Never Judge

"Do you have news?" Adrianna asked as she saw Cedric step out of his office.

She had been anxiously waiting outside, eager to hear if her husband was able to negotiate her childhood friend's release.

"Julia will be arriving tomorrow." Cedric said with a nod.

Adrianna quickly rushed up to her husband and jumped into his arms, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you, thank you." She cried out. 

"Adri, the Reyes Group and the Reyes Family will be benefiting from this too, no need to thank me." Cedric said as he held his wife close. 

He couldn't deny that he was very much relieved that this matter had been set aside and that he had another ally in Tomas, the head of the Esteves Mafia family.

"Still, you didn't have to do this. We didn't know about Lucius' but you quickly stepped in to help." Adrianna said as she kissed her husband's lips.

"Has Jonathan settled in?" Cedric asked as he looked at the grand staircase. It led up from the ground floor of his home to the upper floors which housed the guest rooms as well as their personal spaces.

"Yeah, he is worried about the safety of his parents but he understands why we are doing this." Adrianna told Cedric with a nod.

"I think I want to personally tell him about getting his sister back." Cedric said as his wife slowly released him from her hold. 

"Did Ray leave?" Cedric asked as he recalled that his sister and brother-in-law were living with them for the time being.

"No, not yet. He said something about checking out their room and making sure everything was perfect." Adrianna told Cedric as he held her hand and they walked up the stairs.

"Great, perfect. I'll need him for this." Cedric said with a nod as he pulled his wife towards his sister's and her husband's rooms.

Cedric had given them enough space to not only serve as their bedroom, but he also had rooms cleared out for an office, a nursery, and their own guest room if they wanted to invite anyone over.

As they approached the bed room, as if he had sensed Cedric and this wife arriving, Ray stepped out.

"Oh, what are you two doing down here? Are you visiting Ayanna?" He asked Cedric.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you." Cedric said. "I think Ayanna will want to be part of this too. Do you think she's free to talk?"

"Let me check." Ray said with a nod as he turned to go back inside their room.

"Do you know where Jonathan's room is?" Cedric asked. 

"Yeah, why?" Ray responded with the door slightly ajar.

"Meet us there, this involves him." Cedric told Ray who nodded and entered their room. 

Cedric and Ayanna made their way to Jonathan's room which was at the other end of the hall. They had provided his sister and her husband with an entire wing in the house for their privacy. 

As they approached the main guest bed room, Cedric took a deep breath and knocked.

It seemed that Jonathan dropped whatever he had been doing to open the door as his bag was still wide open on his bed.

"Cedric, Adrianna." Jonathan said with a nod. "Would you like to come in?" The younger man asked.

"Yes, we actually need to speak to you about something." Cedric said with a nod as Jonathan opened the door further and gestured towards the sitting area in his guest room.

"I hope you are settling well." Cedric commented as he made himself comfortable on a couch.

"Yes, this room is actually bigger than my bedroom at home, you guys are way too generous." Jonathan commented. "Thank you."

"It's nothing, it's a spare room." Cedric said as he smiled at the younger man.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Jonathan asked tentatively as he looked at the couple.

Based on his expression he seemed worried, Cedric understood that he would be. There were so many variables in his life at the moment, anyone would be worried if they were in his shoes.

As a matter of fact, Cedric admired how well Jonathan was  keeping  himself together. Not everyone would have been able to cope with the craziness in his life.

"Let's wait for my sister and her husband." Cedric told Jonathan. "They need to be involved in this. It shouldn't take long for them to get here."

As if on cue, someone knocked on the door to Jonathan's room, making the young man stand and answer it.

"Are Ced and Adri here?" He heard his sister ask.

Jonathan nodded in response and let them in. 

Soon the two couples and Jonathan were comfortably settled in the room and there was an awkward silence.

"Is Yoyo in bed?" Ayanna asked her sister-in-law.

"Yes, he has class tomorrow, so I put him to bed early." Adrianna responded with a nod.

"Oh, too bad, I wanted to help." Ayanna said with a frown.

"You'll be here for a few more months, you'll get tired of it soon enough." Adrianna responded with a chuckle.

"So why did you call us here?" Ray asked, jumping straight to the point at the first opportunity he got.

"I swear, you do not know how to time your questions." Ayanna grumbled as she slapped her husband on the shoulder making her brother laugh.

"That's why he needs you." Cedric pointed out. "We both know how bad he used to be."

Cedric and Ayanna both laughed at the joke he had made, while Ray simply rolled his eyes, annoyed at his best friend and wife.

"Trust me, they are lying." Ray said. "Can we please get on topic? I have an early meeting tomorrow and I don't want to be late."

"Fine." Cedric said as he cleared his throat. "I've managed to secure Julia's release from the Esteves Family. She will be home tomorrow." 

On hearing the news, Jonathan lost all inhibitions and jumped over to hug Cedric, shocking the other man.

"Jonathan, please stop hitting on my husband." Adrianna teased as she watched Jonathan's cheeks redden.

"I have a condition, no one can know that Julia is back home.." Cedric said, earning him confused looks from the people in the room.