her of that? 

It was painful to watch, nonetheless, even if Hamilton knew he deserved it. He was living on edge for the entirety of the two weeks that this was occurring. His anxiety was much higher than usual, and he felt ill more frequently. 

Even though this was causing Hamilton much grief, he could not find it within himself to be angry with Betsy. How could he be upset with her? It would be such an audacity if he did!

The next time they met Mr. Norton, Hamilton had finally had enough. He had smiled, taken Betsy’s hand, and kissed it, all while Hamilton was standing right next to her. This went too far, even for her. She snatched her hand away and looked to Mr. Norton in disgust.

“How dare you? The audacity! This is the height of rude behavior, and I will not stand for it!” Hamilton shouted angrily, glaring at Mr. Norton. The man was confused; the seemingly silent husband was screaming at him, and the woman he had been “successfully” flirting with was angry with him too.

Before Mr. Norton could reply, Hamilton took Betsy’s hand and dragged her away. 

-----

Once they were out of earshot of any other people, Hamilton burst out with words.

Eliza was relieved that her little game was over, it was getting exhausting, and she was starting to feel guilty for it. She did not expect it to go on as long as it did. 

“I’m so sorry, my angel, but I could not take it any longer! I know I am in no position to comment on your relationship with Mr. Norton, but...I must admit that it greatly upsets me. Which I know you do not and should not care about! Please just tell me if you intend to be with him. I...I will let you. I want you to be happy, my love, and I have failed you on that. It would...it would just be easier if it were clear what you wanted.”

He quickly paced back and forth, his hands shaking uncontrollably and tears beginning to form in his dark blue eyes. Eliza looked away, a terrible mix of guilt and residing anger washing over her.

“For goodness sake! I do not intend to leave you for Mr. Norton. I do not like him in the least. I wanted to make you jealous, to make you feel, even a little bit, the pain that I feel. It has gone too far; I did not think you would seriously believe that I wanted to be with Mr. Norton. I still love you, even if I am worse off for it. I will not be getting rid of you that easy.”

Hamilton looked up at Eliza, his eyes wide and hands suddenly still. He wiped the stay tears that speckled his freckled cheeks away and stared at her.

“...really?”

“Yes. I have not forgiven you. I am not okay. But I have no intention of leaving you.”