Mandy and Darren Robinson had been married for almost twenty years, and as much as life had its ups and downs, to the outside world they were your ideal family. The type of couple that were both blessed with beautiful faces. So, it was obvious they were going to produce the cutest of babies. Annabelle was eleven years old, going on thirty, she was a little diva in the making but polite with it and then there was her little brother Toby, who was a little quieter than his sister. Toby was turning seven at the end of the year. Both children were well mannered and respectful; in fact, they were remarkably similar to their likeable parents. Being liked and admired was something Mandy really appreciated, and she strived to keep that positive attention, after all, it was her and Darren’s online personas, which had paid for their glamorous lifestyle. Mandy, back in her prime was a pretty well-known model and starred in a soap opera in her early twenties. Originally from London, her career made it possible to travel, and she got a taste for the finer things in life from a pretty early age. As much as Mandy knew how to celebrate, she partied hard and was very sociable, she was modest and somehow remained humble. It was during the first year while she was living it up in L.A when she first met Darren, who worked for a local media company at the time. During the summer of 1992 Mandy was on a photoshoot and Darren happened to be her photographer. Mandy was a little apprehensive as it was her first glamour shoot and after talking to her manager, she was told that she had no other choice but to take on the job, otherwise she would be looking for another manager. Already annoyed, and frustrated that she was expected to flaunt her perfect figure, she was in a foul mood and feeling insecure. Thankfully, Darren her photographer was on hand to lend a sympathetic ear and he somehow managed to put the stunningly, beautiful woman at ease. Darren was funny and charming, and Mandy found him extremely attractive for an older man. There was only six years difference between them but up until that point, Mandy had only ever dated men younger than herself. There was something different about Darren and Mandy could not quite put her finger on it, but it was clear that she liked him as he made her feel giddy. I think the fact that Darren had already seen Mandy naked helped her feel at ease when he asked if he could take her out for a drink. Darren knew he was acting unprofessional, but he did not care as he found himself flirting with the beautiful British woman, who was reciprocating his flirtatious advances. The drink was a success and Mandy found herself thinking about him, every waking second. Darren was just as smitten and the both of them met up and few days later and were inseparable ever since. Within months they had purchased their own house and were planning a wedding. I suppose, when you find the one, you know. Many questioned their relationship at the very start, but the couple just proved time and time again, they were solid, and nothing could come between them. That wasn’t to say that the couple didn’t have their difficulties, but when they had an issues, they would tackle them, side by side. The local papers tried to create some drama when Mandy fell pregnant with Annabella, when they accused Darren of having an affair. Which was completely fabricated and the woman in question was no other, than his little sister. The newspaper never did slate the couple after that. If anything, the guilt of falsely accusing Darren meant a lot of free advertising as a form of compensation and the couple could be found in the local papers every month for organising swanky events and fundraisers. They became the most well-known couple and the heart of the town, which meant everybody knew their business, even if some of it was false. The couple really did ooze upper class personas, and every woman fantasised about being Mandy at least once in their lifetime.

The family had recently returned home from the Cannes Film Festival and as usual the event was an enormous success. That meant a lot of extra work for the couple as new clients emerged from the event, which looked very promising for the year ahead. Mandy was unpacking the suitcases when she received a phone call, whoever was on the other end was arguing with her, Mandy was disagreeing with them and telling the person on the other end of the phone, that her solicitor would be dealing with anymore communication from that point. In frustration she through her phone onto the bed, which bounced and landed on the floor. This was the last thing she needed, and she was clearly annoyed. Her husband appeared in the doorway, after hearing the bang on the bedroom floor.

“Is everything okay love?” Darren asked, seeing his wife looking distraught and clearly riled up.

“No, everything is not okay Darren, what are we going to do?” she asked.

“The same thing as we usually do.”

“That is not helpful,” Mandy snapped, “we can’t keep pretending everything is okay.”

“And why not?” Darren was starting to become frustrated at his wife, she always wanted a solid answer, but he was out of ideas, they had tried everything, “we have the same conversation every single month Mandy, can’t you see they are just trying to provoke us.”

“Ignoring it all, and burying our heads in the sand isn’t helpful, things are getting out of hand.” Mandy was concerned and felt like she was being ignored, and she didn’t take too kindly at feeling unheard. She started pacing their bedroom, stamping her feet in frustration.

“I will sort it and if I can’t then maybe I can win it back.” Darren said, instantly regretting his words.

“Win it back!” Mandy shouted.

“I don’t know why you are getting so uptight.” He said and was rewarded with a slipper thrown at his head in response. Darren should have known better than to suggest gambling, but he was all out of ideas, and Mandy was almost out of patience.

Annabelle appeared in the doorway, “Is everything okay mummy?” she asked. Hearing her parents with raised voices wasn’t something either of the children were used to. Annabelle ran to her mother’s side, seeing that she was upset, she gave her mum a big hug.

“I’m okay sweetheart, mummy and daddy are just having a little disagreement,” Mandy looked over at Darren and gave him a disappointed look, “we can talk about this properly this evening.” Mandy said to her husband.

“Let me help you unpack,” Darren said getting up of the edge of the bed and making his way over to his wife and daughter. “You’re a good kid Anna, why don’t you take your brother to the shop while your mum and I unpack.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ten-dollar bill, “get something healthy first before treats please.”

“Okay daddy, thank you.” Annabella hugged her father, “love you daddy.”

“Love you too sweetheart.”

With Annabelle off to find her little brother, Darren made his way over to his stressed-out wife and embraced her in his arms. “I am sorry love, I am going to fix this, I promise.”

It seemed like the perfect couple had a few hidden cracks emerging. Darren had a gambling habit which had almost cost the couple everything. To the outside world, they were in an incredibly good financial standing, but in reality, the couple were in mountains of debt, and it was starting to affect their business, which was why Mandy was so upset and putting her foot down.

“You need to fix it, otherwise I don’t know what we are going to do.” She warned and Darren knew his wife never made empty threats, but little did Mandy know just how much her husband had cost them already. What she had uncovered was just the tip of the ice burg.