Epilogue: A complete puzzle

Mimi had been mopping around ever since their wedding night. Often times she'd ask Joshua to spend more time at work or send him out for things in order not to be around him. Each second, each minute she was around him it felt as if she was being stabbed in the heart repeatedly. This all continued on for the course of a week.

Joshua hadn't really noticed her change. It wasn't like they were romantic towards one another often anyways. The kiss to seal their wedding was probably the most he'd gotten from her in a while. But he had taken some time off and today was the first day of his vacation. He was set on spending time with his family, but Mimi had been pulling away it seemed. It was if they were playing a game of hide and go seek, but whenever he found her, she just hide again.

The day was practically gone and Annalese was washed, fed, and sleeping peacefully in her crib. It was the perfect time to resolve this and that's just what Joshua was going to do.

"There you are." He announced as he walked into their bedroom. He made sure to lock the door behind him. He watched her reaction as he began making up the bed. She jumped slightly but remained looking out the window.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were avoiding me." Joshua stated as he fluffed a pillow up. Mimi still kept quiet.
"I thought newly weds spent time together, not time apart." He went on. Still no change in Mimi. Joshua sighed loudly.
"Communication is the key to any relationship." He said. Mimi held herself back from scoffing at his comment.
"So is trust." She said softly.

"What was that?" He asked as he came up behind her.
"I said so is trust." She repeated.
"Yes, trust is important too." He agreed. He wondered why she had said that. "Is there something you need to tell me?" He asked.
"I could ask you the same thing." Mimi retorted.
"And what does that mean exactly?" He inquired.
"Is there anything you need to confess Joshua?" She asked.
"You can't answer a question with a question and I asked first." He stated. It was immature, but he wasn't backing himself into a corner he couldn't get out of.

"Joshua I know you are not being faithful. Spit it out." She demanded. Joshua stood in front of her, with eyes wide in shock. How did she know? How long did she know? He asked himself. Shit. It was time to come clean.
"Yes." Joshua admitted. He wasn't going to lie and beat around the bush this time. No he had learned from his mistake, well at least partially.
"How long?" Mimi asked. Her voice rose along with her temper.
"Not very." He answered. Mimi shook her head at his answer. Was he really picking now to try to be evasive?

"It all makes sense now. You always being out of the house, taking phone calls in different rooms. You even changed your hair! You had the same hairstyle forever!" Mimi yelled. She remembered that Annalese was asleep across the hall and lowered her voice. She tried to walk off but Joshua was on her tail and had spun her around.
"Don't touch me!" She screamed.
"Lower your voice." He said.
"Mimi I am sorry. I really did want us to work, but seeing Miranda that day..it just undid all of that for me. I second guessed my feelings for you and didn't know where to go from there. And then you had the baby..and I don't know. Everything was happening so fast I didn't know how to handle it." He explained.
"So your solution is to screw someone else? Confuse them and play with their feelings? Really Joshua? You can keep your BS excuses to yourself." Mimi shot back. She slipped the ring off her finger and placed it on the dresser.
"You can give that to her." She said and left the room. This time he didn't follow her. Maybe she'd be ok after she calmed down he told himself.

Bright and early the next morning, Mimi woke up and took Annalese from her crib. She wouldn't stay here and allow Joshua to feed her BS anymore. And she wouldn't let her baby girl grow up to think it was acceptable. No, she was getting out and never coming back. Annalese protested at first because she was woken up from her sleep but Mimi quieted her successfully by giving her a pacifier. She had already packed their bags earlier this week and they were waiting in the car. She took a few moments to grab a few more of Annalese's things and then headed for the door. Joshua noticed the baby bag looking bigger than usual, but Mimi told him they were going to the park. He didn't want to argue with her especially in front of Annalese so he allowed them to go.

Mimi and Annalese never returned home. He thought something might have happened, maybe they were in a car accident or got kidnapped. He was about to call 9-1-1 the following day when he got a text. It simply read "Have a nice life." and nothing more. They had left. He had nothing and it was nobodies fault but his own. Aria had came over later to cheer him up, but it was nothing she could say to make things better. He told her to leave and to never come back. He would just bury himself in his work and try to fill the holes in his heart.

Mimi had confided in her mother on their wedding night and she had told her that Annalese and her were welcomed in their home until she figured things out. The night Joshua admitted to cheating was when she decided to take her up on the offer. She had drove to her house without stopping. It took them a couple of hours but she was determined to get there before it was too dark. And she had and her parents welcomed them with open arms.

Mimi got a job at a small bakery in town thanks to the owner being friends of her parents. It wasn't a five-star restaurant, but she had to start somewhere. Her mother watched Annalese when she was at work. Joshua hadn't tried to contact them and she was grateful. She did feel a little bad for Annalese though. She loved her father and he loved her. She felt guilty about keeping them apart. So being the bigger person, she told him he could have her on the weekends. Joshua was appreciative. He could have easily took her to court and probably would have gotten custody because Mimi couldn't properly support them, but he didn't want to cause her anymore pain. So he accepted having her on the weekends.

___________________________________________________________________________________

With Toby finally out of his place, Emily officially moved in with Jaq'. He even allowed her to redecorate some. He loved her, but wasn't a fan of her style in the least bit. She didn't argue though. She knew her taste wasn't for everyone and she was okay with that. The two talked about marriage and maybe having a kid or two, but Emily didn't need a piece of paper or some lavish wedding. She was content with just being together. And that was good enough with Jaq'. It'd save him a lot of money.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Miranda and Toby were taking things as slow as possible and it was fine with the both of them. Toby had no intentions of pushing her and Miranda was in no hurry to move in and get engaged again. She still wanted those things, but in the distant future. For right now, she would cherish the small moments they spent in each others arms and in each other's company. Neither of them told the other they loved each other either. It was too soon. And they didn't want to ruin anything. But love was definitely felt.

They didn't announce their relationship to the public, but it didn't stop anyone from assuming and writing about it. And they didn't care. Who were they anyways? The leeches who lived to pry in celebrities lives. They weren't worth worrying about anymore.

So now Miranda's puzzle was complete. Did that mean she wouldn't lose a few pieces? Of course not. Puzzles are meant to fall apart and put together again. However, she was ready. She wouldn't worry or fret over a missing piece. She would just be patient and she'd find it again.

**This is finally it. The end! Thank you to everyone who took the time to read/comment on my little story. I never intended for it to go on as long as it did. Originally, Miranda and Joshua were suppose to get married and just be happy. But as I continued to write I realized that the ending would be too easy. And life isn't easy. Life is good and bad, it's filled with ups and downs and ready or not we all have to deal with it.

Miranda had a lot of things thrown at her, but she dealt with it and she got passed it. It all helped her to become the person she is now. She is stronger and more cautious. It's going to be weird loading up my game and just playing now instead of setting situations up and snapping pictures lol. But I'm sure they will all be happy to just "live" as sims.

I also wanted to announce that I may work on another story. It's been in my head for a while now, but I want to plan this one out right. The Puzzle was just off my head and sorta random at times. But I want to be clear in the direction for my next story.