New Beginnings

Mia woke up the next morning still drunk, she called her own family and wished them a Merry Christmas, had a long bath and cooked something to eat. As she sat in her empty flat, she heard a knock on the door. She opened it to find Vain Man's mother standing there demanding she come home. Mia couldn't argue with the woman that had been like a second mother to her and decided to go. Back at the house, she enjoyed her first real White Christmas. She got drunk, played monopoly and after avoiding Vain Man for the majority of the evening, she decided to talk to him about their whole situation. VM explained that he had lied about having a girlfriend in Earlsfield to stop Slutty Bitch from coming between them, although Mia didn't believe him, she realised he must of been telling the truth. Slutty Bitch had stopped contacting them and had left them alone. The rest of the night and the festive holidays was spent on Cloud 9. The both of them showered each other with gifts, turned their phones off and shut out the world.

For the first time in their relationship, they were happy. The New Year meant a new beginning. Mia had told him about The Spartan and when Vain Man asked her if they had slept together, she denied it. She didn't want to lie to him but he looked so devastated and the last thing she wanted to do was upset the man she loved. A month before their year anniversary, on a drunken night out with VM's friends, he got down on one knee and proposed. Mia thinking he wasn't being serious, accepted. The rest of the night was spent celebrating, buying bottles of expensive Champagne and very public displays of affection.

A few days later, Mia went and had her long hair cut in a Mod style pixie bob, she thought VM would of been impressed since he, himself is fond of that era. However when he came home drunk later that night, he got into bed mumbling that he didn't fancy her anymore. Like any woman whose man tells her he doesn't find her attractive anymore, Mia didn't know how to handle his rejection.

As their year anniversary approached, she felt that his feelings towards her had changed, he was becoming more irritated at everything. She blamed it on the fact that he was working longer hours without any days off but when he started to go off sex, she knew there was something wrong. Whenever they would have sex, he would cry afterwards telling her never to forget how much he loved her. They went away to Barcelona for a long weekend to celebrate their anniversary but the atmosphere was tense and they didn't have sex once. They had gone from being a couple who couldn't keep their hands off each other and who often were late when meeting people because they got caught up in the act to barely even holding hands in the street when sightseeing. Every time she asked him about it, he brushed it off saying that he was tired and just stressed out.

Mia grew even more insecure in herself, she realised that he didn't find her attractive anymore and started to wear more and more unflattering clothes. She put weight on and didn't bother with her appearance. She grew jealous of when they were out and he would comment on other women. At the beginning, they would women-watch and comment on how stunning they were but now she just wanted to hit him every time. She especially hated the fact that he had taken her to his best friend's birthday without telling her that one of his ex girlfriends would be there. Seeing this tall, curvy girl with long hair made her cry inside. She tried to tell herself that if he didn't want her, they wouldn't be together.

They had planned on having a late summer wedding and both of them were trying to save up as much as possible. Mia was convinced that it was just a rough patch that they were going through and as soon as they were married things would work out. They had both been stressed out with their jobs and just needed a break. Her hair had started to grow and she was desperately trying to make herself look stunning for her man. They had decided to have a traditional Indian wedding as VM was keen on Indian culture, everything had been planned to how they wanted it. Mia doesn't remember much of her wedding day as it was manic and hectic but whenever she looks back at the video, she realises that despite the distance that had been there between them, they looked like a young couple in love and they looked happy and content.

Two months later and VM's birthday was coming up. Mia wanted to go away on holiday but she knew that they couldn't afford the time or money for a break. Instead she confined in her mother-in-law and planned a fancy dress surprise birthday party. While her mother-in-law distracted VM, Mia took his phone and copied all his contacts on her phone. The next day while she was at work, she texted everyone on the list from her mobile telling them the details. Most of the names she recognised but one girl texted back asking her back asking which Vain Man was she talking about as her boyfriend also had a similar name whose birthday was coming up. Mia thought it was very odd and tried to call the number but the girl kept hanging up on her. Mia slightly confused about the situation panicked slightly but tried not to worry about it too much. She had people to call, a cake to order and more importantly an outfit to buy.

She forgot about it and carried on with her day...not realise that she had just come across something that would ruin her life forever...