Never Judge

At the Reyes house everyone was excited, including the help. Many of them had been with the family for a long time and had seen a young Cedric say a teary goodbye to his parents and sister. Those that were new on the other hand were curious to meet the young master of the Reyes Clan.

"Is he here yet?" Ayanna asked as she ran down the stairs.

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"Miss Ayanna, please, you might trip and fall again." A maid called out after her.

In public Ayanna was known as the graceful and quick witted daughter of the Reyes Clan. She could hold a candle against any of the rich sons that were attempting to inherit their father's businesses.

Ayanna was currently home from her studies abroad. She was poised to work in Reyes Group and had taken a business degree at University. Last year her father sent her to America to further her studies.

"He isn't here yet, Ayanna." Her dad called from the ground floor study.

"Dad! You're home early!" Ayanna greeted happily. She knew her father was a workaholic. Growing up, he spent most of his time working or going to business related events. Aside from missing her brother, she also wanted him to come back in order to let their father take a break.

"Your dad and I are in here Ayanna, come in." Priscilla Reyes called her daughter.

Emilio sat at his desk while his wife massaged his shoulders. As a couple, Cedric and Ayanna's parents were not ashamed to show that they loved and cared about one another.

At first glance, people would think that Emilio and Priscilla's marriage was arranged from the very beginning.

Pricilla was born to the Clarin clan. An old and powerful political clan that owned a lot of properties in the southern parts of the country. Pricilla was the only child of her generation, the Clarin clan was rich but it had no one left to inherit everything they owned.

She grew up with Emilio since both families often did business together, however when Emilio went through his poverty training they were separated. Years after he returned to the Reyes Clan, Emilio and Priscilla reconnected and fell in love.

Their match was something both families celebrated since it was a marriage that was both beneficial and at the same time founded on love.

"Mom, ugh! Can you and dad stop being so affectionate in front of me." Ayanna complained. She loved that her parents never let the flame between them die, but sometimes they went too far.

"Alright, Ayanna." Priscilla said, taking a seat on the couch.

A maid entered and announced that Cedric had arrived. The couple stood up slowly while Ayanna dashed out of the study and into the doorway to welcome her brother back.

When she saw her brother she ran up to him and hugged him.

"I missed you too, Ayanna." Cedric laughed. "Mom, dad" He greeted each with a hug.

"Come, you must be tired from work. I'll have some coffee and a sandwich prepared for you." Priscilla said, guiding her son back into the house.

"Mom, I'd like to take a bath first." Cedric said. fre𝙚𝓌𝒆𝚋noѵel.c𝚘m

"Sure. Your room has clothes' your size so you don't need to worry." Priscilla said with a smile on her face. Her son was home. 𝐟𝙧ee𝔀e𝐛𝓃𝐨𝚟𝑒𝗹.c𝗼𝚖

"Mom shopped up a storm yesterday, Ced! You should have seen how many bags each of the attendants had to carry. I kept telling mom you wouldn't be living here anyway." Ayanna said as she walked up the stairs with her brother.

"I'm sure I'll still be spending some time here at home, Ayanna. Besides, my wife doesn't know who I really am yet."

"I was really looking forward to meeting her, you know." Ayanna complained. "I'm flying back to America tomorrow. I just really took today off to see you come home."

"Well I'm here. I promise to find time to visit you, alright?" Cedric promised his sister.

"Alright, remember brother, family first, always." Ayanna winked and headed into her own room.

The Reyes' had kept the event very private. They only invited people who knew who Cedric was.

Despite this, news still poread that the heir to Reyes Group was returning today, although they knew they wouldn't get invited, many still tried their luck at getting in, including the members of the Hernandez Family.

"Are you really not invited, Mark?" Asia asked her fiance over the phone.

"Sorry love, but it's so exclusive that I heard no more than 30 people aside from the family were invited." Mark said, apologizing to Asia.

"What is so special about this heir to the Reyes Group anyway? My dad and brothers keep nagging me to ask you if you know him or if you're invited to his homecoming party." Asia whined.

"Asia, Mr. Reyes has not been seen in the past 13 years. According to rumors, he was abroad undergoing special education in order to prepare him to inherit Reyes Group. I'm sure you know exactly how powerful that company is." Mark explained.

"Won't your friend Mr. Raymund be there? Can't he just bring you along?" Asia asked.

"Even if Raymund Laurence wanted to bring someone along, this isn't the type of party that you can invite just anybody. Mr. Reyes is keeping a low profile so he isn't really letting people know who he is." Mark said to Asia.

"Fine, I'll just talk to you later." Asia said, dropping the call without even waiting for Mark to say goodbye on the other line.