Never Judge

Everyone was surprised to see that the famous Eric Chan was the host for the inauguration. It was common knowledge that he always refused hosting gigs and preferred to do endorsements and acting roles.

He stood handsomely on the stage, and how could he not host this event? It was the hard work of his sister-in-law and someone he considered to be a younger brother, two people that were incredibly important to him.

When the girls saw him on stage they quickly whipped out their phones and started taking photos and videos, this was a rare occurrence.

"Welcome Mor Co. employees!" Eric said as he flashed a smile. "And of course our special guests." As he mentioned the special guests he looked towards his family and winked at his sister.

Of course this did not escape the eyes of his observant fans who quickly followed his gaze and noticed that he was looking at the youngest member of the Chan family. The reaction was split in half, some fans were jealous of the adoring look that Eric had towards the woman, others were already creating the Chan-Chan ship.

Backstage, Cedric was looking through the impact of the inauguration on social media when he stumbled on several posts about the Chan-Chan ship. He spit out the coffee he was drinking and laughed hysterically. 

"If only those fans knew the truth." Cedric said out loud, prompting Veronica who was also backstage with him to throw a puzzled look.

"Social media is exploding with the new Chan-Chan couple." Cedric said with a laugh.

"Oh my gosh." Veronica said as she opened her phone. "Ha! Ian, who knew your strongest competition is your future brother in law." Veronica teased, as Ian frowned. 

"Sir, Miss Veronica, it's time." Camilla said as she pointed to the stage. Eric was about to introduce them.

When Cedric came up on stage several female employees and some members of the audience started screaming. It seemed that despite hiding half of his face the Reyes Heir had quite a number of fans. 

As Eric and Cedric shook hands Eric took the opportunity to tease the younger man. "No wonder Adrianna got jealous, you've got so many fans without even showing your face."

"At least she married me. You're still chasing the love you let slip through your fingers." Cedric teased back.

"Soon soon. It's all in the timing." Eric said with a wink before finally going back to hosting the event. 

When the inauguration was done Cedric sent Ian and Camilla to invite Ayanna and her friends with their fathers to the backstage. He intentionally asked for them to leave the bullies in their seats as the parent and child duos went to meet the Reyes heir.

Cedric was sitting backstage chatting with Eric and Miguel when Ayanna arrived with her friends.

"Brother! Here are the people I wanted you to meet." Ayanna said as she approached.

"This is Paolo Juan, Ian tells me you've met his dad, Mr. Artemio Juan." Ayanna said, pointing out her friend and his father. Ayanna's friends gasped at her introduction. Of course they had told Ayanna in the past about their true parentage but they never expected her to say it to someone like the Reyes Heir.

"Oh come on. He's one of the most powerful people in the country. He's bound to find out." Miguel said with a grin. 

"Then this Matteo David, and his father Juancho David Sr." Ayanna continued. Cedric simply nodded at the introduction. "Tricia Sanchez and her father Louie Sanchez, Krista Von and her father David Von, and Erik Garcia and his father Ernesto Garcia." 

The fathers already knew that Cedric was aware of their identities, so they were puzzled as to why Mr. Reyes still called them over despite knowing who they actually were already.

"You're much better looking than your brothers." Eric Chan teased. They already all knew that these five had actresses as their mothers so it was only natural that they took some of their good looks from their mothers' side, their dads weren't bad looking either.

"Eric, don't you have an interview to go to?" Cedric asked.

"Ah, yes. Bye." Eric said as he winked at Ayanna's friends.

"This is why she thinks you're a flirt." Miguel teased his brother as he accompanied him out. 

"Now that you've met my friends, are you happy?" Ayanna asked with her arms crossed on her chest.

Cedric nodded. "These are the ones you said that are quite capable?" Cedric asked.

"Yes brother." Ayanna nodded proudly.

Cedric looked at them intensely. He could see that they were nervous to meet him. 

"I'm concerned about our partnerships. I know your legitimate sons. They are nothing compared to them." Cedric's statement was directed to the fathers. The fathers quickly understood what they needed to do, they needed to assure the Reyes Heir that their companies would not fall into the hands of their legitimate children.

"Sir." It was Artemio Juan that was the first to speak. His son Carlo Juan bullied Cedric in university and was still a big bully to this day. He was twenty eight but he acted like a fifteen year old. He had many mistresses and many illegitimate children. He thought that by arranging a marriage between Carlo and a daughter of an equally prominent family, who was incredibly pretty, would keep his son loyal. His son further shamed his daughter-in-law by bringing home some of the mistresses he had taken. Artemio pitied his daughter-in-law and treated her like his own daughter, giving her more affection than his son. "I will not give my company to my eldest son Carlo. I will also back my daughter-in-law in filing an annulment on their marriage. I know she loves someone else and she truly deserves better." At that, Carlo looked at his son, Paolo, he knew Paolo and his daughter-in-law liked each other before he made her marry Carlo. He wanted to see a wrong made right.

"You can tell me this now, but what about your families and the public?" Cedric asked, raising an eyebrow. This was all part of his plan. This was how he was going to take away everything from those that bullied him.