Never Judge

The plane ride to Kashmere was a quick one since the island was not far from the Capital. As friends and soon to be relatives of the island's owner, their plane would be allowed to land directly on the tarmac. 

Most people would have to arrive in a nearby province and ride on one of Kashmere's planes, boats, or helicopters to get to the island resort. Ray had done this to support the local economy of the province. Most of Kashmere's employees lived there and had family in that province, on top of that the Laurence family also traced its roots to the remote province nearby. This was actually the reason why Ray had initially purchased Kashmere Island, he wanted to be closer to his roots. Before Kashmere opened the province was extremely poor and hard to reach, only those few brave travelers would go to the province in search of an adventure and of its pristine beaches. 

To boost the local economy further most guests on Kashmere would first take a tour of the province including a visit to the Laurence Ancestral home as well as several archaeological sites nearby. Ray had used this ploy in order to get many of his obscenely wealthy guests to invest, building a commercial center, so the old rural town's center was now growing into a metropolis. 

From the air Adrianna was now seeing the province they were passing in a new light, back when she didn't know Cedric's real identity she thought that Kashmere was just some rich boy's play thing and new business. When Cedric told her about all the other things Ray was doing for the community, her impression quickly shifted. 

Kashmere and its nearby province was beautiful from the air, you could see the lush greens and the growing city as the plane passed. The province's coastline were littered with white sand beaches that met the blue waters beautifully. As the plane drew closer to land Adrianna watched as they moved from land to water then to land again in the form of Kashmere's beach.

When Ray's plane finally arrived on Kashmere it was sunny and there was a cool breeze. It was the perfect weather for them to lounge on the beach and relax. Before even coming to Kashmere the girls decided to make this trip into Adrianna's baby shower, Adrianna however argued that she didn't need one, but the sisters were all very insistent. As soon as they arrived the manager of Kashmere boarded the plane and greeted them. He was used to doing this since Kashmere was a favorite destination of their group. He made sure that the women's expectations were met as well as that their villas were prepared. As the girls alighted the plane and were happily chatting among themselves when several cars arrived.

"We don't need this much cars." Ayanna told the manager who didn't dare explain what was going on. Five cars stopped in front of them making Ayanna throw a puzzled look at the manager. He couldn't think of an excuse to tell Ayanna.

"But where will the young masters ride?" As the manager said this a grinning Cedric got off one of the cars. He was dressed for the beach as he wore shorts and a white shirt, a far cry from his formal suits that he now wore often since taking his place as the Reyes Heir. 

"What are you doing here?!" Ayanna scolded. Her brother said he was busy this weekend and let her take his wife out on a relaxing trip.

"Did you really think your brother could bear being separated from his very pregnant wife?" Ray suddenly appeared and hugged Ayanna from behind. "And do you think I could resist not being around you?" Ray's actions were clearly an attempt to get Ayanna to calm down, but she knew him quite well and didn't fall for his trick.

"You're ruining our girl's trip!" Ayanna said as she pushed Ray's hand off.

"Damnit, don't tell me." Veronica cursed when she realized the cars were still too many. "Cedric who else is here?" Veronica asked.

"All of us of course." Miguel said as he and Eric got out of another car. "Well, Alexi and Ram are at the villas. They have work to do. So the four of us decided to pick you guys up." Miguel was grinning proudly as he motioned for the bodyguards and staff to place the girls' bags in the car.

Cedric noticed Nicole looking around. He laughed at the sight of her clearly looking for Ian. He knew that the couple were desperate to spend more time together. As a matter of fact at first Nicole felt guilty about going on the trip to Kashmere on one of their very few free days. In order to make her feel better, Ian lied and said he had work on the same day.

"Nicole, he's here too." Cedric teased as he revealed that her boyfriend was also on the island.

"I'm not looking for him." Nicole said angrily as she marched off and rode a car. 

The boys suddenly burst into laughter when she slammed the door.

"Ian's driving that car, isn't he." Katerina asked as the car suddenly sped off.

"Let them have their alone time." Veronica teased.

"I want some alone time." Miguel whispered into Veronica's ear. Veronica simply rolled her eyes at him.

"Margaret can stay in mine and Adrianna's villa." Cedric announced.

"No!" Ayanna suddenly said. "Adrianna and Margaret are staying with me. I'm disappointed in the two of you. I told you it was a girl's trip and you boys all had to tag along." Ayanna complained.

"Can you take care of your pregnant sister-in-law?" Cedric asked his younger sister.

"Nicole will be with me." Ayanna argued back.

"Good luck getting her to leave Ian." Katerina said with a laugh. "I need to stay in my villa. I have work, remember." Katerina said with a shrug.

"I'll stay with you Ayanna." Natalia said sweetly.

"Ayanna you and Natalia can't take care of Adrianna. What if something happens?" Cedric said as he placed a protective arm on his wife's shoulder.

"Aren't you gonna ask me for what I want?" Adrianna told Cedric with a warning look. Cedric immediately knew he was going to lose this conversation.

"I'm sorry dear. I was just so worried about your safety. I love you." Cedric said as he kissed her cheek.

"Not gonna work." Adrianna said, rolling her eyes. "I'm staying with Ayanna. Margaret will be coming with me of course." Adrianna told her husband.

 "We should get going Ayanna, your sister-in-law has been standing for too long." Cedric said as he caressed Adrianna's hand.

Ayanna simply nodded in agreement and rode a random car. Seeing this Ray jumped into the same car as his fiance. 

"Where will you be sleeping?" Miguel asked his wife.

"Not with you." Veronica said as she marched over and rode a different car from the one Miguel had gotten off earlier.

Katerina and Natalia laughed at him. "Good luck with that Miguel." Natalia teased as she and her older sister got into the same car as Veronica.

Cedric, Adrianna, and Margaret got in the biggest car. It had been specifically prepared so that Adrianna would have ample space.

The group then drove off to Ray's private compound on the island.