Never Judge

"Adrianna and I will drop you off to meet with Lucius Ting." Cedric explained to Julia as he sat across from her at the dining table. "You don't need to worry about your security. I have several men and women positioned in both visible locations as well as hidden around the area."

Julia nodded without saying a word.

She continued to stare at her food, not having the appetite to eat that morning.

It was clear that her mind was elsewhere, most likely pondering on their plans for later today.

Cedric had confessed how important her role would be, he also explained to her most of what would be happening while she spoke to Lucius Ting.

"Julia, I want you to know that we are on your side here." Cedric said as he looked at her with pity.

He knew that her current situation was difficult. Cedric and Adrianna had asked her to face a man that she had run from and tried to find again.

"I'm sorry, it's just I don't know what I will say to him." Julia frowned, clearly bothered by her predicament.

"He will lead the conversation, all you have to do is answer him as honestly as you can. You don't need to protect us Julia. The only part you can't tell him is that we are raiding his home." Cedric tried to comfort the woman in front of him.

In all honesty, there was no bad blood whatsoever between Cedric and Julia. When he had first started dating Adrianna, Julai and the others didn't make it hard for him. They might not have approved of him, but they also didn't stop the relationship from progressing on it's own.

Cedric only wanted what was best for the country and his wife's friend.

Their attention was suddenly called, when Mae waked into the dining room and gave Cedric a respectful nod.

"Sir, it's time." She told him as she gestured towards the door that led out of the dining room.

"Thanks Mae." Cedric responded with a polite smile as he got up and helped his wife stand up as well.

Julia did the same as them right after taking a final bite of her breakfast.

She took a deep breath and gave the couple a genuine smile. She understood that without them she would probably still be stuck in her prison in Spain.

It was not a horrible place to be kept in, but she was locked in the room, alone with no one to speak with and no way of distracting her.

Helping them was the least that she could do for them.

As they walked outside, Cedric's familiar Rolls Royce waited for them. A chauffeur opened the door as Cedric let the women get in before jogging up to the other side to ride the car.

As the drove off, Adrianna noticed that her friend was still anxious. It was as if there was something she needed to say, but couldn't gather the courage to speak.

"Julia, we want this to be as easy as possible for you. We don't want any discomfort from your end. Please tell me what's really bothering you?" Adrianna asked as she reached over and held her friend's hand.

Julia looked out the window as they zoomed past all the luxurious houses surrounded by walls.

"How do you know something is bothering me? I could just be anxious." Julia told her friend as she avoided Adrianna's eyes.

Adrianna frowned, she didn't like how Julia was keeping something from her. They had known each other their whole lives and trusted each other for most of it.

The times that they kept secrets from one another, were the times that they had the biggest problems.

"Julia, I've known you for years." Adrianna tried her best to force a smile, but her friend's seeming distrust broke her heart.

The woman next to Adrianna was silent for a while as they passed out of the gates of the Mountain View community.

From there it wouldn't take that long for them to reach the school where Cedric had found Dominic.

Since it had been closed, Cedric could ensure that no one would be around. On top of that, his people had blocked passers by from the area.

"Do you think I could speak with Lucius privately?" Julia finally asked, choosing to trust her friend.

"Oh, Julia, of course. He is your husband and there are things that others should not listen in on." Adrianna said as she breathed a sigh of relief. She was worried that Julia would suddenly change her mind and back out from the plan.

A look of shock crossed Julia's face, making Cedric laugh as he looked up from his phone.

"Give us some credit, Julia. We do trust you." Cedric said as he shook his head and returned his attention to his phone. He was coordinating the final touches on their plan, making sure that nothing went wrong.

"Really? You won't have guards hovering around us, listening to our every word?" Julia asked as she looked at Adrianna in disbelief.

Having overcome her initial emotions, Adrianna was now quite amused by what her friend thought.

"Julia, do you really think that we don't trust you?" Adrianna asked her friend.

"Well, things are different now." Julia frowned as she recalled why she expected Cedric and Adrianna to send someone to spy on her conversation. "I just thought, that after everything, you would want someone to listen in on my conversation with Lucius. You know, in case I said something I shouldn't or in case he says something important."

"If it's relevant to our plans and to the future of the country, we hope that you will tell us." Cedric answered her. "But we trust you to choose which words are relevant, and which are not."

"Why do you still trust me?" Julia questioned. "Why is it that after everything, you are still willing to give me a chance?"

"Because she loves you." Cedric said with a grin as he pointed at his wife.

Adrianna was now blushing at her husband's words, flattered that he chose to trust Julia because of her.

"I trust you, so my husband trusts you as well." Adrianna explained as they spotted the school in the distance.

A while back, less and less cars were passing the direction they were headed, and now they were the only car on the road.

"Thank you." Julia said as she gave them a genuine smile.

"Good luck, I know this will be difficult for you, but good luck." Adrianna said as she pulled her friend into a hug.

She didn't release Julia from her arms until the car stopped.

Outside, Cedric could see as Lucius Ting anxiously waited a few meters away.

"Are you ready?" Cedric asked Julia.

The woman at the other end of the car, took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

She tried to calm herself, she knew that meeting her husband was something she needed to do eventually. She just didn't expect the scenario to play out this way.

"I'm ready." Julia announced.

Cedric nodded at his bodyguard, who quickly got out of the front seat and opened the door for Julia.

"You can do this." Adrianna said as she encouraged her friend.

Worried that she would throw up out of anxiety, all Julia could do was nod as she stepped out of the car.

She gasped as soon as she saw Lucius Ting looking at her with loving eyes.

Julia took a step back as she hesitated. Age looked good on him, his boyish looks were gone and the person standing across her was now a man.

Unfortunately, together with his handsome features came a reminder of the pain and terror she had to suffer with him around.

"Julia." She heard his deep voice call.

She tentatively looked back at the white car behind her. She knew that Cedric and Adrianna were seated inside, probably carrying worried looks on their faces.

Julia gave them a slight smile, knowing full well that they could see her.

She turned her attention back to the man that stood a little distance away and took a deep breath. It was now or never. She slowly, but surely, walked towards him maintaining eye contact the entire time.

She was not going to let him see how much he affected her. She would let him see the cracks in her broken heart that he had caused.

"Julia." Lucius said once more in a raspy voice as she stood directly in front of him.

She took a few seconds to take in the moment, to truly understand that she was standing across the man that she had run from.

After what seemed to feel like hours of silence, Julia suddenly spoke up.

"You wanted to see me?" She asked in a poisonous tone.

She could see the pain in Lucius' eyes when he realized that she was not happy to be standing in front of him.

"Do you really hate me that much, Julia?" Lucius asked.

"Yes." Came her simple and clear answer.