chapter 2

Zoe Smith beheld her reflection. The dress her dear Patrick had bought her was everything she could ever have hoped for. It accentuated her shapely curves and sat tight on her slender waist. It was beautiful. She was beautiful.
Zoe flashed herself a dazzling smile. With her new dress she really did look like a movie star. She looked perfect. Or, at least very nearly so. On close inspection she found that it was perhaps a little snug around the waist. The fabric was stretched tight, it dug uncomfortably into her soft, sensitive flesh.
At first she thought the seamstress had gotten her measurements wrong. But then again... Didn't her waist look a little less slender than it had a month before? A little rounder, a little less tapered? Didn't her tummy look just a little pudgier?
The thought caused Zoe to shudder. She remembered her old life only too well. She'd wasted so many years on films and fatty foods. Whilst her thin, pretty friends had been busy dancing she'd sat with her fat butt crammed into a tiny theater seat. They'd flirted and kissed whilst she'd been busy stuffing her face and crying her eyes out at some silly star-studded romance or other. For so many years food had been her only lover. For so many years she'd gorged herself even when she'd already had enough to make her sick. For so many years she'd been passive, stuffing her face as she dreamt of a life she thought she could never have.
That time was over now. She wasn't that girl anymore. She was stronger. She had all the clothes and all the jewelry she could ever want. She had the love of a tall, dark, and, though she, of course, could not care less about such things, very wealthy man. She finally had the life she'd always dreamed of.
Zoe drew a deep breath. Then, a nervous smile on her face, she turned to her dear, beloved Patrick.
"What do you think?"
Patrick took in the sight of his betrothed. She was so beautiful, so radiant, so alive. So refreshingly different from the snobbish girls he'd used to waste his time on. There was an innocence to her, an enthusiasm the like of which he'd never before seen. Though to some Zoe might seem naive Patrick found her simple-minded love of life to be wonderfully infectious. When he was with her all his troubles seemed simply to melt away.
He smiled as he looked her over.
"It's beautiful. You're beautiful."
The girl blushed, her face turning an adorable shade of pink.
"You don't think it's too small? It feels kind of tight..."
She paused for a moment and then looked straight into his eyes.
"Darling, do you think I've put on weight?"
Patrick paused. He looked his beloved over. He let his gaze travel with obvious appreciation along her abundant curves. She was perhaps a little rounder. Her dress did perhaps look a little snug. The fabric was stretched tight across a slight bulge of soft flesh around her midsection. A podgy little roll that had not been there before.
"Maybe a little..." He shrugged." But don't worry, you look fine. It's not like you've gotten fat. An extra pound or two won't make you any less beautiful."
This response did not reassure Zoe quite as much as Patrick'd hoped it would.
"And what if I was?" She said, a frown on her lips. "Would you still love me if I did get fat?"
"I guess... Well yes, of course. Why? You're not planning to, are you?"
Zoe laughed.
"Of course not, don't be silly. It's just... It's just this place I guess." She gestured at the house around her.
On Mrs.... Aldridge's insistence Zoe had settled with Michael at the Aldridge's country estate. A large and luxurious, if somewhat austere, manor situated right in the middle of nowhere. For someone like Zoe, used to life in the busy city, it was a terribly dull and uneventful place to live. Her initial excitement had soon been replaced with boredom. As the months passed she'd found herself filling her dreary days with food. She'd started to snack simply to make the time pass.
"There's not much to do around here. I think I might've been eating a little too much lately." Zoe let out a long sigh. She put a hand to her softening waist. "Time for me to cut back on my meals I guess."
"Sounds like a plan." Patrick smiled. He grabbed his beloved's hand and put his arm around her waist. "I'd hate to see my sweet Zoe let herself go."
The girl giggled.
"I wouldn't worry about that. If I did I wouldn't be able to wear this anymore."
She put her arms around Patrick and let herself sink into his warm embrace. In his arms she was happy, she was safe. She prayed that he would never let her go.
Even now she could hardly believe that it was all real. That Patrick was really hers, that he really did love her. Deep down she still felt like a plain, dumpy fat girl. Like a pig playing at being a film star. What if she really was putting on weight? What if she really was getting fat?
Zoe pulled her beloved close. She wasn't that girl anymore. She was never gonna be that girl again.
Even so Zoe did not find it easy to abstain from the tasty treats that surrounded her. With temptations everywhere she could only stay strong for so long. The constant struggle would wear down her will until finally she couldn't resist having herself little snack.
"Why does Mrs. Aldridge always have to make such damn delicious food?" She swore to herself.
Zoe had never felt quite at ease around her future mother in law. There was something about the woman that made her nervous. She knew it was silly. Mrs. Aldridge was Patrick's mother. She was a kind old lady, even if she did sometimes seem a little reserved.
The whole thing made Zoe feel guilty. She wished that she could like Mrs. Aldridge more, that she could be more comfortable around her. To make up for her discomfort Zoe tried as best she could to be kind and respectful towards Mrs. Aldridge. She knew that she really should say no to all the snacks the old lady made her. But she could never quite bring herself to. They were so delicious, and she didn't want to be rude.
"You look like you could use something to eat." Zoe looked up to find Mrs. Aldridge standing over her. On her face was a friendly smile, in her hands was a tray loaded with sugary snacks.
Zoe was about to wave the food away when she looked at the tray. Upon it stood a plate full of sugar cookies and a tall glass of chocolate milk. The cookies were only too familiar to her. They were her most favorite cookies in all the world. The ones her mom had used to make her when she was a kid. So very sugary, so very fattening, and so very delicious. Her mouth watered as their scent filled her nostrils.
"Well, maybe one couldn't hurt..." Zoe said, a greedy little grin on her face.
"Of course it couldn't dear." Mrs. Aldridge smiled. "I made them just for you. You might as well try one."
Zoe nodded, she grabbed a cookie and stuffed it between her lips, another soon followed.
Mrs. Aldridge did as best she could to conceal a wicked grin as sweet little Zoe stuffed her face. Deep down the girl really was a greedy little glutton. A fat pig playing at being a film star.
Zoe was coming along nicely. The pounds had already started to make their way back onto her figure. Her once slender waist had softened and rounded out ever so slightly. The drooping belly that she'd once worked so hard to lose was slowly making it's way back to it's rightful place on her figure. Mrs. Aldridge would soon have that plain, pedestrian pudgeball back where she belonged.