Never Judge

Cedric was stunned by Katerina's words. He had actually expected her to say that it wasn't anyone's fault, but instead she put the blame on Ian's shoulders.

"We should all be sorry, we all failed him." Katerina broke down, sobbing.

Cedric was quick to offer her comfort. She saw her as his little sister, one who was broken and now left alone.

They stood with Katerina as she let her emotions flow, her anger, her heartbreak, they felt it all with every sob and every tear.

At one point, she stopped crying and straightened herself.

Ian and Cedric were both confused by her actions. It was as if she was done grieving all of a sudden, as if she had moved on in the blink of an eye.

"I'm assuming people have been waiting for me to decide on what to do next?" Katerina asked as she cleared her throat and straightened her dress.

"You don't need to decide now. We can keep-" Cedric paused, not knowing what to say or how to say it. "What happened to Eric, a secret."

"Eric's death, you mean." Katerina corrected. "We should call it as it truly is, Cedric. He is gone and we need to keep moving forward for him."

"His death." Cedric repeated with a nod as the words seemed foreign on his lips.

Had life not taken enough from them? First his mother passed at the hands of an assassin, and now his friend fell to the vengeful hate of the Rajas.

He couldn't help but wonder when all the suffering would be over.

"Cedric, I need to know, is it over? Are the Rajas finally truly gone?" Katerina asked, her expression fearful that the people that had caused the death of the man she loved had still survived.

Cedric looked to Ian for confirmation. It was only Ian that could truly confirm that everyone involved with the Rajas were gone.

"It was a hard and long journey, but yes, everyone involved with the Rajas are gone. They can't harm anyone anymore." Ian said with a nod.

Katerina gave the two men a sad smile before looking up to the stars.

"Hear that baby, your sacrifices were not in vain. Our little one will grow up in a much safer world. One you built for him or her." Katerina said as a tear fell from her eyes.

"At least Eric got to live his life as peacefully as possible, away from all the intrigue and scheming of our world." Cedric told Katerina as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

Katerina suddenly laughed and shook her head, making Ian and Cedric look at her with worry.

"He never told you, but he was never truly uninvolved." Katerina said with a sigh as she turned to look at Cedric and Ian.

"What do you mean?" The two men questioned, clearly confused by her words.

"Eric never wanted any of you to know, but some of those sources, the ones that gave key information on people you were having watched. Those were people that either worked for him or he sent to give his own information." Katerina explained to the pair.

"Why didn't he tell us?" Cedric asked as he frowned. "Why did he feel that he needed to keep something from us? We are like family."

"It's because you would have worried. He didn't want to add to everyone's worries, so he kept it a secret." Katerina explained. "I told him time and again that he should have told you or that it would get him in trouble eventually."

"Wait, the information on the Rajas?" Ian asked as he paled upon realization.

"It was Eric." Katerina said as she nodded at him. "His death wasn't just on you, it was on him as well. He had trusted some of his men too much, I think they were the ones that led William Trent and Jim Walker to him."

"We need to -"

"Tie all the loose ends?" Katerina asked, cutting Cedric off mid speech. She took a gun from her side and handed it to him. "I've dealt with it. I didn't want to waste valuable time."

"You killed them all?" Cedric asked, his voice shaking upon the realization of how dangerous Katerina had become.

"Not all, just those that hadn't proven their loyalty to him. The rest I sent to Ray's people." Katerina explained. "I still need to speak to Ray, but I doubt he will do anything without confirming with us first."

"Kat, you didn't need to do these things alone." Cedric said with a frown as he put the gun away.

"I didn't? Of course I did." She shook her head and smiled. "You guys had bigger fish to go after. Don't be sad, I did what had to be done."

"You're pregnant." Cedric warned her.

"When has anything ever stopped me?" She asked Cedric who simply laughed and nodded.

"We should get back to the hospital, there are a lot of people worried about you." Ian said as he offered his arm. "My wife included."

"Right, does she know you guys are legally married already by the way?" Katerina teased.

"No." Ian said in a somber tone as they all walked back to the car together.

As they approached, a sole figure in the distance began to run towards Katerina.

Katerina smiled as Ian let her go, Camilla ran up and hugged her friend.

Katerina thought she had cried all her tears, but it seemed she still had tears to spare as she began to sob in her friends arms.

"Why? Why is life so unfair?!" Camilla questioned. "You and Eric deserved your happy ending, the prince and princess living happily ever after."

"Life is never fair Camilla, we both know that." Katerina told her as she tried to keep herself stable.

"When your little one grows up, I will tell him or her about how amazing his or her father was." Camilla promised.

"I can't imagine my child finding out his or her father was actually a popular artist." Katerina shook her head, finding the thought to be quite amusing.

Katerina glanced at Cedric and nodded as Camilla released her from her arms.

"Let's go." Cedric gestured as he helped Katerina into the car.

As they drove off, Katerina took a deep breath as she prepared for a future without her beloved Eric.f𝘳𝚎𝑒𝚠𝑒𝚋𝘯o𝘃eƖ.co𝓂