Will jailed school teacher Jeremy Forrest and his schoolgirl lover be reunited?

Her prophetic Twitter message was seen as a two-fingered salute to those who destroyed their dream of sailing off into the sunset. It now looks as if she was right all along.

Despite disapproval across the country that a trusted teacher could elope with a schoolgirl aged barely 15 at the time, the lovers made a pact to take on the naysayers whatever happened. Those closest to Forrest are convinced the couple will marry soon after he is freed.

Earlier this week Forrest ended two years of silence and contacted the Daily Express. He promised he would not abandon his lover, who is now 16 but cannot be named for legal reasons. And he described her as "the most remarkable person I have ever met".

Although he concedes he "messed up big time and really let her down" it is clear that Forrest feels that only a romantic reunion with the teenager whose disappearance sparked a Europe-wide manhunt will represent closure for them.

Today marks the halfway point of his five-and-a-half-year sentence. It is possible he could be released later this year although high-placed sources believe he will be made to stay behind bars until at least July 2015.

Eight months after Forrrest, 31, was jailed for abduction and underage sex the couple's love has strengthened in the face of a concerted bid to extinguish the flames of their illicit relationship.

First housed in Lewes Prison, East Sussex, Forrest has seen three different jails. He was then transferred to the Category C Ashfield Prison, near Bristol, where he became a chef in the jail bistro and was on first-name terms with the governor and wardens.

But last week his porridge turned sour when he was moved to the bleak environs of Dartmoor.

Prisoner A9179CR claims the move was a vindictive "punishment" for continued contact with his teenage lover. It comes after she penned a flurry of love letters, defying a prison service ban.

The peculiar scenario of a sexual abuse victim corresponding - and being head-over-heels in love with her abuser - is hugely embarrassing for the authorities.

The episode has now turned into such a bitter battle it could end up being settled by the European Court of Human Rights.

In a seven-page letter to the Daily Express, Forrest professes to be outraged at the treatment of the teenager and himself.

He says: "It was agreed and confirmed my application for contact had been accepted and would be processed properly.

"The prison is legally obligated to ensure the process is fair and most importantly takes [the girl's] views into paramount consideration. For months they kept up a claim the process had been carried out and that contact would not be made.

"In order to bypass [the girl] they decided to lie to me and manipulate the process hoping we'd give up."

He added: "Unlike the authorities I will always and have always treated her with the respect she deserves. The strength she continues to show is nothing short of amazing. The reason why contact is so vital to us is because of the support and stability our relationship gives our lives.

"I take full responsibility for everything and have never attempted to justify or belittle my actions. Rehabilitation is my priority and it is the prison service's obligation to support me in this the best way they can.

"Their failure is massive and we are being treated with an absolute disregard for our future and wellbeing. Our best interests are the furthest thing from anyone's mind - reputations coming before responsibilities."

Born the middle of three children in Aberdeen but brought up in the affluent South-east London suburb of Petts Wood, Forrest always had his heart set on teaching.

Despite his father Jim earning a fortune in the City, Forrest sought a career in education and was delighted to land a £30,000-a-year job at comprehensive Bishop Bell Church of England School in Eastbourne.

By February 2012, less than a year after he married his girlfriend Emily Faulder, Forrest went on a school trip to Los Angeles where the seeds of his fateful romance were sown.

On the trip the teenager was said to have poured out her heart to him about an eating disorder, self-harm, depression and suicidal thoughts. In turn he confided in her about his doomed marriage. They kissed when she was only 14 and quickly exchanged flirty Twitter and text messages before beginning a fullblown affair by the time she was 15. After fleeing to France and spending 10 days on the run the pair were finally caught in Bordeaux in September 2012.

The chastened pupil returned to face the music and was back in class studying for her GCSEs within weeks. Meanwhile Forrest spent the next nine months on remand.

DURING her lover's trial the girl claimed he offered an escape from a shambolic home life where she battled for attention with four siblings.

She blamed domestic discord for running away, adding it was only the actions of her besotted teacher that prevented suicide.

In his handwritten note this week Forrest said: "In a meeting [Ash-field Prison governor] Ray Duckworth told me her rights were 'none of my concern', that he did not care what she had to say on the matter or how she felt. He told me how 'embarrassing' it would be for him to allow contact.

"For months all I have asked for is honesty and transparency. I expect to be treated fairly and with respect and for [the girl] to be treated likewise."

Seeing himself as very much the injured party Forrest continues: "I want to use this experience to ensure I become a stronger person and do not repeat the mistakes I made that led to my state of mind before all this happened."

The last time the girl saw Forrest was during his trial. The teenager strode confidently into Lewes Crown Court, gazing lovingly into the dock.

A family friend revealed: "Jeremy said he felt normal for the first time when she gave evidence because at least he had seen her. They still love each other." Even when the most intimate details of his grubby affair were read out he barely flinched.

Friends and neighbours of Forrest and his former wife Emily said their relationship had been punctuated with jealous rages and furious rows and claimed she once attended the Priory Clinic for depression.

A family friend even said: "At their wedding Jeremy couldn't make a speech - he looked as if he didn't want to be there - and I thought to myself, 'You don't want to do this, do you?'" While telling his wife that he wanted to start a family, during the summer holidays of 2012 Forrest was sleeping with the schoolgirl in the marital bed.

Emily told how excited she was the night before her husband disappeared after he tucked her into bed and tenderly said: "I love you."

The next day, just as he was about to escape the country aboard a ferry, he sent her a text which read: "Don't worry, I'll call you tomorrow. I love you." He never did. It was only when detectives called the next day asking where her husband was that the penny dropped.

Those that know him best maintain that Forrest has never been happier since his arrest and subsequent jail term because he no longer feels he is living a lie.

They claim that proof of the girl's true feelings came in the form of a heartfelt letter that she sent to Forrest's parents just days after he was found guilty of abduction and confessed to multiple underage sex charges. "In the letter she apologised for what happened but said she felt safer with Jeremy than she did at home, at school or with her friends," said a family friend.

It now seems a reunion between her and Forrest at some point within the next year is inevitable.