Never Judge

"Selina, remember how the CEO of the Reyes Group was dressed earlier?" Alexi asked as he took her hand and interlocked their fingers. 

Cedric wanted to laugh at how bold Alexi was being. They weren't even a couple and yet he had the guts to do these things to Selina while she was distracted. 

Selina stared at Cedric and blinked. "He was wearing the same navy blue suit you and Miguel are wearing." Selina answered. "Wait, I thought you were sick, how are you here?" Selina asked Cedric.

"I was at the reception the whole time. I was at the church too." Cedric said with a shrug.

"No, I would have seen you." Selina said, shaking her head. "I asked Adrianna and she said you weren't around. And did you do something to your hair?" 

"Well you aren't wrong, Cedric did do something to his hair." Miguel said with a laugh.

"Miguel." Nicole scolded, making Cedric laugh.

"Selina, do you know what the full name of the CEO of the Reyes Group is?" Alexi asked the woman in his arms.

"Are being silly right now?" Selina asked Alexi with a funny look. "Everyone knows that his name is the Reyes family's closest guarded secret. How would I know what his name is?"

"You actually do." Alexi said with a grin. "His full name is Cedric Reyes."

"This is a joke right?" Selina asked Alexi.

Alexi laughed and shook his head. "Nope." 

Selina looked around asking Miguel and Nicole for confirmation. Miguel simply laughed at her expression and Nicole shook her head.

"No." Selina said as looked at Cedric.

Cedric laughed. "Of course I was at the wedding, I was the best man and it was my sister getting married." Cedric said with a shrug.

"So when I helped you, and that meeting." Selina said with a gasp, unable to form full sentences due to her shock. "Does that mean. . ."

"Emilio, my son, is the new Reyes Heir, and Adrianna, my wife, is the secret young mistress of the Reyes Family." Cedric said in a slow enough manner so that Selina would not be lost in the revelation.

"You didn't need my help that day. At the restaurant, you could have thrown that bitch out." Selina said as she recalled their first meeting.

"Yes, but I have very specific plans for Lorisa and her husband." Cedric said with a shrug.

"And at the bar, when I got drunk. I told you you looked like, well you." Selina said as she turned red in embarrassment.

"Drunk people seem to have clearer minds than sober people." Cedric said with a laugh. "I honestly have not been doing a good job of hiding my identity. But people seem to find it impossible to realize that Cedric Reyes, who has been standing in front of them the whole time could be the CEO of the Reyes Group as well." Cedric said with a shrug.

"Yeah, you've been picking your wife up at the office, plus your watch, and those wedding rings." Alexi said as he patted Selina on the head.

"What watch and rings?" Selina asked.

"These." Cedric said as he raised his hands. His wedding band was on his left hand while the watch was on his right wrist. "The wedding rings are one of a kind, designed by Lau Jewelry. The watch was designed by a famous international brand, only ten of them exist in the country, and Ayanna bought all of them."

"Why have I never noticed them on you before?" Selina said, asking no one in particular. 

"People see only what they want to see." Cedric said with a shrug. "They interpret things the way they want to. I was seen as a poor man so they assumed the watch was just any watch, the ring just an ordinary gold band. When we judge people based on what they let on we miss out on a lot of things."

"So why don't you just tell everyone who you are?" Selina asked. "People have stepped on you left and right, they have also made up nasty rumors that Adrianna is cheating on you and that Emilio isn't your son. Wouldn't life be easier if you just showed the world who you truly are?" 

"It would be simpler, but more dangerous." Cedric said. "At first my identity was a secret because of a family tradition of training its heirs, when the time came that I could reveal myself Adrianna asked me not to."

"Why?" Selina asked.

"Because my wife is very independent and proud. She wants to show the world that she could be successful in her own right." Cedric explained. "She's seen how people say a woman is only successful because of her family or her husband or her looks. She wanted to shine on her own as Adrianna and not as the mistress of the Reyes Family."

"But she has achieved so much already." Selina said as she thought of Adrianna's success with Island's Inc.

"My wife is greedy, and our situation has changed." Cedric explained with a frown. "Someone is after me, to be more accurate someone is after the CEO of the Reyes Group. They can't exactly do anything since they know almost nothing about who I really am. Hiding my true identity had helped me protect myself and those closest to me."

"Can't you just hide?" Selina asked. "You, Adrianna, and Emilio are still out in the open. What if the people looking for you find out who you really are."

"Selina, if Cedric Reyes suddenly disappeared, they will definitely know who I am." Cedric said, shaking his head. "Our lives cannot stop just because of people like them. We need to keep on fighting and striving, because the moment we stop is the moment they come closer to victory." 

"So why are you telling me this now?" Selina asked.

"Ask him." Cedric said as he nodded towards Alexi.

"Alexi?" Selina asked as she looked up at him. She didn't realize that she was leaning on his with Alexi's strong arms wrapped around her. He had somehow managed to trap her in such an intimate position.

"Because you are a victim of all of this, and because I know we can trust you." Alexi said with a smile.