'We all have a breaking point. That very moment that leads us to lose our temper, to react excessively. That very moment that shows a side of us that nobody knew.

We may want to keep our mouth shut for everyone's sake, but we all know that eventually, everything will blow up. Because human nature has limited capacities, and trying to bury our feelings is one of them. 

Although people will be quick to blame us for our lack of respect or tactfulness, we know deep down we are not the one to blame. They are. 

They are the ones that push us to the edge as we desperately try to hold on and deal with our irritation, keeping our mouth shut and smiling politely. But one day, we reach our breaking point and although some people will see this as if we were losing control of ourselves, I don't see it that way.

Actually, I think this moment is when we fully take control of ourselves, finally letting go of all the frustration, anger and fear to speak the truth. We set free our mind and words from those invisible chains people put around them.'

"We're so happy to have you here," Nathan's cousin says as I set my suitcase on the bed.

My state of stress has been quickly followed by a feeling of relief as Nathan and I were welcomed by his cousin Emma. She was the only one home, everyone else busy trying to get every detail perfect for her wedding.

Emma is one of the kindest and most down-to-earth people I have ever met. She pulled me into a quick hug right after she opened the door, the smile on her face was genuine. I immediately knew Emma and I would get on well, she was just a few years older than me and her spontaneity was lovely.

"Thank you for receiving me, I hope it's not a problem that Nathan invited me at the last minute," I tell her with a wide smile.

She doesn't wear a suit or an expensive dress like I thought she would. She just had black jeans on and an oversized brown sweater. It's simple yet it looks great on her, with her ginger hair falling in beautiful curls on her shoulder.

"Oh no, not at all. In fact, he told us about three months ago that he might come with someone, so we were expecting you to come," she says and my heart warms up at the thought of Nathan planning for me to meet his family even though we just had started dating.

He already had faith in me, in both of us to make this relationship work. I glance at the window that overlooks the courtyard and see him take his suitcase out of the boot of his car.

"You know, you are the first girl he introduces to his family," she tells me as she sees the smile on my face. "It must be very serious between the two of you."

I try to hide my stupefaction and happiness. I thought his ex-girlfriend, Amber, would have met them. And to be honest, I was afraid they would compare me to her and dislike me because I have sort of taken her place. But what Emma just told me somewhat ease my apprehension to meet the rest of his family.

"Yes, it is," I reply and pull on the zipper of my suitcase to open it.

"Do you need anything else?" she asks as she takes clean sheets out of the drawer.

"No, everything is alright," I tell her, but sigh and curse at myself when I look inside the open suitcase.

"What's wrong?" Emma asks as she peeks over my shoulder.

"Is there a clothes store nearby?" I ask, the idea of going shopping annoying me even more.

"Yes, just a few blocks away, but it's probably closed by now," she says as she glances at her cream colored watch.

I take a look at my phone to see that it's already half past nine. I sit on the bed, bury my face in my hands and sigh in desperation. Emma sits beside me, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"What did you forget to bring? Maybe I can find something similar in my closet or bathroom," she offers to help, and unfortunately, I have no other choice but to accept it.

"I left the dress I bought for the wedding at home," I tell her and shake my head, not even surprised I forgot it. This is typically me.

"Wait here," Emma says with excitement as she stands up and leaves the bedroom.

I frown at her reaction and watch her run through the door. I'm probably the worst guest she ever had to deal with, that's why she ran away. Maybe she went to fetch Nathan and told him to drive me back home? I wouldn't blame her, I can be a real pain in the neck.

Emma comes back a few minutes later with her arms full of fabric, a wide smile plastered on her face.

"You and I are going to get along very well," she almost squeals as she lays the dozen of dresses on the bed.

"I'm not sure about that," I say and she stares at me with an offended look. "No, not about you. I was talking about the dresses."

The tortured look on my face must be enough for her to understand my panic and she bursts out in laughter.

