Never Judge

"Wine?" Alexi asked the girls as he held a bottle and several glasses. All the brothers and sisters were all seated in one big round table.

"You know I won't say no." His sister, Katerina said with a laugh.

"Did you bring a driver today?" Veronica asked, as Alexi poured them a glass each. 

"Why would she need a driver when she has me?" Eric asked as he pulled Katerina to his lap. Katerina complained and tried to get up.

"Eric! The parents are here!" Katerina complained as she blushed.

"We both know they would be more than happy to see us getting along." Eric said with a laugh as he kissed Katerina.

"Guys! Get a room!" Veronica grumbled.

"Well you wouldn't be so jealous if you let Miguel do what he wants sometimes." Ayanna teased as she and Ray approached their friends.

"Congratulations!" Veronica happily greeted. 

"I can't believe you guys got married before Ian and Nicole." Alexi said with a laugh. "I swear, I thought Ian would knock her up at some point and they would need to have a shotgun wedding."

A silence suddenly creeped up on the table.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Alexi asked.

"Yeah, it's not exactly out of character for Alexi to say these kinds of jokes." Ram said with a shrug as he looked suspiciously at their friends. 

"You idiot." Katerian groaned as she got up from Eric's lap. She walked over to her older brother and Ram. 

"Nicole is pregnant, Ian is the dad, she found out yesterday." Katerina whispered to the two men.

"What?!" Ram said loudly making the parents look at their direction.

"Ram!" Veronica scolded her older brother.

"Sorry. I just got surprising showbiz gossip." Ram said as he raised his phone. His explanation made the parents shake their heads and return to their respective conversations.

"Why are we only finding out about this now?" Alexi demanded.

���We only found out yesterday too you know." Nicole said with a pout.

"Then why is there a glass of wine in front of you?" Ram asked as she swiped the glass from her.

"Give it back Ram. It's for show. Katerina was drinking it for me." Nicole complained.

"Errrr… Congratulations?" Ram said as he returned the glass. "Wait do they even know you're dating someone?" Ram was clearly referring to the Chan elders.

"Of course not." Nicole said with a frown.

"We all know you can't keep this from them forever Nicole." Ayanna said as she placed a hand on Nicole's back.

"Where is my future brother-in-law?" Eric looked around when he realized that Ian was nowhere to be seen.

"I asked him to settle something for me." Cedric said with a shrug as he crossed his arms.

"Seriously Ced? Can't you give the man a break?" Alexi asked Cedric. "We're all guests at your sister's wedding. He shouldn't be working. He should be accompanying Nicole."

"If he stays too close to Nicole the whole time the elders will find it suspicious." Cedric said simply.

"Still, you shouldn't make him work, Cedric." Miguel chimed in.

"It's just a phone call. He'll be back here soon." Cedric said with a nod towards Nicole.

"We'll be careful." Nicole knew that Cedric was only looking after her and Ian as well as her relationship with Ian. 

Cedric was concerned that the drama of the Chan family might push Ian beyond his boundaries. The man had already been through a lot growing up, he didn't need a family like the Chans judging his upbringing and his family background. He was simply making sure that the Chan family didn't find out about Ian's and Nicole's relationship before the couple was ready to tell them.

"Ah, the other man of the hour." Miguel greeted with a grin as Ian approached.

"Miguel." Veronica said, as she elbowed her husband.

"I'll behave if you kiss me." Miguel said with a wink.

"You try too hard." Cedric teased making everyone laugh.

"V, at this rate everyone will have kids before us." Miguel grumbled. Veronica ignored him and rolled her eyes.

"You told everyone already?" Ian asked Nicole as he sat beside Cedic.

"You know you can sit next to her." Eric said motioning to the empty seat between him and his sister.

"I'd rather be safe." Ian said with a smirk.

"Suit yourself." Eric said with a shrug.

"When do you plan on telling them?" Miguel asked his sister and Ian.

"Today." Nicole said, surprising everyone.

Cedric who was playing with his son threw a puzzled look at Ian.

"Both of our parents are already here, might as well say it in one go." Nicole said with a shrug.

"You're also going to admit to your relationship with Ian?" Ayanna asked.

"Yeah. I mean I need a guy to get pregnant." Nicole laughed. "I come from a family of doctors, no way they would believe that there is no father."

"Wow, you're taking this telling the parents quite well." Veronica told Nicole.

"She was panicking all night." Ian revealed.

"You're sleeping on the couch tonight." Nicole said, sticking out her tongue.

"Really Nicole? You're acting like a child right now." Katerina scolded.

"Can this news at least wait till the end of the night? There are still toasts and dances to be had, plus I still have a bouquet to throw." Ayanna asked her friend. 

"Of course, of course. It's your day, we won't ruin it." Nicole said with a gentle smile. 

The rest of the afternoon went on with almost all of the parents giving a toast to the newly wedded couple, since all the guests were either family or good friends everyone was quite relaxed and casual. 

When it was Cedric's turn he came up to the mic and smiled at the couple.

"If you told me that my best friend would be marrying my sister I would have laughed at you." Cedric began. "But here we are today, my best friend is now my brother, officially, and my sister has found the love of her life. As a wedding gift, I had Veronica complete something for you."

"No way!" Ayanna said in surprise.

"Catch." Cedric said as he tossed them the keys to their new home. "You can move out of my house, and into your new one tonight." Cedric said with a grin. 

The rest of the night went on as a traditional wedding would, Ayanna and Ray cut the cake and had their first dance as a married couple.

Cedric watched as his mother teared up in his father's arms. He desperately wanted to believe that the image before him was the truth, but he had seen the house his father kept a secret. Ian and his people had reported that it was a woman that lived there and that she would only arrive whenever Cedric's mother would return to Clarin Industries' headquarters.

When Ayanna said she was going to throw her bouquet the girls all giggled and stood behind her. As Ayanna tossed the flowers Cedric watched as it was seemingly drawn to Nicole's hands.

"Now you need to tell." Miguel said loudly, making the parents all look at Nicole.

"Miguel you idiot." Veronica said, rolling her eyes. Her husband's mouth was just too loud. 

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