Never Judge

"I am flying back there this instant!" Guan Ming said angrily over the phone as he slammed his fist into Cedric's table on Kashmere Island.

He and his parents were staying there while Julia recovered. Ray's home was much more lavish, but he always felt like he was an intruder in someone else's home. It wasn't for Ray's lack of trying, but he just felt more comfortable at Cedric's, at least Cedric had known him for quite a long time already.

"Being here will only make things more difficult and it will paint an even larger target on Camilla and you know that." Cedric answered back calmly, something that annoyed Guan Ming.

How could his friend remain so calm despite him being furious. His girlfriend, the love of his life was almost raped and murdered and yet Cedric was still sticking to their original timeline.

"We need to move faster, who knows what damage Lucius Ting could do if we let him run free with all of his resources intact?" Guan Ming questioned Cedric. He was more than eager to make Lucius Ting pay for all the mess he had made.

"Calm down Ming." Cedric said with a sigh over the phone as he struggled to get his friend to understand the situation. 

"Well love does make a man stupid." Guan Ming heard Ian comment in the background.

"Tell that stupid assistant of yours to shut the fuck up, the big fish are talking!" Guan Ming said angrily. 

He didn't really look down at Ian, as a matter of fact he was quite impressed with how Ian had managed to climb back up after everything was taken from him and his family.

Guan Ming heard Ian chuckle in the background as the voices got louder, it seemed that Cedric had placed the phone on speaker.

"Hey Ming, you've been paying this assistant for months to both move your goods and for your raw materials to exit several countries. Thank you for your patronage." Ian teased, confusing Guan Ming.

"Ian has procured some cargo lines, one of which your company frequently uses to transport both your raw materials and finished products." Cedric explained to his friend without being asked to. "He has also secured the rights to operate several ports that both of our raw materials are coming from, so we kind of have our hands tied with this one."

"What?!" Guan Ming asked in shock. He knew that Ian had managed to slowly reinvent his family's business, according to Camilla it was going well, but she failed to mention that it was going that well.

"He hasn't been my assistant for years, Ming." Cedric said with a sigh. "He only comes back to help or when he is bored with his own company."

"I knew that." Guan Ming grumbled.

"You just didn't bother to do a thorough background check on Ian this time around." Cedric said with a triumphant laugh. "Because now, you trust him."

"Don't put words into my mouth Reyes, I did not say that." Guan Ming hissed. 

"We aren't that different in this matter Guan Ming, the only people we don't look into are those we know we can trust." Cedric told Guan Ming. "And there are very few of those."

"If Camilla trusts him, I trust him." Guan Ming said as he admitted to the fact that he didn't have any doubts when it came to Ian from the beginning. "Plus I knew him long ago, people like him do not change so easily."

"You would be surprised Ming, I almost went dark." Ian said with a sigh as he recalled a time in his life where he almost gave everything up just to take an easier route.

"Are you calm now?" Cedric asked Guan Ming as the other man realized that the banter had cleared up his mind and he was now able to think logically once more.

"Sorry about that." Guan Ming said as he frowned and got up.

He made his way to the large bay window that overlooked the sea.

"Anything that involves Camilla seems to make me act differently." He said with a sigh.

"Trust me, Cedric is worse, he goes over the top when it comes to his wife and children." Ian teased as he laughed at his friend. "I mean, I know I'm pretty bad, but he is worse." 

Cedric couldn't help but chuckle at Ian's comment, it was true. He knew that he had over protective tendencies in matters that involved his wife and children. He knew that it wasn't just them, he acted the same with his father and his sister, and probably someday, his sister's children.

They were all part of the Reyes Clan, they were all his responsibility.

"I guess I'm just not used to it." Guan Ming said in a sad tone as he watched the waves crash on the shore.

From where he stood, he could see his parents walking on the sand, holding each other's hands. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen them this happy or this involved in each other. He worried that the same thing that had happened to his mother and father would happen to him and Camilla as well.

"You were separated from her for a very long time, Ming." Cedric said as he tried to comfort his friend. "It's only natural that everything you are feeling is foreign to you."

"I'm honestly surprised that both of you managed to hang on to one another for that long despite not getting communication from each other." Ian admitted. "Your love story is one for the books."

Guan Ming gave Ian a nervous laugh, in all honesty he got lucky. When he finally got the opportunity to look for Camilla he was worried that she had moved on.

"I love her, that's it." Guan Ming said as he smiled. "Cedric, you're right. We will need to hold on. But I need to keep in contact with Lucius Ting in order to ensure that he knows I am still invested in our partnership."

"Good, we will need that since it is now clear that I've taken Camilla from him." Cedric responded, he was relieved that his friend finally saw reason. 

"I will need to fly back to the capital, my dad is here and that is a good enough excuse." Guan Ming told Cedric in a stern tone.

"Alright, but you are not allowed to visit Camilla." Cedric reminded his friend. 

"Is she safe?" Guan Ming asked Cedric. He knew that he wouldn't be able to see her, he doubted if Cedric would even tell him where Camilla was.

"She is with people I trust." Cedric told Guan Ming.

"Very well, but I want to see her the moment we have Lucius Ting." Guan Ming told his friend.

"You can marry her at that moment for all I care." Cedric said with a chuckle.

"She'll punch you for saying that, you know." Ian pointed out as he laughed at Cedric. 

"She just needs to stay hidden till all of this is over, she will work remotely the whole time, but I'll need Ian to help out a little." Cedric told the two men.

"Nothing I haven't done." Ian said quite enthusiastically. 

"I'll be in the capital in twenty four hours." Guan Ming told Cedric.

He just had dinner planned with his parents that night then he would fly out to continue his mission.

"Good luck, we don't know how unstable Lucius Ting is at this moment, so be careful." Cedric reminded Guan Ming  in a stern tone.

"When have I not been.." Guan Ming said confidently as he dropped the call.