"Don't worry, you don't have to try them all. Just pick the one you like better and we will see if it fits you," she says, "I'll make some alterations if needed."

I look at the dresses and try to force my brain to choose. None of them look like a dress I would normally wear, they are all too bold compared to the sole black dress I have and the one I bought for the wedding.

"You pick," I tell her and she smiles at me.

"I love my job so much, I'm even working on the eve of my wedding," she says with enthusiasm as she takes a dress from the bed.

"You work in a clothes store?" I ask her.

"I'm a fashion designer," she clarifies, "I made those dresses."

"They are all beautiful," I compliment her work and her smile grows.

"Thank you, dear," she says as she hands me one of the dresses. "Try this one."

I take the fabric from her hand and head for the guest bathroom. I take a look at the crimson dress and sigh. It's beautiful and audacious. I take off my jeans and T-shirt, and put on the dress. I glance at the full-length mirror hung on the door and I must admit it doesn't look too bad. I open the bathroom door and step in front of Emma.

The silky fabric reflects the light of the lamps hung on the wall. The crimson dress reaches just above my knees, which is the perfect length. I'm more worried about the cleavage though. The wrap-over top shows a bit too much in my opinion.

"You look stunning," Emma exclaims and I can feel myself blushing. "Just an alteration on the cleavage and it'll be perfect."

She spends almost half an hour to adjust the dress, and I can finally take it off. Not that it was uncomfortable but after a three-hour trip and more than an hour spent trying and adjusting a dress, I just want to relax.

As soon as Emma closes the door behind her when she leaves, I head for the bathroom and take off my clothes. I step into the shower and turn it on. The hot water washes off my stress as well as my apprehension and relaxes my muscles.

Emma told me I will meet the rest of the family at the wedding tomorrow since it was already late. Just the thought of this tenses my muscles again and I sigh. I drop my lame attempt of relaxation and quickly finish to wash my hair.

My thoughts wander as I wrap a towel around my body and I wonder where Nathan is. I haven't seen him since her cousin showed me the bedroom, and although we haven't seen each other for only a couple of hours, I miss him. I guess the fact that he is in this house makes this feeling grow even more, knowing he may be a few feet away and we are not together. I secretly hope his room is not too far from mine so I can go and tell him goodnight.

I unlock the bathroom door and head for my suitcase to grab my sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt. I rummage in my belongings with one hand, the other holding the towel tightly around my body.

"I'm definitely not going to ask for a separated bedroom now," a masculine voice interrupts my thoughts and I jump in surprise as a scream escapes my lips.

I turn around to see Nathan sitting in the armchair next to the window, a few feets away from me. I feel the warmth spread across my face as I notice his eyes on me, studying my almost naked body from my feet slowly up to my face. I hold his stare, but he doesn't look away. I turn around and face the suitcase to hide my embarrassment.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, my voice slightly shaky.

I feel like the towel is transparent. Or maybe it shrunk, contrary to the tension in the room that never seems to stop growing, second by second.

"Emma told me I could stay in that room and that you wouldn't be too far away from me..." he trails off, his voice deeper than usual. "When I saw your stuff on the bed I was about to go and ask Emma for another room because I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable," he adds, never looking away from my face. "But now... I'm not even sure I can look away, let alone get up and leave you alone in this bedroom."

Although I feel very uncomfortable and very naked right now, I kind of like the effect I have on Nathan. Not in a pervert or twisted way, but the fact that he is attracted to me, the whole me with the imperfections and flaws, is satisfying. I can feel my confidence, which was close to non-existent, rise slowly inside me.

"I'm not sure," I say, teasing him.

I grab my clothes and quickly go back to the bathroom, locking the door behind me.

"We've already slept in the same bed a couple of time," he says through the door, trying to convince me.

"Yes, but there was no one at my house and you were always gone by the time I woke up in the morning. Which, by the way, was really unkind of you," I reply, putting on my T-shirt and sweatpants.

