Never Judge

Everything happened in a blur, one moment Cedric was holding his wife as she cried and the next he was in the hospital morgue looking down at his mother's cold body. 

Even as he looked down at the corpse his mind refused to believe what was in front of him. How could his mother be dead? He was speaking to her a few hours ago and now here was her body, lifeless.

Cedric didn't shed a tear, he didn't understand why. He just stood there as Miguel explained to him what had happened.

"This happens sometimes Cedric, that's why I wasn't too optimistic." Miguel said with a frown as he wiped a tear away. Priscilla Clarin - Reyes was like a second mother to all of them. "Auntie was sick, her cancer was so far advanced that we couldn't even figure out which treatment would help."

"I can't believe she's gone." Cedric muttered. "I was just speaking to her earlier today." Cedric felt like he was dreaming the whole time. It felt unreal, a part of him still refused to accept that his mom was now gone.

"Cedric, Auntie knew she wouldn't survive." Miguel told Cedric with a frown. "She said her goodbyes to all of us today. She got more than what most do."

"What do we do next?" Cedric asked Miguel, he was at a loss, his father was also at a loss, even Ayanna had not spoken a word since he arrived at the hospital.

"I guess you will need to arrange for her funeral and burial, you'll also need to go through her will." Miguel explained as he tried to think of what others had done after a death. "In your case there will be an additional step, you need to inform the press."

"This is a personal matter." Cedric said quite angrily.

"We are public figures, we may not want to be public figures but we are." Miguel reminded his friend.  "Your mother helped a lot of people through her charities, she also ran a company, she wasn't any ordinary woman. I am sure a lot of people would like to mourn her as well."

Cedric nodded and frowned. He had no idea where to start, his father was clearly broken, and Cedric could fully understand why. He couldn't imagine what life would be like if he lost Adrianna.

"What actually caused her death?" Cedric asked Miguel. 

"She was weak to begin with Cedric, she lost so much blood from the bullet wound it was a miracle that she woke up." Miguel explained. "Her body just could replenish the lost blood, plus we hadn't noticed that her cancer had progressed recently. After you left her organs slowly started to fail."

"I will kill Aiden Ortiz." Cedric said angrily, he knew only one man was to blame and that was Aiden.

"Cedric, I think the reason why auntie was so willing to jump in front of that bullet was because she knew her time was near." Miguel told Cedric as he tried to calm his friend down.

"Do you know what my mom said to me earlier?" Cedric asked Miguel.

Miguel simply shook his head in response and waited for Cedric to speak.

"She said, she knew that she didn't have long left, and that if she were to die, she wanted to die for a good reason, and family was a good enough reason." As Cedric repeated the words his mother had told him he couldn't help but tear up. 

His mother had sacrificed herself to protect the next generation and she had done so willingly, she did not hesitate, she did not think twice.

"I'm not surprised that she said that." Miguel said as he placed a hand on Cedric's shoulder. "Auntie was always so selfless, she always thought of others over herself."

"I need to arrange for everything." Cedric said as his voice trembled.

"Have you even let yourself grieve?" Miguel asked Cedric.

"You sound like Eric." Cedric said as he rolled his eyes at Miguel.

"The shrink is often right, you know." Miguel said with a shrug. "You can't just power through this one Cedric."

"It hasn't sunk in yet." Cedric said, shaking his head. "I can't even process what is going on properly to be honest." Cedric confessed.

"Maybe dealing with all the affairs might not be the best way to deal with your sorrow." Miguel suggested.

"There is no one else Miguel." Cedric said, shaking his head. "My dad is too torn up to do anything and Ayanna hasn't stopped crying since I arrived, she hasn't spoken a word. I'm the new head of the Reyes Clan and I should see to this."

"Alright." Miguel said with a nod. "But don't forget that if you need anyone to talk to we are here."

"I won't." Cedric said with a sad smile.

"Use Nicole's office, I know there is a lot you need to do." Miguel offered.

Cedric thanked him and walked over to the Vice President's office.

He quickly called Mae, Dave, Ian, and Camilla over. He called Ian and Camilla to help since he knew that the workload today would be too much for Mae and Dave. 

"Mae, Camilla, I need you both to help in arranging for the funeral and internment." Cedric told the two. "I know that my mom is to be interned at the family mausoleum. The wake should last at least eight days so that guests from abroad can pay their respects."

Mae and Camilla nodded.

"Dave, arrange for the press conference. This needs to happen sooner rather than later." Cedric told him. "Let's have it outside R Tower, I don't want to spend too much time here at the hospital."

"Ian, I need you to help with mom's last will and testament." Cedric instructed. "Talk to Katerina, she will be able to help."

When Cedric had given out his instructions he was surprised that none of his assistants or former assistants had moved.

"Cedric, how are you?" Ian asked, he was the closest to Cedric among the four.

"I just need to get through this." Cedric said with a frown. "Will you help me?" He asked.

"Of course." Ian said as he led the others out of the office, to do as Cedric had asked.

When he was finally alone, Cedric sat down on Nicole's office chair and placed his head in his hands. He took a deep breath as he tried to process what had happened that day, but too much was going on.

Cedric closed his eyes and he let the tears drop.