Never Judge

"Do you have any idea where we should start?" Nicole asked Ayanna as they waited in the living room for Cedric and Ian to call them back.

"And what makes you think that my brother will win against your husband?" Ayanna questioned her friend as she laughed at how silly their current situation was.

"Not my husband, fiance at most." Nicole said as she corrected Ayanna. "And I know Ced will be able to convince him because Cedric is rational, while Ian is being over protective." She said as she crossed her arms on her chest.

"You do know that my brother just sent his very pregnant wife off to bed while all of this is going on." Ayanna explained with a raised eyebrow. "He sees you like a little sister and will be extra protective of you."

"Plus we all know that you and Ian are practically married, just do the ceremony already." Veronica added as she rolled her eyes at her friend.

"You can\'t get that information out of the Chan family without my help." Nicole reasoned.

"Eric, Miguel." Veronica pointed out.

"Nope, we won\'t get anything out of the Chan family if we use them. Nicole really is our best option." Ayanna said with a frown.

"I\'m more worried about Ian." Mien said as he sat close by.

"Are you worried that Cedric would harm one of the only people that stood by him during his poverty training?" Ayanna asked as she understood Mien\'s concern.

"Yes." Mien replied.

"Mien, there are very few people that Cedric will tolerate no matter what." Nicole said with a sigh. "Ian is one of them. Those two men have been through some of the worst situations together and they\'ve always had each other\'s backs."

"Trust me, if those two weren\'t this close, Ian would have been dead in a ditch somewhere the moment Nicole found out she was pregnant." Ayanna said as thought of the situation. 

If anyone else had won Nicole\'s heart, she was sure that all the boys would have made it a living hell for that person.

As it stood, Adolfo avoided interacting with them since he was an outsider that was currently with Natalia. They rarely saw the young man which made Ayanna sad.

"We\'ve settled it." Ian said as he waved for them to come back in. He didn\'t seem happy with whichever decision he and Cedric had come to.

When they entered the office Cedric was on the phone with someone.

"Are you safe?" Cedric asked.

"Who is that?" Ayanna asked Ian.

"Camilla, she just got back from dinner and drinks with Lucius and Guan Ming." Ian told her as she sat back down.

"Good, good, I suggest you see him less often, I don\'t want you to be caught in the crossfire Camilla." Cedric ordered.

"She\'s not gonna listen." Ian mumbled as he took a seat next to Nicole and hugged her tight.

"How are you feeling?" He asked Nicole.

"I would feel better if you stopped acting like I was made of glass, I won\'t break that easily, you know." She said as she rolled her eyes at him.

As much as Nicole was annoyed by Ian being so overprotective of her, she couldn\'t deny that it also made her happy at the same time. It proved how much he loved her and that was something she enjoyed. 

"I will never let any harm come to you or our children." Ian said as he held her tight.

"I know that, and I will do my best to stay safe all the time, but threats like these cannot stop us from living our lives." Nicole told him. "We cannot live in fear Ian, you know that."

"I do." He mumbled as he nodded.

"Camilla, don\'t be so stubborn." Cedric said, clearly frustrated by his conversation with his other assistant.

"She won\'t give in, just make sure she can handle Lucius Ting and has a way out." Ian told Cedric.

"Yes, that\'s what Ian said too." Cedric told Camilla over the phone. "Fine, but I want you and Benedict to let me take a look at your exit plan, and if things get bad I want you out."

Cedric was silent for a while as Camilla spoke.

"I mean it Camilla. I don\'t want you getting in danger because of this, your life is more important." Cedric said in a commanding tone.

Again he waited for Camilla to respond, it seemed that she was being difficult. 

"Camilla Montero, if you dare disobey me I will drag you back to my home and make sure Guan Ming takes you where he thinks you are safe. Trust me, Guan Ming will be more exaggerated with your safety." Cedric threatened.

It seemed that Camilla eventually gave into what Cedric asked, because he had visibly relaxed.

"Take the night off, maybe take the week off, I would prefer that." Cedric said with a chuckle.

"You know she\'ll see right through your plot, right?" Ian asked Cedric as he laughed at how silly his friend was acting.

"I know, she isn\'t stupid." Cedric said as he rolled his eyes at Ian. 

"When this is done we should all sit down for a proper public meal." Ian suggested. "All this pretending to be mad at each other is tiring."

"When have you guys ever sat down for a public meal?" Ayanna asked Ian. "You guys love staying in private rooms and out of the public eye. That\'s exactly why people think you boys are doing crazy things there."

"Well, it\'s not like there aren\'t any similar rumors about us." Veronica told Ayanna.

"At least there are much less since we are actually seen eating." Nicole said as she laughed at all the rumors.

"Well, that\'s settled." Cedric told them as he placed his phone down on his table.

"So have you two decided?" Nicole asked Ian and Cedric.

"You guys won, Cedric is right, you are our only chance of getting the information we need." Ian said in surrender.

"Good, and just for the record, even if you had said no, I would have done whatever I wanted." Nicole said as she got up and walked out of the room.

"Mien, keep them company and if anything dangerous comes up, tell me." Cedric ordered before he let the young lawyer leave.

Mien simply nodded as he followed the girls out of the room towards Ayanna\'s office.