"For my defense, I would have loved to stay, trust me. But I didn't want to take the risk to bump into your parents while I was walking out of the house with you at seven in the morning," he says. "And I'm pretty sure Emma didn't tell anyone, so nobody will ask about this. It's just for one night," he sighs desperately.

"With your whole family in the same house," I add and open the door. "By the way, you never told me I was the first girl you introduce to your family."

Nathan is leaning against the door frame, his dark eyes finding mine as soon as he sees me.

"No one has ever deserved to meet my family, until you," he says and my smile grows even more.

"So are you okay with us sharing the same bed?" He asks again. "I'll have an exemplary behavior."

"You better," I tell him and slide my hand behind his neck to lower his face. "Because nothing is going to happen tonight," I add and kiss him.

His mouth immediately responds to mine as he presses my body against the door frame. My heart beats frantically, slamming in my chest as if it wanted to reach Nathan's heart and stay by his side forever. I wouldn't blame it.

Our mouths move together in a deep and hectic kiss. One of Nathan's hand grips my waist while the other is resting on my cheek. My hands are lost in his hair, trying desperately to hold on to him.

And in only a second everything changed. My resolutions are thrown away as Nathan grabs my thighs and lifts me up. I wrap my legs around his waist as he heads for the bed. He lays me on it, separating our mouths for a couple of seconds before he comes on top of me.

Our mouths reconnect and I can't think of anything else but the taste of his mouth, the softness of his lips against mine and the feeling of his body on top of me. Nathan's hand slides on my waist, his finger playing with the hem of my T-shirt. I do the same, but I don't wait long until my hand reaches underneath his shirt.

Nathan's mouth slows against mine and I can tell our moment is over. We are both out of breath, panting for air when Nathan pulls away slowly. He lays down next to me, our hands touching but none of us make a move to take it.

"Nothing is going to happen tonight," he repeats, squeezing my hand as if he was trying to convince himself. "I need a shower, a cold one," he adds and stands up in a hurry. "Each time I kiss you, it gets harder to pull away."

He is so damn right. And what scares me the most is that I probably wouldn't have stopped him.

He walks to the bathroom and locks the door behind him, leaving me catching my breath in the bedroom. This is going to be a long night.

* * *

"You may kiss the bride," announces the woman that performed the wedding ceremony.

I wipe another tear as Emma and her husband Josh kiss. I started crying when they exchanged their vows and didn't stop since then. Nathan's arm comes around my shoulder as he kisses the side of my head, trying to comfort me.

"God, I'm way too sensitive," I blurt out, taking a deep breath to calm myself down.

"That's one of the things I love the most about you. You are strong yet sensitive," he says and a little laugh escapes my lips.

My eyes divert from his face as I look one more time at the man in front of me. This black tux fits him perfectly, making him look more handsome than ever. I didn't even know I had a thing for men wearing tuxes, or maybe this is just Nathan. Yeah, this is definitely him. He could wear anything, I would always fall for him.

"I'm totally messed up," I say and he shakes his head, standing up and holding out his hand.

His eyes have been on me the whole ceremony. Here again, he is staring at me, his face full of a mixing of emotions. He didn't even bother to pretend to look away when I glanced at him, just like now.

"What?" I ask him.

"Nothing," he replies, still staring. "I think we both are messed up, but at least we found each other," he adds with a smirk, and I grab his hand.

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" I ask him and I instantly want to slap myself for saying this. I should definitely learn how to keep my mouth shut.

"No, but I'd love to hear that," he says and I turn towards him, meeting his eyes filled with amusement.

Amusement? I think it might be my turn to have some fun and mess around with his heart.

"Really? Too bad for you, you're missing something out," I reply and smile at him innocently.

"Okay, fair enough," he sighs and shakes his head in disbelief. "I think I deserved this one."

"You sure did!" I laugh and kiss him on the cheek.

We walk out of the wide tent with all of the guests and Emma waves at us, dragging her husband behind her as she makes her way towards us.

