Never Judge

After staying quiet for a while Cedric suddenly burst out laughing. Coincidentally the waiters came in and served their food. 

Cedric knew that the waiters were probably thinking something was wrong with him because Adrianna was not smiling, she even had an annoyed look on her face as if to say she was not amused by Cedric's reaction.

When their food was finally served and the waiters left them alone, Cedric sat up and collected himself. 

"What's so funny?" Adrianna asked her husband as she picked up her utensils and began to eat.

"If this was some overly dramatized , I would be the bad friend that insisted Ram date Francesca." Cedric said with a shrug.

"But you did insist Ram date Francesca." Adrianna said with a  raised eyebrow. "Plus it was for both their sakes. Francesca needed someone to pretend she had moved on from her fiance, while Ram needed to date someone that the Abads would approve of."

"Yeah, I'm the bad best friend." Cedirc said with a laugh.

"It could also be the opposite." Adrianna told Cedric as she looked up from her meal.

"What do you mean?" Cedric asked, confused by her statement. "Am I the amazing best friend that set Ram up with the love of his life?" Cedric teased.

"That's possible." Adrianna said with a shrug. "Julia could also become the evil ex that will stop at nothing to get him back. We never know, only time will tell and it's all up to the three of them."

Cedric couldn't help but look and observe his wife, it was clear that she was quite bothered by Julia's decision to come back and fight for Ram's love. Based on his interactions with Julia, she wasn't a bad person, she had merely fallen in love and was not able to let go so easily.

"Julia is not a bad person, Adrianna." Cedric said in a stern tone. "I don't want you thinking that your friend is a bad person just because she loves someone who doesn't feel the same way about her." Cedric told his wife.

"She's chasing someone who is unavailable." Adrianna said, shaking her head. 

"This isn't a matter that we can decide for them, Adri." Cedric told her with a frown. "We don't know where all the pieces will fall when this is over." 

"I'm afraid of her spiraling to a point that we can't get to her." Adrianna confessed. "I'm worried about her Cedric. I don't want her to risk everything and lose everything for Ram. This isn't the first time this has happened to her, she has a history." 

"Adrianna, people fall in and out of love all the time. People go great lengths just to be with the person they love." Cedric told his wife with a sigh. "It is only when things don't work out that people are villainized and seen as bad. They are only bad in my opinion, if they cross a line." 

"And what line is that?" Adrianna asked her husband. "What if some woman decided she was in love with you and she chased after you? What if she tried to get close to you, to trick you?" 

"We can't stop people from wanting to work at the Reyes Group, regardless of their intentions." Cedric told his wife in a stern tone. "They can work for me, but if they try to flirt with me or to trick me, then they are out, gone. That is wrong."

"Alright." Adrianna said with a nod, surrendering to his logic.

"Alright?" Cedric asked, confused about her reaction. His wife was not one to back down from a fight. Why was she letting him win this time? "You accept my logic?" He asked, utterly dumb founded by what Adrianna had just told him.

"You are right." Adrianna suddenly admitted, shocking Cedric once again. "It's not like we can make a decision for them, the best thing that we can do is to give them unbiased advice with their best interests at heart." Adrianna said with a shrug. 

"Wow, just like that and I'm right?" Cedric asked, still unsure if he was walking into a trap or not.

"Why would I lie to you?" Adrianna said with a laugh. "I want to talk to Julia now."

"What do you want to talk to her about?" Cedric asked.

"I was just thinking that we could use some girl talk." Adrianna said with a shrug. "I hate that she felt she couldn't come to me about this. She is my friend, we have been good friends, no, best friends for over a decade, I can't' believe that she left without saying goodbye, or that she wasn't comfortable when it came to talking to me about Ram."

"When do you plan to talk to her?" Cedric asked his wife as he took a bite of his food. 

"There is no time like the present." Adrianna said with a shrug as she took out her phone and dialed Julia's number. 

"Do you want some privacy?" Cedric asked as he made a move to stand up and leave the room. He knew at Julia would be much more comfortable in opening up to his wife if he wasn't on the call with her.

"No, it's fine, stay." Adrianna said, shaking her head. "Just stay quiet. I won't tell her you are around."

"Alright." Cedric said as he walked over to his personal wine collection and picked out a bottle for himself. 

The phone rang for a while before Julia finally picked up. 

"Adri?" Julia asked over the phone, clearly confused as to why her friend would call again.

"Julia, I think we need to talk." Adrianna said in a sad tone. Adrianna sounded hurt and disappointed, something that Julia did not miss out.

"Look, Adri if this is about Ram I-" Julia began to say before Adrianna cut her off.

"No Julia, this isn't about Ram and you, this is about our friendship." Adrianna said as Cedric watched a tear roll from the side of her face.

Cedric knew that Adrianna was a strong woman, she wasn't easily brought to tears. He knew that her friend's behavior disappointed her, he just didn't expect it to affect her this much. Had he known, he would have never let her make the call. 

Cedric reached over and took out his handkerchief and handed it to Adrianna. She simply smiled, took it from his hand, and whipped her tears away. When she tried to give it back, Cedric shook his head, he knew she was yet to cry even more.

"What about us, Adri?" Julia asked, her  worry evident in the tone of her voice. 

"I am shocked and disappointed in you Julia." Adrianna said in a pain filled tone as she answered her friend's question.

Cedric took a sip of his wine as he walked over to sit beside his wife.

"I'm sorry if I don't match up to your expectations Adrianna, not everyone can be as perfect as you!" Julia accused, taking Cedric and Adrianna by surprise, they never expected her to answer back that way.

"What are you talking about, Julia?" Adrianna asked with a confused tone. "I never set any expectations of the sort when it comes to my friends."

"Then why are you saying you are disappointed in me?" Julia asked in a bitter tone. "Is it because I couldn't land a man as powerful and perfect as yours?"

"Julia, what has gotten into you?" Adrianna asked. "I was disappointed that you didn't tell me, that you felt you couldn't open up to me, where is all of this coming from?" Adrianna asked as she sobbed on the other end of the line.

Cedric placed a comforting hand on her back, as he rubbed it in an attempt to comfort his wife.

"Julia, we have been friends for years, why is it like you can't trust me? Why are you being distant again?" Adrianna asked in a demanding tone.

"Again? Again? When have I ever been distant, Adrianna, give me one example!" Julia shouted over the phone. 

"Yes, again Julia." Adrianna said, she couldn't believe that Julia had simply forgotten how she left them hanging for years when she dated some guy they never met. "Don't you remember going AWOL on us when you were dating that mystery guy?"

"I did not go AWOL on you guys. That relationship needed my full attention!" Julia answered back angrily. 

"Three years, Julia. Three fucking years, we didn't hear anything from you, but we never left." Adrianna said, now furious at her friend. "We all promised not to let that happen again. You came back after three years telling us how the man had broken your heart, left you pregnant only for you to lose the child. We were there for you and we told you we would always be there for you."

"Well, there are times I need to be alone, I need to find myself." Julia said in a calmer tone as Adrianna reminded her of the incident in the past.

"But you didn't have to do this to us, we are here for you, don't you trust us?" Adrianna asked as she cried over the phone.

"With Ram, no Adri, I don't think I can trust you." Julia confessed as she dropped the call.