Never Judge

Things seemed to calm down what Adrianna and Cedric returned to the main room for the reception. People were still whispering about Mark's shocking confession but they weren't talking in front of her anymore.

"Did he talk to you?" Ray asked Cedric. ​​

"He spoke to Adrianna. We should see an apology in a while. I have no idea how they will bend this." Cedric said.

"I feel bad that he isn't apologizing to Asia." Adrianna sighed.

"She tricked him first." Ayanna said coldly.

True to their word, the Chu family took to the stage and apologized to Adrianna for dragging her name through a scandal. They also announced that as a symbol of their sincere apology they would be giving Island's Inc. a piece of their most cherished projects with the Laurence family.

"You're just finding a way to help Adrianna without directly helping her." Cedric accused his friend. He had told them about his deal with Adrianna, wherein he would avoid doing anything as the Reyes Heir to help her out. In turn he had also told his friends to cut back a little on the support they had been extending.

"She's my soon to be sister in law. Of course I'll help her." Ray teased.

Ayanna was not amused by his joke and elbowed him on the chest. Ray anticipated this and caught the elbow.

"Now darling, don't be so rough" Ray teased with a wink.

Ayanna rolled her eyes and placed down her arm.

After embarrassing himself and his new wife, Mark Chu made sure to be careful of all of his actions the rest of the night.

Before the program had even ended Adrianna told Cedric that she was feeling tired and wanted to go home. Cedric obliged and asked his in-laws if they wanted to leave as well. Gracia and Charles decided to stay.

With Cedric and Adrianna leaving the party, Ray and Ayanna also saw no reason for them to stay, so they left as well.

With no one at the Reyes House, Ayanna chose to sleep at Mountain View that night.

When they got back home Cedric was surprised to see Alexi waiting for him in the living room.

"Don't you have some girl to do tonight?" Cedric teased as Adrianna smacked him gently.

"What? Alexi is actually a playboy!" Cedric complained.

"I'll head up." Adrianna said, kissing Cedric on the cheek.

"Ray and I found out more. He said he was on his way here, so I was supposed to wait for the two of you. And yes, a girl is waiting for me in my bed right now." Alexi said with a wink.

"You're disgusting. Let's wait for him in my office. I'm pretty sure he left after we did." Cedric said as he led Alexi into his home office.

Within five minutes Ray arrived and joined them.

"What did you find out?" Cedric asked.

"Our suspicions were right. Carlos De Dios had been looking for Hannah G. and we led him right to her." Alexi said with a sigh.

"So Carlos now knows that his son survived and that he is working inside Mor Co." Cedric was furious. They led Carlos De Dios to the very person he was looking for and they had lost their advantage.

"It was only a matter of time. We got lucky that we found her first." Ray said.

"There's another thing." Alexi started. "We found out that Carlos isn't being backed by just one person, rather he is being backed by a group of people. We haven't figured out the connection yet, but they all seem to be people who have recently come to money and power." Alexi explained.

"Let's keep an eye and an ear out for them. For now let's all go home and rest." Cedric said, leading his friends out.

When Cedric came back in, Ayanna was sitting in the living room waiting for him.

"Brother I want to talk." Ayanna said.

"Then talk. Nothing ever stops you." Cedric teased.

"I'm serious Ced!" Ayanna complained.

"How long do I have to pretend to be Ray's girlfriend?" Ayanna asked.

"Till we know what we're up against and how to protect against it." Cedric didn't need to sugar coat things or tone things down with his sister. He knew that despite her childish attitude around him and those familiar to her she was quite a mature woman. "Is something wrong Ayanna?" Cedric asked as he took a seat next to her.

"I'm confused. About my feelings." Ayanna sighed.

"About Ray?" Cedric asked. Ayanna nodded vigorously in reply.

"Well, out with it." Cedric teased.

"He's always been around. He's always taken care of me, he always goes out of his way for me, and I know that I'm the only person he empties a plane for. But I'm afraid that all of this is because I've been around his whole life and he's never had a chance to like a different girl before." Ayanna explained.

"Ayanna, you're not the only woman around him. Haven't you seen the number of girls that attempt to seduce him? Just earlier in the party, the waitress tried to rub against him. He immediately asked her to be changed to a guy." Cedric explained.

"I guess." Ayanna said, unconvinced.

"Look, why not use this chance to get closer to each other. I mean you like him and he likes you. This is the perfect opportunity for both of you to try." Cedric said

"I'll talk to Ray about it. Thanks Ced. Good night." Ayanna said, hugging her brother and heading up stairs to her room.

When Cedric finally made it to his and Adrianna's room his wife was still seated in bed playing with her phone.

"I thought you were tired?" Cedric asked as he began to undress.

"I am. See I'm resting in bed." Adrianna told her husband with a smile.

Cedric smiled back and took a quick shower before joining her in bed.

Adrianna placed her head on Cedric's chest and sighed.

"Do you think things would be better if you told the public who you really were?" Adrianna asked.

"Well people would stop looking down at you and me. They would probably be afraid of us, and we would get VIP treatment wherever we went." Cedric told his wife as he pulled her closer to him.

"That sounds so peaceful." Adrianna said as she considered the option.

"But it would come at a cost. Men and women would try to break us apart. Scandals and issues would pop up non-stop. The people around us would always have an agenda and we would never know who we could trust. Then there is the matter of safety. Yes, Carlos De Dios managed to figure out my pattern, but he is not the only enemy the Reyes family has." Cedric explained with a sigh.

"There is a reason why Ayanna has a fleet of bodyguards following her at all times. It's the same reason why Ray makes sure to empty any plane she rides. Our family did not get to the level it's at by playing nice. We've ruined lives, careers, dreams, and Adrianna, it won't stop with me. Sometimes in the defense of what is good and what we see as right we end up ruining more than just one person." Cedric explained.

"Don't worry Cedric. I understand." Adrianna said kissing her husband passionately.

"How long has it been?" Cedric said as he pressed himself on his wife.

"Almost two months." Adrianna giggled.

"Well I'm sure you're only shy in public." Cedric said as he began to leave a trail of kisses on Adrianna as he reached under her shirt.