Kiss Me Not

Cedric followed his father into his study along with Sean. He was expecting a serious discussion regarding some matter, judging by his father's face.

He sat on the couch beside his father while Sean sat on the opposite side.

"Show him the reports," Lucas instructed Sean, who handed everything to Cedric.

"Everything is there, Son. The result of the fingerprint match is there…" Lucas informed him.

Cedric froze after reading the report.

"This…" he whispered weakly, unable to utter any more words. His face turned pale and he felt cold sweat all over his body. He flinched when he felt his father's warm hand on his free hand, squeezing it gently as he whispered, "Take your time to process everything. Sean and I are always here to answer any questions you might have, Son."

"But how… can this be…" Cedric gasped with a trembling voice.

"We will look further into the matter, in a confidential manner. For now, it's best that we keep this between us, Son, and leave matters as they are right now while we proceed with further investigation. I want to trap the man responsible for this in our hands without fail. This secret must remain hidden until the right moment.

Do you understand? Let me redeem myself by handling it on my own. You only have to focus on getting your memory back. I can't pass the throne to you till this problem is solved, Son. I have another task for you instead." Lucas requested.

Cedric looked at his father and asked, "Tell me everything you need, Father. I will do everything I can to help you."

Lucas looked at Sean and signaled the latter to explain the detailed plan the two of them had come up with to bring down the enemies of the Royal Family.

"Brione's brother and sister-in-law, we can trust them to help us catch the culprit. They are helping me in this investigation. Kevin is coordinating with them," Cedric suggested.

"How about Brione? Do you plan to tell her everything?" Lucas asked.

"I'm not sure, Father. I will think about it. I need to balance some things out first," Cedric answered.

Lucas nodded and reminded him, "Whatever you decide is fine, Son, but what is important is that we keep this a secret till we solve the case."

"I understand, Father," Cedric answered. The three men continued to discuss other things including the matter involving the Prime Minister and how they could rescue Oliver without jeopardizing their plans.

After the discussions ended, Cedric contacted Noah on his mobile phone. As he was expecting, the results of his writing analysis and comparison were out too.

"Can we keep this a secret for now? I want to tell Brione everything myself, please Noah. I will discuss everything with you in person. Brione and I will return in two days at most. I will wrap up matters here and then I will discuss things with you personally," Cedric explained and Noah agreed. The call soon ended.

Cedric walked back to where everyone was gathered. The women were in the veranda, drinking and talking together, while the men were in the bar area. Cedric walked towards the bar area.

He patted Cain on his shoulder and said, "Sorry Cain, I forgot to inform you. I really did fall asleep as soon as I got to my room."

Cain chuckled and said, "That's okay, Cedric. It's not likely to ruin my mood. Let bygones be bygones."

"Where is Uncle Edward?" Cedric asked Will.

"Oh, he received a call so he immediately went out. It was probably his mistress," Will commented casually.

"No wonder Kimmy hates him," Will added, shaking his head. Then he looked at Cain and commented, "Kimmy had liked bad guys ever since she was young. You know, she easily falls for villainous men who are willing to change and feel remorse for their wrongdoings. I guess her father played a great role in influencing her to have bad taste in men."

"You're drunk, Will. Why mention that to Cain?" Cedric scolded.

"That's okay. I've not affected anyway," Cain simply answered.

"Seriously man, are you a rock or something? Your father almost died of a heart attack because of embarrassment, while you offered your service to the Royal Family? Are you a Saint?" Will scoffed in a drunk voice.

"Who knows? I might be waiting for the right time to make a move and take revenge on the person responsible," Cain mumbled wryly.

"Is that a threat, Cain? Kimmy is my cousin and I will not let you harm her," Cedric interrupted with a dark face.

"Kimmy, Kimmy… I think your cousin is old enough to take care of herself, Cedric. What you should be worried about is your own situation and that of your father. Most importantly your father's health. If he continues stressing out, it will greatly affect his health. He's getting old, Cedric." Cain stated nonchalantly.

"I know, but still, Kimmy is a part of my family so don't you dare do anything to harm her because I will not turn a blind eye to it, Cain. She is just a woman who got caught in a situation she never asked for or wanted. So you should clear your head of thoughts that Kimmy was responsible for your Father's stroke because it's not true." Cedric reiterated in a serious voice.

Cain exhaled loudly and said, "Don't worry, Cedric. I am not going to do anything to her against her will and I will not definitely harm her, okay. You sound like I mean to kill or hurt her."

"Well, I didn't mean that but hurting someone's heart is the same as hurting and killing someone physically," Cedric warned straightforwardly.

Both men were interrupted by Will's loud laughter as he chortled, "Ah, you two stop that! Kimmy doesn't have a heart, okay!"

Will pointed a finger to Cedric and scoffed, "You are being so overprotective!"

Then he pointed his finger next to Cain and barked, "And you, don't even think about it or you'll end up getting embarrassed… twice."

Cain shook his head before squinting his eyes in Kimmy's direction as he mused, "We will soon see…"