Culpables years later

Noah

From the moment the day started, I was nervous. Even more nervous than my mum. That's probably why William was wary when he saw me and my mum together. So while we were being styled, we tried to relax. Jenna would soon join us and get ready. We sat in her bedroom like last time and everyone around us was stressed. It stressed me out even more. I tried to convince myself that everything was going to be fine today. It's going to be a nice evening. I've got a nice figure-hugging dress and nice jewellery. Then I'll have nice straight hair and nice painted nails. Everything is going to be fine. ,,Are you looking forward to today?" My mum looked at me smiling and looked at herself in the mirror. ,,It's honestly limited my enthusiasm. However, it's an important public event and when you're in the public eye with your family it's a duty to be there." Through the mirror, I saw her raise an eyebrow and give me an inquisitive look. She turned to me and took my hand into hers.

,,I know you don't like these kinds of events. You avoid the cameras and all that and I understand that. But unfortunately it's our responsibility. I'm proud of you Noah and I'm so grateful to you. You bring our family together. I know a lot of things are broken in our family after the gala. Nick is not a fan of mine and because of you, Will and I have the opportunity to watch our grandson grow up and be a part of your life. Just like Nick, ever since I've been here and wanted to bring you guys apart, Nick hates spending time here. But it's always been his home. Through your influence, he has a bond with his mum, William and possibly with me." It was almost as if she was sad not to have a bond with Nick. She will never be a mother to Nick, but he is my husband and she knows that if she does anything that hurts us both, contact will get worse. Because Nick and I do everything we can to make sure no one interferes in our marriage and tries to tear us apart. To Nick, my mum is Andrew's grandma and his dad's wife. That's all. ,,I know. I do the gala for Nick and his businesses as a strong front and a support for him. But with the family situation it's a different thing. What you've done is unforgettable and not in a good way. I would never deny my child his family, but I would draw boundaries." My mum looked sad, but she still tried to smile. ,,I should never have destroyed your happiness. You were so unhappy after the break-up." I stopped her and hugged her. ,,If you start doing this again my hormones will break down and I'll cry like a waterfall. That didn't help either of us."

She wouldn't let me out of the hug and so we spent almost five minutes hugging each other. ,,Wow, is someone dead or why are there so many tears?" Suddenly, Jenna was standing in the doorway and looking at us with a smile and hugging me from behind. ,,All right Jenna, I just had an emotional mother-daughter moment with Noah,"she said. My mum wiped a tear from her face and disappeared into the bathroom. ,,Are you okay? How's she doing?" I shook it off with my hand and sighed. 'My mum was talking to me about the relationships in the family. It got a bit emotional.' Jenna looked at me, confused and pitying at the same time, but as Jenna was, she sat next to me and prepared to be put on make-up. 'It's going to be our evening! We're going to shine brighter than the stars in the sky! And we're going to make our husbands crazy and seduce them later.' Typical Jenna. But she was right. We're going to look pretty and later hang out with assholes one and two like teenagers. Inside, I was already looking forward to it. I'm going to punish Nick with his own medicine. And so the pleasure became more than the fear of the evening.

But I missed my son. He could always distract me with his cuteness. With his blue eyes and sweet cheeks. But it was better that he wasn't there tonight, and so was Maggie. The hours passed and the gala approached. I had a Petra who brought me my favourite biscuits and reassuring words. Petra and Martin were more than just employees to me. So was Nick, who always said that they and Steve had raised him. My dress choice had changed a bit over the past few days. Now I wore a floor-length dress with a wide back and which accentuated my figure. Since my pregnancy had not been publicly known, tonight would have been the announcement. What I just had to get used to was the many looks you get during pregnancy. But with Nick by my side, it worked. It also has many benefits. Many give you stuff for free or let you go all the way to the front in queues.

But as Jenna said, I will be beaming today. With long waves falling over my shoulders and my beloved heart necklace from Nick. As well as my earrings and and of course my wedding ring. Petra told us that our men would be waiting for us downstairs. So let's go. My mum went down first, then Jenna. "So here comes my gig," she said. Laughing, I put a hand on her shoulder and watched her go. I put my shoes on properly and walked down the stairs. It was like prom night, or rather the way to the altar. Right as I was walking down the stairs, all I had was Nick's eyes in front of me. His mouth was literally open and he had only eyes for me. I said, "Nice tuxedo." He was smiling in love, but he wasn't quite with me.

,,Wow. You look beautiful Noah." He wrapped an arm around my waist and kissed me tenderly. ,,You, too. I'd love to see you in a tuxedo." He grinned and looked me in the eye. ,,It's going to be a beautiful evening. Everything's going to be fine, I promise." I nodded because I knew he was telling the truth. I came closer to his ears and whispered. "You better look forward to the hours after the gala." Surprised, Nick looked at me and licked his lips. Now I had him on the angle. "I'm looking forward to it freckels," he said. Now I had eyes for the other people in the room. Jenna and Lion playfully patted each other on the shoulders and my mum and William held each other in their arms. 'Ey! We need to take a photo to capture this moment!' Jenna gave Martin her phone so he could take a photo of us. All the couples got closer together and we smiled for the photo. 'What a beautiful photo, ladies and gentlemen. Moments like that last forever.' Martin was right. Moments like that stay forever, just I didn't know that in a few days there won't be any more photos of the six of us together. This photo will always be one of my favorite photos. ,,I hope we have more moments like this freckels."