"Jade!" she practically yells out of excitement, "You haven't met my husband Josh!"

Josh is the only member of Nathan's family I haven't met yet. Everyone has been so kind and welcoming, I can tell the amount of stress I felt was ridiculous.

"Hey, nice to meet you," Josh tells me as soon as they stop before us.

He is probably in his late twenties, his dark blond hair cut short and styled perfectly. His blue eyes are soft and the smile on his face seems genuine. Emma and Josh look perfect for each other.

"Likewise," I answer with a polite smile. "You two look amazing," I add and Nathan nods.

"Oh dear thank you," Emma says, putting a hand over her heart. "I can tell you the same thing. I wonder who made this gorgeous dress of yours," she adds with a wink and turns away to meet with other guests.

"You're too humble honey," I heard Josh say sarcastically before they walk away.

Nathan puts his hand on my lower back and leads me towards the second tent, much bigger than the first one. We walk to a table where Nathan's mother and Liam are already sat, the six other seats being vacant. Nathan pulls the chair next to his brother for me and takes a seat right on my left.

"I love weddings," Nathan's mother says as she signs for Liam. "Maybe if I had a wedding as beautiful as this one, it would have worked better."

I see Nathan's body stiffen at the mention of his father, but he doesn't say anything. I put my hand on his lap and he grabs it. His mother doesn't seem to be mad at Nathan's father, she talks about her ex-husband with no resentment in her voice.

"You look really beautiful Mrs. Perkins," I tell her, trying to change the subject, "You too, Liam."

Nathan's mother signs my words, and Liam gives me a large smile. He signs something to her mother and she grabs her purse to take out a notebook and a pen.

"Thank you, but please call me Marina," she says while Liam writes something on the notebook. "This is great you could come, the whole family has finally met the girl Nathan can't seem to stop rambling about," she adds.

"Mom..." Nathan sighs beside me and I lean towards him to kiss him on the cheek.

"What?" she asks with an innocent look on her face, "It's not as if I had told Jade she was the first girl you ever introduced to me and the rest of the family. Or that Josh told you to shut up last time we came to visit them because you were always talking about Jade," she smiles and turns towards me, "No offense."

"It's fine," I tell her with a laugh.

"I also haven't told her that everybody thought-" she starts again but Nathan cuts her off.

"Okay, I think it's enough," he interrupts and her mother stops, looking amusingly at him.

"I'm sure Jade would have loved to hear that one," she says, and Nathan shakes his head.

"I'm starting to wish we never came here in the first place," he says annoyed, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"And miss a long night full of awkward and embarrassing moments? Come on," she laughs and I can't help but join her.

"I'm sorry, babe," I tell him as he tries to glare at me, the key word in this sentence being 'tries'.

He can't hide the small smile tugging at his lips and the affection in his eyes. As his mother looks away, he gives me a soft peck on the lips. As soon as he pulls away, his eyes divert to look at the entrance of the tent. A frown appears on his forehead, and as I'm about to turn to look at what's bothering him, Nathan puts a hand on my cheek and turns my face towards his.

"I'll be right back," he says, getting up.

Everything in me urges me to go with him, to follow Nathan and see what upsets him. I turn to glance at the entrance but I only see Nathan walking away. I'm about to get up and follow him when Nathan's mother turns towards me, completely oblivious to what is happening.

"Do you mind staying with Liam? I have to go to the bathroom," She asks and I nod politely.

Liam turns towards me with a wide smile and I can't help but smile back at him. There is something about him that inspires kindness and gentleness. Not because of his sickness, not once since the day I met him I heard him complain about his situation. He is one of the strongest little boys I've ever met.

He hands me the notebook in which he was writing earlier.

'Thank you for the compliment. You look really pretty too.' I laugh as I read his words and grab the pen he is holding out for me.

'Thank you, Liam. Are you having fun?' I write and hands him both the notebook and the pen.

