Never Judge

The car came to a stop in front of Cedric's group with the driver quickly running to open the door.

He gave a slight bow as he passed Cedric, remembering to give respect to his boss.

Before the driver could even open the door, it opened on it's own, and a small plump lady, with brown wavy hair stepped out.

She was dressed simply and had an anxious expression on her face as she looked at Cedric and his group.

"Marisa Benitez?" Cedric asked as he took a step towards her.

"Yes, Mr. Reyes." Marisa said with a nervous nod as she looked at Cedric. "Sorry, I recognized you from your photos online, you are better looking in person." She praised.

"Thank you." Cedric said with a smile as he pulled Adrianna gently towards him.

"This is my wife, Adrianna." Cedric said as he introduced her to the woman. "And with us is my sister, Ayanna, and her husband Ray." Cedric said as he gestured towards the couple behind him.

"A pleasure." Marisa said in a small voice, she was clearly nervous to meet Cedric's group.

"And this man over here." Cedric said as he pointed towards Ian. "Is my good friend and head assistant, Ian Lim." 

"Nice to meet you." Ian said as he flashed the lady a smile.

"You're her boss. The one that trained her?" Marisa asked Ian.

"Well I'm not Mae's boss, Cedric is Mae's boss." Ian said with a laugh. "We are co-workers." He said with a shrug.

"Are my children around?" Marisa asked as she looked to her left and right, trying to spot Mae or Mien.

"No, not yet, but they are on their way." Ian said with a sweet smile. "Why don't we head inside and wait for them?" Ian asked as he offered his arm out for Marisa to take.

Marisa smiled and hooked her arm on Ian's as they followed Cedric and his group into the building.

As they entered, Cedric was caught by surprise by the renovations that Ray had done. The roof was now a glass dome, from which you could see the stars above.

Ray had also updated and modernized the look of the dining area, making it look fresher and more modern. He had also toned down the colors in the room. Changing it from it's old mainly red and yellow theme, to a blue, brown, and green theme.

"Wow, I like what you've done with the place." Cedric complemented as they walked up to the only table that had been made ready. 

"Veronica did it of course." Ray said with a grin. "As if I could have hired anyone else." He added with a chuckle.

"You wouldn't have wanted anyone else to do it either." Ayanna said as she shook her head. Exposing her husband.

"Please, take your seats." Ray gestured as he let Cedric sit at the head of the table.

Ray sat to his right, while Adrianna sat to his left.

"Mrs. Benitez, I would be honored if you sat next to me." Adrianna told the older woman as she gestured towards the empty seat next to her.

"Mrs. Reyes, I wouldn't dare." Marisa said as she was stunned that such an important person would invite her to sit next to them.

It was the equivalent of a princess or a queen treating their subjects as their equal. Adrianna was probably one of the most respected women in the country, and just sitting on the same table with her was near impossible.

"Honey, maybe you should let Marisa sit next to Mae and Mien when they arrive. Or even just next to Lara." Cedric suggested when he noticed how uncomfortable Marisa seemed to be with the thought of sitting next to Adrianna.

"I'll keep her company while we wait." Ian said with a smile.

"Lara?" Marisa suddenly said. "My sister-in-law Lara is here too?" Her voice was now shaking in shock.

"Marisa?" A voice suddenly called from behind, making Marisa turn.

Cedric watched as Lara ran over and hugged Marisa as both women began to cry.

"Lara, Terry, I saw him then the next day he was gone." Marisa cried out as she let all her emotions come all at once.

"I know Marisa, I know." Lara said as she hugged her sister-in-law and cried as well. "It was all so sudden, we didn't even know he was sick."

"Lara, he wasn't sick, Terry was healthy. Terry has always been healthy." Marisa told Lara.

"Marisa, I don't understand." Lara said as she looked at her sister-in-law in shock. She looked at Marisa as if she was spouting nonsense. 

"She doesn't know?" Marisa asked as she turned to face Cedric.

"No, she doesn't." It wasn't Cedric that answered her, it was Mien.

During her tearful reunion with Lara, he and Mae had walked over, while Dave showed Max and his mother to their seats.

"Mattias?" Marisa asked as she looked at Mien with tearful eyes.

She then glanced at Lara, who simply nodded, confirming that Mien and Mattias were indeed that same person.

Mien hesitated and glanced at his adoptive mother.

"Don't worry." Lara said as she gave Mien a comforting smile. "She sent you away to protect you. You should have been reunited years ago."

"Mattias!" Marisa said as she cupped her son's face in her hands and started to cry. "You look just like him." She said as she gently caressed Mien's face. 

It seemed that Mien slowly let the emotions flow as tears fell from his eyes. 

"I never thought that a part of me was missing until now." Mien said as he began to cry. 

He hugged his mother and pulled his adoptive other into the hug as they all weeped.

After a few moments, Mien realized that there was someone else that needed to be introduced to Marisa.

He turned and gestured for Mae to join them.

Mae looked at the happy family in front of her. They seemed satisfied, complete, at that point she wasn't even sure if she was Mien's sister, so she shook her head, refusing to join the family.

Mien frowned at her refusal but didn't say a word.

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