Culpables years later

Nick

In moments like these, I realized again why I sometimes hated being here. The reason was my father's trust in me. Ever since I was little, he didn't fully trust me when it came to business. In his opinion, I wasn't ready to run an entire empire, even now. The only person in the company who trusted me completely was my grandfather. I sometimes thought about him and our beautiful moments. So I occasionally drank a scotch for him.

I still felt uncomfortable asking others for help because I didn't want others to think I was weak. It was only through Noah, who had the same problem as me, that I learned that asking for help is not a weakness. It was only when I had to ask my father to step in for me at work that I felt a little uncomfortable. I explained to him that I needed to rest from my injuries and be there for Noah and my son. I would of course do some work from home, but he would hold the fort at work. I told him about our suspicions about Christian. My father promised to keep an eye on him in particular and I was grateful to him for that. We talked about business and Michael for a while. But eventually it was time for dinner and we all headed to the dining room. A few years ago I would never have thought that our entire family would be sitting at the same table.

I sat down between Noah and my mother and they both smiled at me. Our son, who was sitting next to Maggie, laughed loudly and played with his spoon. The atmosphere was relaxed, well, given the circumstances. Just as everyone started talking, Petra and Martín came in and brought the delicious food. There was a bit of everything. Noah's favorite food was pasta with cheese, Andrew's mashed potatoes and Maggie's lasagna. Petra had outdone herself. "Petra, you have outdone yourself! It all looks so delicious." Noah is right and Petra nodded gratefully. I put a hand on Noah's back, which made her turn towards me and smile at me. The children could hardly wait to eat the delicious food. "Petra and Martín, do you want to sit down with us? There is plenty of food and we can't eat that much alone. Come to us." I was surprised by my father. I had never heard him say anything like that before. The two of them usually ate in the kitchen with the other employees. But when I was little, I preferred to sit in the kitchen with the employees than alone with my nanny in the dining room. They seemed to hesitate, but with a little help from Noah who brought them chairs, they sat down with us. The meal began. And I let my gaze wander around the group. I saw Noah putting food on our son's plate and Rafaella laughing heartily with my father. My mum who was talking to Petra and praising her for the food. I had to suppress a smile.

The meal went quite well. It was as if none of us had any problems. Noah had decided he would rather sleep at our house, so Steve drove us home in the evening. Even though Andrew was a bit older, we sometimes let him sleep in our bed. So today he slept in our bed. He immediately fell asleep between us and I watched Noah, who smiled at me.

"How are you, Freckles? How is our little girl?" She sighed and looked at Andy. "Very well. Tired but good. The baby is fine too, but she keeps kicking in the evenings, which keeps me from sleeping." "You poor thing. Can I do something nice for you?" Noah shook his head and let you fall into the pillows. "Yes. Please take care of yourself. I don't want to worry about you any more. We need you, Nick. I love you!" "Never. I promise you. The gala is in a week. Are we ready for it?"

She rolled her eyes and ran her hand through her hair. "Not really. But the family sticks together. We'll get through this. And I have a hot dress for the gala." Now things got interesting. "Oh yeah? What kind?" Noah looked at me seductively and ran his tongue over his lips. "You'll see it at the gala. And afterward you can help me undress? If you want?" I would never need to be told twice. If my wife is already offering to go, why not? It will be a long night for us. "You and I with a few candles and some wine. Then we'll sing a nice song and dance the mambo."  "Sure, Nick. Good night." We kissed over Andy and fell into deep dreams.

At some point in the middle of the night, my dry throat woke me up. I needed to drink something. I got up sleepily and went to the kitchen. I got a glass of water and looked around our house. Something was strange. Was I becoming paranoid? I heard noises. Alarmed, I picked up a vase from the counter and walked towards the noises. It was dark and I couldn't see anything. I got closer and closer to the noises. A person was in our house. The vase in my hand went into attack position and just as I was about to hit the person over the head with the vase, the person turned towards me. The face became clear in the poor light and I started breathing again. I exhaled and placed the vase on a small table. "What are you doing here? I almost hit you!"

