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Spread the love

My fella travelled all over the UK keeping everyone happy...


Published by: Laura Hinton and Paul Carter
Published on: 19 July 2012

Being free to do your own thing is an important part of any relationship. Me and my boyfriend Adam, 29, had got the mix just right. He was always darting off for the weekend to Scotland, the Lake District, Sheffield... he'd got family everywhere! But I liked my own space, and had never been bothered about going along.
I fancied the pants off Adam. We'd met 18 months before through Facebook. Tall, good-looking and romantic, Adam was the guy all the girls in Blackburn wanted. I was like the cat who'd got the cream. ‘I'm so jealous,' the girls at work whispered when he surprised me with flowers.
And now we'd moved into our own place. I hadn't been able to stop giggling when he'd put his hundreds of precious CDs on the shelves in alphabetical order.
‘Stop that,' he'd grinned. ‘I've been collecting them for years.' Truthfully, it'd made me love him that little bit more. And I was just relieved to have him all to myself.
When we'd first got together, he'd still been living with his ex. It was purely a financial thing - he'd refused to leave until the lease was up. After all, he'd paid, so why shouldn't he? But now, we were together.
Then, just weeks after getting our own pad, Adam took me to a fancy Chinese restaurant in town. One minute, I was tucking into my chicken chow mein... the next, he was down on one knee.
‘Will you marry me?' he asked, holding out a beautiful diamond ring. I burst into tears as I nodded yes. Afterwards, I was walking on air. I started making plans for our big day straight away. I bought loads of wedding magazines, and spent ages flicking through them.
‘Look at this dress,' I said, to Adam one day.
‘We need to save up first,' he chuckled. ‘We'll set a date then.'
‘Sounds good,' I grinned.
‘Right, gotta go,' he smiled, marching out the door. ‘I'll see you Sunday.'
Keeping busy while he was away visiting relatives, I headed out that night with my best mate Sarah-Lou, 32. I was getting a drink at the bar when I bumped into Adam's cousin Ronnie.
‘So where's Adam tonight?' he asked. ‘Seeing his family in Scotland,' I smiled.
‘Huh?' he frowned. ‘But he doesn't have any family there.'
I shrugged. Either I'd got my wires crossed, or he had. Still, I mentioned it to Adam when he got home. He just laughed.
‘I've got aunts and uncles all over the place,' he said. ‘My cousin doesn't know everyone!'
‘I'm an idiot,' I chuckled.
Six months on, Adam was out with mates, so I'd gone out with Sarah-Lou again. ‘I think that's the girl Adam used to live with,' she said, pointing to a blonde.
‘The ex who wouldn't move out,' I muttered. Tiffany, 22, must have caught me looking, because she glared back. ‘I'm going to have a word,' I told Sarah-Lou.
Marching over, I introduced myself. But she started laughing. ‘You do know me and Adam are still... friends with benefits?'
she giggled. What?! My heart began to thump.
‘You had no idea?' she smirked, as tears spilled from my eyes.
‘Your boyfriend...' she started.
‘Fiance,' I snapped.
I saw a flash of sympathy in her eyes. ‘Look, I need to show you this,' she sighed, dragging me into the loos.
She pulled out her phone and scrolled through a list of numbers. Each one had a different girl's name and location. Liverpool, Birmingham, Scotland... ‘His other girlfriends,' she explained. ‘I copied them to my phone
when we were together. Does he tell you he's meeting family?'
I nodded. ‘Well, that's when he sees them,' she said. I thought my knees were going to buckle. It all clicked into place. That odd conversation with his cousin, the trips away to so-called family members...
No, he was my fiance. I had to give him the chance to explain. And Tiffany's still bitter about me, I told myself.
Rushing home, I found Adam asleep in bed. He'd been out with his mates and was drunk. I shook him. ‘I met your ex,' I sobbed. ‘She's told me everything!'
‘Stop being stupid,' he groaned, before going back to sleep. I knew then - Tiffany was telling the truth. If she hadn't been, Adam would have snapped awake and defended himself. He was so cool, though, he didn't think he had to.
I wanted to hurt him, like he'd hurt me. But how? Clearly, he didn't care about anyone or anything.Unless... His precious CD collection! I grabbed one, took the disc out and chucked it down a drain outside. Then I put the empty case back. I did that with all 200 or more.
Next morning, I tackled him again. ‘Tell me how many girls you've been seeing,' I begged.
‘About 20,' he admitted, head in his hands. ‘I can't finish with women. I only propose to them to make them feel special.'
‘You rat!' I screamed, throwing my engagement ring at him.
I'd never heard anything more pathetic. ‘Get out!' We'd need
to give six weeks' notice on our flat, but I wasn't going to be like his ex. Adam refused to go, though.
‘Look at your CDs,' I taunted. He checked inside the boxes - and paled. ‘Now get out, before other things go missing,' I warned.
He took the hint. But as soon as the front door slammed shut, I collapsed on the bed.
‘I've been so stupid,' I sobbed down the phone to Sarah-Lou. ‘Love is blind,' she sighed. Deep down, though, I knew I'd had a lucky escape.
I've since learnt that he's engaged to two of the women and has kids with three others! In a way, he was telling the truth - he was keeping in touch with family. His children!
He may look like the perfect guy, but he should be where his CDs are now - in the gutter. Because he's nothing but a rat!

• Adam, 29, said: ‘I liked living with Vicky, but I wasn't giving up my other girls. If they find out - fine, I'll move on.'


Vicki Leigh, 30, Blackburn, Lancashire