'Not really. I love my cousin and Josh but I don't like this kind of events. Too much noise (joke intended)'

I smile at his answer. I feel like I'm talking to an adult and not an eight-year-old boy. He even jokes about what people consider a handicap. I'm pretty sure he doesn't see it this way.

'Yes, we can barely hear each other speak.' I write back and Liam laughs.

'You can stop writing and speak if you want. I'm not really good at reading lips but I can try.' He offers.

'No, I don't mind writing. Have you ever tried to talk?' I write and slide the notebook to him.

'Sometimes, I do when I'm alone. I practice although I don't know how it sounds like.'

'It's already a good thing that you are trying. Maybe one day you will try with your Mom or Nathan.' I smile at him.

'Maybe someday, I don't want to do it in public because people will look at me weirdly.' he writes back and anger rises inside me as I think about this little boy ashamed of the sound of his own voice.

'People can be really dumb, they are the ones that should be stared at weirdly for being so rude and offensive. And we both know your mother and Nathan would never do that.'

'Yes, you're right.' he simply writes and I smile at him. 'I'm happy Nathan found you.'

'I'm really happy I found him too.' I hand him the notebook as his mother comes back to the table with a man.

He must be around Nathan's mother's age, probably in his late forties or early fifties. He his dressed really well, wearing an expensive made-to-measure tux.

"Jade, I don't think you've met Philip. He's Nina and Aaron's father. Maybe you know Aaron, he goes to the same school as you and Nathan," she says with a bright smile and my blood freezes in my veins.

"Nice to meet you," I reply absent-minded as I hold out my hand.

I look around to see if I can catch sight of Nathan, but the tent has started to fill, making it harder to spot a specific person.

I don't know if I should go find Nathan or if I should stay quietly sat here. My brain is hesitating between this two options and I turn my attention back to the men before me. I realize he has been talking to me, and I instantly feel bad for not paying attention.

"I'm sorry, would you mind saying this again?" I ask, embarrassed.

"I feel like I've seen you somewhere. Are you a friend of Aaron?" He asks, frustration clear on his face as he tries to recall where he saw me.

Actually, it's quite the opposite.

"No, we've only spoken a few times. But I work with your daughter at the coffee shop, maybe you saw me there," I reply and grab my small purse from the table. "Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to find Nathan."

"Sure, he is just outside the tent with Aaron," Nathan's mother indicates and I thank her quickly.

This conversation was awkward, but I push it at the back of my head as I try to concentrate to walk without falling in the middle of the crowded tent. Wearing heels was definitely not my smartest idea.

I manage to make it to the entrance without stumbling and notice Nathan straightaway.

He seems upset, the frown on his forehead increasing as the seconds go. I consider turning away and stay out of this conversation, but I'm not known for my smart and reasonable choices, so I make my way towards them although I already know I'm going to regret this.

Nathan sees me before I reach them and worry fills his eyes. I can see how tense his jaw is, everything in his posture indicates I shouldn't interfere, but it's too late already.

"What is she doing here?" Aaron spits as he turns to glower at me, anger and disgust filling his blue eyes.

"I invited her," Nathan replies calmly, his jaw tightening even more.

I finally reach him and stand awkwardly beside him. My whole body grows even colder from the absence of Nathan's touch. Every time we would stand close to each other, he would wrap a hand around mine, put an arm around my shoulder or my waist, kiss my forehead or simply touch my arm with his. I didn't know how much those simple gestures mattered to me, until now.

I'm tempted to take Nathan's hand in mine, but Aaron's glare on me dismisses this thought very quickly.

"Didn't you know I was coming?" He asks Nathan, his voice full of blames.

"I did. But I don't see why you should be here and not her," Nathan says indifferently.

Okay, maybe I shouldn't have come. At all. I think this is the first time I wish my father had grounded me, it would have spared us from a lot of complications.