Nick

In moments like these, I realized again why I sometimes hated being here. The reason was my father's trust in me. Ever since I was little, he didn't fully trust me when it came to business. In his opinion, I wasn't ready to run an entire empire, even now. The only person in the company who trusted me completely was my grandfather. I sometimes thought about him and our beautiful moments. So I occasionally drank a scotch for him.

I still felt uncomfortable asking others for help because I didn't want others to think I was weak. It was only through Noah, who had the same problem as me, that I learned that asking for help is not a weakness. It was only when I had to ask my father to step in for me at work that I felt a little uncomfortable. I explained to him that I needed to rest from my injuries and be there for Noah and my son. I would of course do some work from home, but he would hold the fort at work. I told him about our suspicions about Christian. My father promised to keep an eye on him in particular and I was grateful to him for that. We talked about business and Michael for a while. But eventually it was time for dinner and we all headed to the dining room. A few years ago I would never have thought that our entire family would be sitting at the same table.

I sat down between Noah and my mother and they both smiled at me. Our son, who was sitting next to Maggie, laughed loudly and played with his spoon. The atmosphere was relaxed, well, given the circumstances. Just as everyone started talking, Petra and Martín came in and brought the delicious food. There was a bit of everything. Noah's favorite food was pasta with cheese, Andrew's mashed potatoes and Maggie's lasagna. Petra had outdone herself. "Petra, you have outdone yourself! It all looks so delicious." Noah is right and Petra nodded gratefully. I put a hand on Noah's back, which made her turn towards me and smile at me. The children could hardly wait to eat the delicious food. "Petra and Martín, do you want to sit down with us? There is plenty of food and we can't eat that much alone. Come to us." I was surprised by my father. I had never heard him say anything like that before. The two of them usually ate in the kitchen with the other employees. But when I was little, I preferred to sit in the kitchen with the employees than alone with my nanny in the dining room. They seemed to hesitate, but with a little help from Noah who brought them chairs, they sat down with us. The meal began. And I let my gaze wander around the group. I saw Noah putting food on our son's plate and Rafaella laughing heartily with my father. My mum who was talking to Petra and praising her for the food. I had to suppress a smile.

The meal went quite well. It was as if none of us had any problems. Noah had decided he would rather sleep at our house, so Steve drove us home in the evening. Even though Andrew was a bit older, we sometimes let him sleep in our bed. So today he slept in our bed. He immediately fell asleep between us and I watched Noah, who smiled at me.

"How are you, Freckles? How is our little girl?" She sighed and looked at Andy. "Very well. Tired but good. The baby is fine too, but she keeps kicking in the evenings, which keeps me from sleeping." "You poor thing. Can I do something nice for you?" Noah shook his head and let you fall into the pillows. "Yes. Please take care of yourself. I don't want to worry about you any more. We need you, Nick. I love you!" "Never. I promise you. The gala is in a week. Are we ready for it?"

She rolled her eyes and ran her hand through her hair. "Not really. But the family sticks together. We'll get through this. And I have a hot dress for the gala." Now things got interesting. "Oh yeah? What kind?" Noah looked at me seductively and ran his tongue over his lips. "You'll see it at the gala. And afterward you can help me undress? If you want?" I would never need to be told twice. If my wife is already offering to go, why not? It will be a long night for us. "You and I with a few candles and some wine. Then we'll sing a nice song and dance the mambo."  "Sure, Nick. Good night." We kissed over Andy and fell into deep dreams.

At some point in the middle of the night, my dry throat woke me up. I needed to drink something. I got up sleepily and went to the kitchen. I got a glass of water and looked around our house. Something was strange. Was I becoming paranoid? I heard noises. Alarmed, I picked up a vase from the counter and walked towards the noises. It was dark and I couldn't see anything. I got closer and closer to the noises. A person was in our house. The vase in my hand went into attack position and just as I was about to hit the person over the head with the vase, the person turned towards me. The face became clear in the poor light and I started breathing again. I exhaled and placed the vase on a small table. "What are you doing here? I almost hit you!"