Never Judge

Cedric groaned as he placed down the newspaper on the table, as expected the events at the Gizmo Awards made headline news. He knew Ram had tried his best to suppress it and even change the opinions of the public, but there was no use, it was true, to the eyes of the masses, Cedric was simply a rich boy that inherited everything.

"Are you pulling out their applications?" Cedric asked as he picked up his phone.

He was in the middle of breakfast with his family when Ian started to call.

"Good morning to you too Mr. Sunshine." Ian said sarcastically.

"I'm not in the mood to mess around Ian." Cedric grumbled.

"I told you this many times before, just announce how Prince Group came to be." Ian said with a sigh over the phone. "You have all the documents to prove that your share didn't have anything to do with the family money, plus everyone knows that the rise of Constellations Resorts was because of its brilliant owner."

"You are trying to butter me up for something, what is it?" Cedric groaned. Ian had never been one for praises, he was always a straight to the point guy, so him praising Cedric for Constellations Resorts clearly meant something was off.

"Well. . ." Ian said as his voice began to trail off.

"You better speak up or I won't be able to help you." Cedric grumbled, his patience was already wearing thin and he had no plans of getting mad in front of his son.

"The Chan elders have decided to visit your office today." Ian said quite quickly.

"What?!" Cedric asked in shock. "Why would they come to me, what do I have to do with any of your messes, yes I say your because you are part of that family now!"

"Hey, I had nothing to do with this." Ian insisted over the phone.

"Which sibling?" Cedric asked angrily as Adrianna came over and caressed his back, trying to calm him down.

"Honey, it's too early for you to be mad." Adrianna calmly told her husband.

Cedric sighed and shook his head.

"Ian, you better tell me." Cedric threatened. 

"It was all of them." Ian confessed. "The elders were on their case, asking about uncle Miguel's missing son when Eric suddenly admitted that you had received a message regarding the man."

"I thought they already knew about him?" Cedric asked as he adjusted how he was seated all while holding his wife's hand and caressing it tenderly.

"They do." Ian confirmed. "They received a letter from the man a while back, he didn't even say who he was, just that he was Miguel Chan's son and that he would take over the family upon his return."

"And still the elders threatened to remove Nicole as the head, can't they see this man is dangerous and that he has nothing but ill intentions for their family?" Cedric asked over the phone.

"Clearly they see that, that's why they've been pressuring everyone on all fronts." Ian said with a sigh. "They want Eric to retire from acting and get married, they've even listed down a number of possible wives for him."

"Don't they know he is already dating one of the most eligible women in the country?" Cedric asked.

"You know them, they want to stick to their own, no matter how rich or how powerful the woman's family actually is." Ian complained. 

"You mean they still want a chinese bride for him?" Cedric asked in disbelief. 

(I know many of you will react to this. In my country rich chinese families don't approve of their children marrying anyone of another race, even if they no longer identify as Chinese. As a matter of fact I am descended from one such family that has since accepted that love knows no race.)

"Yeah." Ian said with a sigh. "They couldn't convince Miguel, but they are hoping that it would work with Eric."

"He isn't going to leave Katerina, no matter what they say." Cedric said, shaking his head, earning him a puzzled look from his wife. "Is that why Eric has announced that he is already in a relationship?" Cedric asked as the realization dawned on him.

"Most possibly." Ian said over the phone. "From what I heard from Nicole they were furious that Eric made that announcement."

"The public doesn't even know that he is from that Chan family." Cedric said with a laugh.

"Just be ready. I'm on my way to the office and I've already warned Dave and Mae." Ian informed Cedric.

"Have Mae move my meeting with Benedict and Camilla." Cedric finally said as he thought of what he needed to do. "I'm sure the Chan elders would not appreciate having to wait for my meetings to finish."

"As if it matters." Ian scoffed.

"Just do it Ian. I'll see you later." Cedric said as he dropped the call.

"Sounds dramatic." Adrianna said as she walked back to her seat. "What happened to Eric and the Chans?"

"The usual drama, just that it has now escalated." Cedric said as he finished his breakfast.

"What about the headlines that have gotten you so mad?" Adrianna asked as she pointed towards the newspaper. 

"It can wait." Cedric said with a shrug. "Ian is right, there is an easy solution for this smear campaign, I just want to make sure that everything is correctly in place before I make a move."

"It is still all going according to your plan anyway." Adrianna told her husband in a confident tone.

"I know, but I can't help but be anxious, he seems smarter than the others I've faced." Cedric confessed.

"Is that what Benedict and Camilla tell you?" Adrianna asked.

"No, but you never know." Cedric said with a sigh as he got up. "I need to go to work. I'll try to come home early, I miss Yoyo." Cedric said as he walked over and planted a kiss on his son's forehead.

"I miss you too, Daddy!" Yoyo said with a smile as he looked up at his father. 

"I'll see you guys later." Cedric said with a frown as he turned around and walked away.