"I thought we had everything worked out. But you just don't seem to get it, and you bring this bitch here!" Aaron practically yells and the people around us start to look in our direction.

Before I can even say a word or refrain Nathan, he raises his fist and punches Aaron in the jaw. Hard. Aaron stumbles back, his eyes wide with shock as I put my hands on my mouth to muffle a scream.

I turn towards Nathan to see his face twisted with anger. I grab his hand still forming a fist and see that his knuckles are bleeding.

"And I thought you would have enough restraint and manners to show some respect. But I guess I was wrong after all, like I have been wrong when I thought we could still be friends," Nathan spits and begins to turn away, wrapping his arm around my shaky body. "And never ever to talk to her like this again, or I'll beat the shit out of you," he adds in a deep voice and another shudder roams my body.

Everybody is looking at us now, and I feel really bad for Emma and Josh. This is all my fault.

I glance at Aaron, who's still shocked. He quickly wipes the blood coming from his lips and snaps out of it. Without another look at us, he rushes to the opposite direction towards the parked cars.

Nathan leads me inside the manor, not even paying attention to the people staring at us. I look up at him, but he does not once glance back at me. I've never seen him like this, and I'm not sure if it scares me or if I'm just worried about him. But I know for sure that I don't like this side of him.

We enter the bedroom and he lets go of me, heading for the bathroom. He comes back a few seconds later with a damp rag. I finally get back the control over my body and walk towards Nathan. I take the rag out of his hand and grab his injured hand. We sit on the edge of the bed and I press the cold cloth on his knuckles, Nathan wincing at my touch. I gently wipe the blood and press the rag against the cuts.

I can feel his eyes on me the whole time, but none of us talk, the only sound being the slow and steady breaths we both take. I can't find it in me to look up and meet his eyes. I'm too scared of what I'll see in them.

After a few minutes, Nathan takes my chin in his valid hand and slowly lifts it up until my eyes meet his. The irritation in his eyes has been replaced with pain and fear. My heart squeezes and I slowly move forward until our lips touch.

"I'm sorry," I say as I pull away.

"There is nothing you should be sorry about," he whispers, his hand sliding from my chin to my cheek. "I'm the one who should be sorry. But the thing is, I'm not. I feel really bad for what happened, but I don't regret it."

"It's my fault it went this far. I shouldn't have come here, this was a bad idea," I tell him and he winces at my words.

"You are not the problem here. Aaron is, I am, but not you. I shouldn't have lied to you and told you Aaron was good with the two of us dating. But I know if I had told you, you would have stopped everything before it even started. Aaron doesn't have a word to say about our relationship. I can't tell you I'm sorry about that too, because I'm not." He says, sincerity clear in his voice. "And never blame yourself for someone else's mistakes," he adds.

I look away, pretending to focus on his injured hand. The intensity of his gaze is almost too much to handle. I'm not even mad at him, I know he probably did the right thing by not telling me.

"I may be a boy, but I'm making this punch the one and only punch of my life," he says, trying to lighten the atmosphere. "I'm pretty sure hitting hurts as bad as being hit."

"You didn't choose the best moment to give your one and only punch," I tell him, my eyes still focused on his hand although there is nothing else to do but hold the rag against his knuckles.

"I don't think there is a good moment to punch someone," he laughs.

"Maybe, but there are definitely really bad moments and during a wedding is probably one of the worst," I add and he nods.

"I couldn't just stand there after he insulted you. To be honest, it was more of a reflex, I didn't even think about it that my fist was already meeting his jaw," he says and takes the rag out of my hands. "But this incident isn't what's going to prevent us from enjoying this wedding," he adds as he stands up.

"Okay," I barely whisper and follow him outside the bedroom, my hand finding his as soon as we are close.

But as much as I would love to erase what happened from my brain, it's engraved in it. And I can't help but think about Nathan's words.

Never blame yourself for someone else's mistakes.

But what if I am one of his mistakes?

~

Big revelations are coming...