Never Judge

"So why our school?" Cara asked as she and Al walked down the hall back to joining his family and her father.

Al was glad that he had been allowed to tell Cara the truth she needed to hear in private. He was even surprised that his father had allowed him to bring her to his room.

Under normal circumstances, if Cara was just an ordinary friend that knew about his identity, they wouldn't be allowed to hang out in his room.

He knew that his father cherished privacy, so allowing Cara into their more private living area was a show of trust towards Al.

Ray knew that to Al, Cara might have started out as a mission, but she was more than that now.

"It was far enough from home that I'd have to take public transportation to get there and home, it was close enough that in an emergency I could be easily secured." Al explained as he recalled the reason why that school in particular was chosen.

"So we just so happened to study in the same one?" Cara asked, suspicious still about the circumstances.

"The students and parents were also rich enough to be snobs, but not rich enough to know who I was." Al laughed as he recalled one of the descriptions about the place. "It was Emilio that pointed that bit out."

Cara smiled and nodded, she couldn't help but agree.

"Why would your family want you to study in a place like that? Most of the students looked down at me, I can't help but imagine it could have been tough for you at the start." Cara sighed as they walked down the stairs. "It must have been hell not having your usual resources at your disposal."

"Cara, that's the purpose of the Reyes Family's poverty training. We're supposed to experience life without our name, we're supposed to rely only on our own skill." Al calmly explained.

Cara nodded as she listened to Al.

"As you saw, I didn't need my Laurence family connections to turn that school into my own little kingdom." Al said with a grin as he boasted to Cara.

He had been itching to tell someone about how he didn't need his father's name to get people to follow and respect him. A sign that he was truly capable.

"You have the Reyes name though." Cara teased him as they joined the rest of the family.

"I see things are better between the two of you." Ayanna, Al's mother said as she smiled at her son and his friend.

"Al explained things to me, Mrs. Laurence." Cara said, suddenly turning shy in front of the adults.

"Please, Cara, I'm not that old." Ayanna gave her a kind smile. "You can call me Aunt Ayanna or just Ayanna would do. You're Al's friend, plus you'll be living here for quite a bit."

Cara smiled and nodded.

"Thanks, Ayanna." 𝘧𝓇𝗲𝑒we𝙗noѵ𝑒l.𝐜o𝘮

Angelica suddenly squealed as she pulled Cara's arm.

"Can I help you decorate your room?" Angelica asked, as he looked at Cara with excitement. "Dad said you could decorate your room! I wanna help."

"Angelica." Al said sternly as he made eye contact with his willful younger sister.

"It's fine Al." Cara chuckled as they noted a pout on Angelica's face. "Of course you can help."

Angelica smiled and stuck her tongue out at Al.

Al rolled his eyes, he knew that Angelica was not that excited to be around Cara, that a big chunk of it was because they needed Cara to be happy at their home.

"Angelica, why don't you and Cara take one of the drivers, I'll give you my card and you can shop for whatever they need." Ray suggested to his daughter and their guest.

"Can Al and Andres come?" Angelica asked with a hopeful look in her eyes.

"Andres may, but Al has to stay." Ray told his daughter. "We have business to discuss with Peter."

"I'll accompany them, dear." Ayanna said with a sweet tone as she placed a hand on her husband's arm. "It will be much easier to shop as well if we have the entire mall closed. Cara won't have to be unnecessarily exposed to any risk."

Cara's jaw dropped at Ayanna's suggestion. Al resisted the urge to laugh as this was actually a normal conversation in his home.

"If you're doing that, might as well get Adrianna and the others to join. She will be sad if she isn't invited and Chrstina will get jealous if Angelica is there and she isn't." Ray added with the most serious expression on his face as he thought of a way to appease his sister-in-law.

"Mom, Dad, I think you're scaring Cara." Al chuckled as his friend glared at him.

"Oh." Ayanna gasped as she looked at the girl who did seem lost.

"What if Emilio and I took Cara shopping with us?" Al suggested.

"Not Emilio." Ray told his son as he shook his head. "News just broke out about his identity, people will be keeping an eye out for him."

"What if Cara and I went alone?" Al asked as he gave his father a tentative look.

"Cara needs more friends." Ayanna said with a frown as she looked at the young woman. It was clear that she had been isolated from others for quite a while now.

"Will Christina, Amanda, and Ella be acceptable company? They can wear disguises." Al suggested. "I'll ask Eric too, he just got home and I bet he's itching to get away from Auntie Katerina."

Ayanna laughed and nodded.

"Won't Christian get jealous?" Ray asked his son.

"He has plans. We both do." Andres said as he answered for Al.

"After we talk about business." Ray said as he nodded, agreeing to his son's request. "You will take the driver and the bodyguards."

Al sighed and accepted his father's terms.

It was a valid request since there were so many of them going. Eric was with them as well and there a high chance of him getting recognized by the public.

"You can rest for now Cara, we will just deal with business." Ray said as he, Peter, and Al left.