Never Judge

By the time the charity event had ended, the story of Cedric's speech was already all over all of the news sites and social media. 

Some people praised him for calling out those that were insincere about donating. While there were still others that scolded him for not thinking about the implications of his actions to his company.

"Does it bother you?" Adrianna asked as they walked out of the venue.

"Of course not." Cedric said with a laugh. "They will criticize me no matter what I do, so I might as well think of the greater good rather than the public's opinion."

"This is our new life, isn't it?" Adrianna asked with a frown.

"Yes, this is what we have to give up." Cedric said with a nod. "I would have preferred to keep living our simple life, just you and me and our children."

"Children? You want more?" Adrianna asked Cedric, giving him a funny look.

"You don't?" Cedric asked his wife. He always thought that she wanted more than just one child.

"Well I don't mind having more. It's just, I'm not sure if I'm ready." Adrianna admitted. "Emilio's birth was difficult, and watching how much danger we are putting our children in, it scares me."

"Adri, I will never let anyone harm our family." Cedric said as he pulled his wife closer to him. "You know what, I think we need a stroll." Cedric said with a smile as he looked around.

"What are you looking for?" Adrianna asked as she looked at how stupid her husband looked at the moment.

"Friends." Cedric said with a grin as he waved at Ram and Francesca.

"What's up?" Ram asked as he approached Cedric and Adrianna.

"It's been a long and tiring night, would you guys like to take a walk in the park?" Cedric asked.

"There are some botanical gardens that look amazing at night, why don't we go there?" Francesca asked. "It's not far, we can just walk."

"Alright." Cedric said with a nod as he called Merrick over. He told his security team their plan and the team jumped into action, making sure that it was safe for them to just walk to the park.

"Francesca, you owe me a story." Adrianna teased as they walked on the side of the road.

"When we get to the garden, too many ears now." Francesca said with a smile as she spotted some paparazzi in the distance.

"It's been a while since I've walked on the side of the road." Ram said as he held Francesca's hand.

"Have you ever walked on the side of the road?" Cedric teased Ram. "You've always been chauffeured everywhere, even if it was a block away we always took the car."

The girls laughed at Cedric's comment, it was true, the four princes barely walked on the sidewalk, there was simply no need.

It was safer for them to take the car, it was easier on their security team.

"Laugh all you want, but I have." Ram said, scoffing at them. "When I ran away from home."

"You ran from home?" Cedric asked with a frown. He had spent years away from his friends, so there were parts of their lives that he didn't know.

"After you left, a few months after." Ram said with a shrug. "I didn't understand what was going on. You left, I mean I knew you were leaving, then I just felt like I wanted to know who my real parents were, so I ran away."

"Did you find them? Your real parents I mean." Cedric asked.

"No." Ram said, shaking his head. "I found the orphanage where I was taken from, I asked the nuns there what they knew, but they couldn't trace who my real parents were." Ram said with a frown.

"I'm sure they are out there. Somewhere." Cedric said with a sigh.

Francesca moved closer to wrap her arm around Ram who simply smiled at her actions.

"The paparazzi will enjoy the photos they are getting now." Adrianna said with a laugh as they entered the gardens.

It was beautiful at night with capiz lanterns hanging from the trees and lights illuminating the flowering trees.

"This place is beautiful." Adrianna said as she took out her phone to snap a few photos.

"I used to come here after the incident." Francesca said with a frown as she walked over to a bench and looked up. 

"What incident?" Adrianna asked, taking a seat beside Francesca.

"The thing that Aiden did to my family." Francesca explained.

"What happened?" Adrianna asked, looking at Francesca.

"Well, Andres and I had an older brother, he was our eldest, Matteo." Francesca said with a sad look in her eyes. "One day, Matteo asked to meet my then fiance, his name was Edward Vernon, and I was madly and truly in love with him." 

Adrianna gasped as she gave Ram a curious look.

"It's alright Adrianna, I've known about Edward from the start." Ram said with a smile. "I knew of him. He was a competitor in the industry."

"That's right." Francesca said with a nod. "It was Edward that made me into the actress that I am now."

"He saved her." Ram said, chiming in.

"One day, Matteo went to meet with Edward. He wanted Edward to return me to the Rocci family. My mother was sick and she was looking for me. Edward obliged and met up with him." Francesca said as a tear rolled from her cheek.

"If it's too much you don't need to tell me." Adrianna said. 

"No, it's alright, it's been a while." Francesca said. "They were on their way home when they met a mysterious accident. Matteo lost control and his car crashed into Edwards. We thought they would survive, but their hearts both stopped beating in the hospital."

As Francesca said this she broke down into tears.

"Their death is the reason why Andres and I had to take over the Rocci family, we didn't know better, we thought papa was behind it all." Francesca said, shocking Adrianna.