Never Judge

Adrianna sat next to Cedric's bed and held his hand. She had been like this since she and Ayanna had returned from buying their dinner.

"I'm sure he'll be fine Adrianna." Ayanna said in an attempt to comfort her sister in law. ​​

"Ayanna, I think I'm suddenly glad that Cedric never told me who he really was." Adrianna suddenly said.

"Why?" A genuinely curious Ayanna asked.

"If I had known that he was some rich heir, I would have seen him differently. I think I would have let my bias against rich heirs cloud my judgement." Adrianna admitted.

"They aren't all bad. The four, well technically five, aren't like everyone says." Ayanna said in an attempt to defend her friends.

"How so?" Adrianna asked.

"Well, fine, Alexi is a playboy and Ray loves cars, like he buys cars like I buy shoes, but other than that they are still very different. They actually value the money they have and they treasure the opportunities they have. They don't just go around wasting their family money, they actually make it grow. Did you know that they built a company with my brother from scratch?" Ayanna asked.

Adrianna shook her head.

"They built Invest Export Group. It's such a generic name, I hate it. Anyway, that's the company that owns and operates Constellation Resorts, initially it was a recruitment agency that connected local talents to international clients, they expanded it after a year or two," Ayanna explained.

"So aside from the Reyes Group your brother also owns Invest Export Group?" Adrianna asked.

"Yup!" Ayanna said proudly.

"I would have never expected someone like him to be so good at business." Adrianna said smiling at her husband.

"They don't just inherit Adrianna, they improve and build the businesses that they get their hands on. Cedric built Invest Export Group with the money he had earned as a working student. Ray and Alexi did the same, they were actually paid salaries to work as ordinary employees in the past." Ayanna explained. "I'm curious Adrianna. What was my brother like?" Ayanna asked.

"He was always the quiet type, but he was always very good looking and smart. We met in University, on orientation day. For some reason I just couldn't keep my eyes off him. He wasn't like the rich boys that were chasing after me." Adrianna said recalling how she first saw Cedric.

"We didn't really talk till a few months after. We ended up being partners on a project. We worked really well and I liked talking to him, he actually listened to me. Most guys just stare at me with blank expressions, I felt that Cedric understood me on a whole different level. Even after that class we would spend time together, eventually Cedric told me he liked me and asked if he could court me. Everyone was shocked when I agreed." Adrianna giggled.

"Wow my brother sure had guts." Ayanna laughed as well.

"Everyone thought I was just playing with him, but I was serious." Adrianna recalled. "Your brother always placed me first and he was always so sweet. My family never really approved of him, so sometimes we would sneak out to this coffee shop near our university, there was a table there that was quite hidden from other people and we would make out -"

"Too much information!!! I don't need to know that!" Ayanna teased.

Adrianna laughed at Ayanna's expression and looked back at her husband.

"Do you know how he proposed?" Adrianna asked.

Ayanna shook her head to say that she didn't.

"Well, we had already graduated and he said he had to get some documents from our university. While we were there he invited me to go around to take a tour of the school we had spent years in. When we got to the very spot where I first saw him, he got down on one knee and proposed. I still remember it like it was yesterday. He said, 'I can't promise you the world, I can't even promise you to be the man that you deserve. Your family might never accept me, but I promise I will always love you and only you.' I cried when he proposed." Adrianna said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I never knew Ced was so romantic." Ayanna said looking at her unconscious brother.

"Ayanna, I feel a bit tired. I guess it's because so many things happened today. Do you mind waking me up when the doctors come to pick him up for the operation?" Adrianna asked.

"Sure. I'll keep an eye on my brother. You can rest on the guest bed over there." Ayanna said pointing at the spare bed in the room.

After an hour Ayanna woke Adrianna up. Emilio and Priscilla Reyes were in the room as well waiting for Miguel and his team to pick Cedric up.

"We can either wait here or outside the operating room. Miguel and Raphael told me that it will take at least five hours to operate on Cedric." Emilio told the other members of the family.

"I'd like to wait outside the operating room dad." Adrianna said.

"I'll stay with Adrianna. You and mom can wait here. You guys need to rest too." Ayanna told her parents.

"We'll stay with you dear." Priscilla Reyes said, holding her daughter in law's hand.

Soon Miguel and his team arrived and wheeled Cedric out. The Reyeses and Adrianna followed them until the waiting room right outside the operating room.

Nicole was already there waiting for them.

"How are you feeling Adrianna?" Nicole asked.

"Tired. It's been a long day." Adrianna confessed.

"My brother is the best, even his team and equipment are the best, so don't worry." Nicole told Adrianna.

"Nicole is right. Miguel never fails. So don't be worried." Ayanna said with a smile.

Two hours into the operation the family got news that everything was going well, it was actually going better than expected. Adrianna felt the weight on her chest lift a little as she heard the news. Ayanna pointed out that the frown she had been wearing all day was slowly starting to fade.

"Please get better Ced. Please." Adrianna thought to herself.

Finally after four hours Miguel came out of the operating room and announced that the operation was a success. They were going to move Cedric to the ICU to be monitored until he wakes up.

Adrianna burst into tears and hugged Ayanna. She was crying out of relief that everything was now fine with Cedric.