Noah

From the moment the day started, I was nervous. Even more nervous than my mum. That's probably why William was wary when he saw me and my mum together. So while we were being styled, we tried to relax. Jenna would soon join us and get ready. We sat in her bedroom like last time and everyone around us was stressed. It stressed me out even more. I tried to convince myself that everything was going to be fine today. It's going to be a nice evening. I've got a nice figure-hugging dress and nice jewellery. Then I'll have nice straight hair and nice painted nails. Everything is going to be fine. ,,Are you looking forward to today?" My mum looked at me smiling and looked at herself in the mirror. ,,It's honestly limited my enthusiasm. However, it's an important public event and when you're in the public eye with your family it's a duty to be there." Through the mirror, I saw her raise an eyebrow and give me an inquisitive look. She turned to me and took my hand into hers.

,,I know you don't like these kinds of events. You avoid the cameras and all that and I understand that. But unfortunately it's our responsibility. I'm proud of you Noah and I'm so grateful to you. You bring our family together. I know a lot of things are broken in our family after the gala. Nick is not a fan of mine and because of you, Will and I have the opportunity to watch our grandson grow up and be a part of your life. Just like Nick, ever since I've been here and wanted to bring you guys apart, Nick hates spending time here. But it's always been his home. Through your influence, he has a bond with his mum, William and possibly with me." It was almost as if she was sad not to have a bond with Nick. She will never be a mother to Nick, but he is my husband and she knows that if she does anything that hurts us both, contact will get worse. Because Nick and I do everything we can to make sure no one interferes in our marriage and tries to tear us apart. To Nick, my mum is Andrew's grandma and his dad's wife. That's all. ,,I know. I do the gala for Nick and his businesses as a strong front and a support for him. But with the family situation it's a different thing. What you've done is unforgettable and not in a good way. I would never deny my child his family, but I would draw boundaries." My mum looked sad, but she still tried to smile. ,,I should never have destroyed your happiness. You were so unhappy after the break-up." I stopped her and hugged her. ,,If you start doing this again my hormones will break down and I'll cry like a waterfall. That didn't help either of us."

She wouldn't let me out of the hug and so we spent almost five minutes hugging each other. ,,Wow, is someone dead or why are there so many tears?" Suddenly, Jenna was standing in the doorway and looking at us with a smile and hugging me from behind. ,,All right Jenna, I just had an emotional mother-daughter moment with Noah,"she said. My mum wiped a tear from her face and disappeared into the bathroom. ,,Are you okay? How's she doing?" I shook it off with my hand and sighed. 'My mum was talking to me about the relationships in the family. It got a bit emotional.' Jenna looked at me, confused and pitying at the same time, but as Jenna was, she sat next to me and prepared to be put on make-up. 'It's going to be our evening! We're going to shine brighter than the stars in the sky! And we're going to make our husbands crazy and seduce them later.' Typical Jenna. But she was right. We're going to look pretty and later hang out with assholes one and two like teenagers. Inside, I was already looking forward to it. I'm going to punish Nick with his own medicine. And so the pleasure became more than the fear of the evening.

But I missed my son. He could always distract me with his cuteness. With his blue eyes and sweet cheeks. But it was better that he wasn't there tonight, and so was Maggie. The hours passed and the gala approached. I had a Petra who brought me my favourite biscuits and reassuring words. Petra and Martin were more than just employees to me. So was Nick, who always said that they and Steve had raised him. My dress choice had changed a bit over the past few days. Now I wore a floor-length dress with a wide back and which accentuated my figure. Since my pregnancy had not been publicly known, tonight would have been the announcement. What I just had to get used to was the many looks you get during pregnancy. But with Nick by my side, it worked. It also has many benefits. Many give you stuff for free or let you go all the way to the front in queues.

But as Jenna said, I will be beaming today. With long waves falling over my shoulders and my beloved heart necklace from Nick. As well as my earrings and and of course my wedding ring. Petra told us that our men would be waiting for us downstairs. So let's go. My mum went down first, then Jenna. "So here comes my gig," she said. Laughing, I put a hand on her shoulder and watched her go. I put my shoes on properly and walked down the stairs. It was like prom night, or rather the way to the altar. Right as I was walking down the stairs, all I had was Nick's eyes in front of me. His mouth was literally open and he had only eyes for me. I said, "Nice tuxedo." He was smiling in love, but he wasn't quite with me.

,,Wow. You look beautiful Noah." He wrapped an arm around my waist and kissed me tenderly. ,,You, too. I'd love to see you in a tuxedo." He grinned and looked me in the eye. ,,It's going to be a beautiful evening. Everything's going to be fine, I promise." I nodded because I knew he was telling the truth. I came closer to his ears and whispered. "You better look forward to the hours after the gala." Surprised, Nick looked at me and licked his lips. Now I had him on the angle. "I'm looking forward to it freckels," he said. Now I had eyes for the other people in the room. Jenna and Lion playfully patted each other on the shoulders and my mum and William held each other in their arms. 'Ey! We need to take a photo to capture this moment!' Jenna gave Martin her phone so he could take a photo of us. All the couples got closer together and we smiled for the photo. 'What a beautiful photo, ladies and gentlemen. Moments like that last forever.' Martin was right. Moments like that stay forever, just I didn't know that in a few days there won't be any more photos of the six of us together. This photo will always be one of my favorite photos. ,,I hope we have more moments like this freckels."