Never Judge

The crowd that was once a buzz with noise suddenly quieted as they watched Ayanna Reyes - Laurence walk up to the stage. They were surprised, they had expected a member of the PR department to speak to them, not a member of the Reyes Family.

"I am glad that you could all make it here today." Ayanna said as she flashed them a rare smile. 

She watched as the cameras began to flash, they wanted to capture that smile. She too often carried her cold expression, driving people away. She knew that she had a resting bitch face, and she was more than happy to use it. Being too kind was a disadvantage for people like her.

"I am sure you have heard many rumors about my family recently." Ayanna began as her eyes scanned the crowd, she wanted to assess how they were feeling. "I'm not here to clarify things or to give our family's statement." 

She saw as a wave of confusion passed through the members of the press. It was a natural expression, why was she up there then, if not to speak on behalf of the Reyes Group and the Reyes Clan?

"I know, you are confused." Ayanna said calmly. "I am here to introduce you to the person that will be giving the statement." Ayanna said with a grin.

She paused to let the audience absorb and understand her words.

"Members of the press, no one could best explain the situation other than my brother." Ayanna announced peaking everyone's interest once more. 

She spotted as the cameramen lifted their equipment and waited for her to call out the man they were waiting for. 

"Just this morning you saw him arrive with me and my husband and my father." As Ayanna said this the members of the media began talking amongst themselves, Ayanna knew that they had their own theories.

"Brother, would you care to join me?" Ayanna asked with a grin.

As she said this Cedric walked out from the makeshift backstage.

When the members of the media saw Cedric they were still shocked, they had an idea that it could have been him, especially after he arrived in the luxury car this morning, but nothing was confirmed until now.

"He is different." A reporter told the cameraman next to him. "It's like a mix, it's odd but it works."

"Yeah." The cameraman said as he continued to snap photos of the CEO with his face uncovered. "Before he was just scary and intimidating. Now I feel like he is this mature man that is very respectable. I mean he is still intimidating."

"I only noticed now how handsome he actually is." A female reporter next to them said with a sigh. "He is gorgeous."

"You women swoon over every intimidating CEO type." The male reporter said with a laugh.

"No, no. I feel as if he is even more handsome than Eric Chan!" The female reporter exclaimed.

"What? No." Another reporter said, joining in. "Eric Chan is better looking."

"Okay, leave that debate for the gossip column." The cameraman said with a laugh.

"Speaking of which, what do you think those people who smeared his name will do." The first female reporter asked. "Many of them gossiped that his wife was a mistress, and that their son was illegitimate."

The male reporter couldn't help but laugh. "Who knew that the child they were calling illegitimate is actually the next Reyes Heir."

"Knowing the Reyeses, they won't be easily forgiven or forgotten." The second female reporter said, shaking her head.

"I wonder why he had to keep his identity a secret." The male reporter said, thinking out loud.

"We could never fathom to understand how the brains of the rich and powerful works." The cameraman said as he continued to follow Cedric on the stage.

"I'm sure they will answer that." The second female reporter told her companion.

"If they don't I will bravely ask the question." The first female reporter said with a nod. 

On the stage, Cedric walked over to the podium. As he reached his sister he gave her a tight hug. 

He knew Ayanna was shocked with the public display of affection, traditionally they avoided such displays, it helped dissuade their enemies from thinking that they could kidnap one member and hold them hostage. 

"Good afternoon. My name is Cedric Reyes, and I am the CEO of the Reyes Group." Cedric said in a cold tone as he flashed an intimidating grin at the press.

Everyone had gone silent as they waited for what he would say next.

"I understand that you have many questions and I will try to address them with my statement. We have a limited time for questions so I hope you will keep your concerns on topic." Cedric said. He paused and watched the crowd, their attention remained glued on him.

"I have kept my identity a secret because for the past thirteen years I had participated in an old Reyes Family tradition, our poverty training." Cedric announced. "In those thirteen years I lived alone, isolated from the rest of the Reyes family, learning how everyone else lives. It was during this time that I met my wife, the mother of my son."

Cedric noticed how the eyes of the women in the crowd turned soft when they heard him mention his wife. He wanted to make it a point to tell everyone that Adrianna married him for who he was and not for his money.

"Adrianna had no idea who I was until recently, so if anyone dares to accuse her of being with me for my money, I am warning you now, she is not." Cedric said as he glared at the audience. "I hope this statement on my identity will suffice for all of you."

 Cedric knew that it would never be enough for the members of the media, they would always want to know more, but him saying that would definitely deter them from digging any deeper. It was all they needed to know about him.