Never Judge

"Is something wrong Dominic? Do you want me to call your mom?" Cedric asked as he approached the little boy and his wife in the hallway.

"No, I don't want to bother mom." Dominic said as he shook his head. 

Cedric wordlessly nodded as he couldn't help but wonder if Tristan and Yoyo had woken up as well when Dominic went out of Yoyo's room.

"They are still asleep, Uncle Cedric." It was as if Dominic had read Cedric's mind, which astounded the businessman.

"What's wrong?" Cedric asked as he knelt down and patted the child on his head.

"I'm worried." Dominic told Cedric, making him look at Adrianna.

"Why don't we go down and have some hot chocolate and you can tell us what's wrong?" Cedric asked the little boy as he stood up and offered his hand.

"I'll tell Veronica that we'll be in the kitchen, I'm sure she'll want to join us." Adrianna told her husband.

"I don't want my mom to be worried." Dominic said with a frown as he pulled on Cedric's arm.

"She will be more worried if we don't tell her, Dominic." Cedric told the child. "You know that your mom wants to be there for you."

Dominic frowned.

"I wanted to ask about something that might hurt my mom." Dominic said as Cedric could see that he was visibly nervous.

"I'll just ask a maid to bring up some hot chocolate while you talk to your Uncle Cedric." Adrianna told Dominic.

The little boy smiled and looked up at Adrianna, showing that he was happy with that option.

"I'll take him to my study, we'll be on the roof." Cedric said with a smile. 

"There should be blankets there, I'll bring them up." Adrianna said.

"No need, Adri." Cedric told her as he stopped her from overworking herself. "Dominic and I can do it. Just come follow when you are ready." He gave her a smile before guiding the little boy towards the veranda.

When Dominic saw the beautiful rooftop view he was in awe.

"That's our house!" Dominic pointed out as he spotted Miguel's and Veronica's home down the road. 

"Yup." Cedric said as he nodded. Yoyo searched for the same things when he was with his father on the rooftop veranda. He looked for the homes of his friends, his grandparents, and R Tower.

"Sir." A maid greeted as she and Adrianna joined Cedric and Dominic on the roof top.

"You can put it on the coffee table, thank you." Cedric said. "We'll call if we need anything else." He said as he dismissed the maid for the night.

"Do you want to tell us what's bothering you now, Dominic?" Cedric asked as he let the little child sit down on the couch between him and his wife. 

"Where did my dad and Uncle Jonathan go?" Dominic asked in his cute little voice. "Is there something wrong? Did they both want to leave me?"

"Oh Dominic." Adrianna cried out as she hugged the little boy tight. 

They hadn't considered that Dominic would think that he was being abandoned again. No matter how smart he was, this was still a child that had been left by everyone who should have loved and cared for him.

He was still vulnerable and easily hurt and they forgot that.

"Dominic, your dad and Uncle Jonathan had to deal with a small problem with Uncle Ray." Cedric tried his best to explain in the hopes that the little boy wouldn't somehow figure out that it had something to do with his mother. 

"When will they be back?" Dominic asked. "Will dad take me back when he arrives?"

"Of course your dad will take you back. You are only here so that I can protect you and your mom." Cedric said as he patted the child on his head. "Your dad and Uncles will be gone for a few days, don't worry, they will be back soon."

Dominic wrapped his arms tightly around Cedric and began to cry. 

"I don't want to be left again, I love my daddy and mommy, I don't want them to give me up." Dominic cried out.

"They won't." Cedric said as he tried his best to comfort Dominic. "Your mom and dad love you. You are their world, they would never leave you or give you away."

The little boy said nothing as he continued to cry in Cedric's arms. 

Cedric gently patted his back, letting him release all the bottled emotions. He was a strong child, but even the strongest adults break sometimes, how much more a little one like Dominic?

As he held Dominic, Cedric couldn't help but feel bad. Here was a child whose parents had given him up, he had suffered at the hands of that school which Cedric had now shut down. 

After a while, Dominic finally stopped crying and calmed down.

Adrianna checked him and wiped the tears from his face, making sure that the child was alright. 

"We should all go to bed." Cedric said as he got up and offered his hands to Adrianna and Dominic.

Adrianna took Cedric's hand and got up, while Dominic remained seated as he looked at his feet.

"What's wrong Dominic?" Cedric asked.

"I don't think I want to meet my real parents anymore." Dominic said slowly.

"Dominic, you should think long and hard about that." Adrianna told the little boy. "Sleep on it, you're tired." She said.

Dominic looked up at her and nodded, before finally jumping out of the chair and joining Cedric and Adrianna.

The couple brought the little boy back to Yoyo's room, where Yoyo and Tristan were fast asleep.

"Good night Uncle Cedric and Auntie Adrianna, thank you." Dominic said as he gave them a hug before climbing into his bed.

Cedric and Adrianna closed the door behind them before finally making their way back to their own room.

"You should rest." Cedric told his wife as he picked her up.

"Cedric!" Adrianna scolded as she was taken by surprise by Cedric's actions.

Cedric lowered his head and planted a kiss on her lips, savoring the feeling.

"I miss this, I miss the simpler life." Cedric said with a sigh as he kicked the door to their bedroom open.

"We are together and we are happy, and we have two new little ones on the way." Adrianna said as she gave Cedric a hug and pecked him on the lips.

"How is Julia?" She finally asked, breaking the moment.

"I don't know yet." Cedric told her, saddened that he couldn't tell his wife more.

"I know you and the boys will try your best, we should just get some rest.." Adrianna told Cedric as he nodded and made his way to the bathroom before retiring for the night.