Rise Of The Disgraced Heir

Camilla was in her living room, working on some notes from the party last night when a knock came at the door.

For obvious reasons there were only a few people allowed access on their floor, so it could only be either Ian or one of his sisters.

She got up from the couch and slowly made her way to the door.

As she opened it, Camilla was greeted by two smiling faces, Sam and Karina, Ian's siblings.

"We're sorry you have to deal with our brother." Sam, the elder of the two, said as he handed Camilla a tray of food.

"It's not like I'm getting rid of him anytime soon." Camilla said with a chuckle. "Does he even know you came over?" She asked as she gladly accepted the tray.

"No, he locked himself in his room as soon as you guys got back." Karina told her with a frown.

"You guys want to hang out or something?" Camilla said as she invited the siblings in. She was never one for unnecessary social interaction, but if she liked the person she was willing to exert herself.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked with a hopeful look in her eyes. "You seem busy." She said as she glanced at the documents on Camilla's coffee table.

"No, it's fine. We can chat while I work. I don't really like things being so monotonous. I'm a walking contradiction." Camilla said with a laugh as she led the two girls into her unit.

"You and our brother have identical tastes." Karina said with a laugh as she looked around the room.

"Not completely." Camilla said with a laugh as she walked into the kitchen. "Coffee, tea, snacks?" She called out.

"Coffee!" The sisters shouted at the same time.

"It seems we have the same taste." Camilla told them as they followed her into the kitchen.

Unlike the ones in Ian's unit, this one was much more cozy.

"Our brother would never set his place up like this." Sam said with a laugh as she looked around. "Even our house is built so ummm, Karina, what's the word I'm looking for?" She asked her younger sister.

"It's very formal, very cold, and very old." Karina said with a grin as Camilla finished preparing their drinks.

"You have to understand Camilla, our brother, he's been through so much. So a lot of his decisions aren't logical to you, but to him it makes sense, it helps him get to his end goal," Sam explained.

Camilla took a deep breath and sighed. She had no intention of judging Ian so harshly, she too had a story, but the way he acted earlier was inexcusable. It was like he just snapped when she showed her concern.

"Let's talk about this in the living room." Camilla told the sisters as she got her mug of coffee and some snacks. "You guys can carry your own drinks, right?" She asked with a grin as the two women scrambled to help her.

Camilla gently set her drink and snacks down on the table as she avoided the documents she was working on.

Sam and Karina soon joined her, avoiding the documents as well.

"I don't know if we should be telling you this, but you're the first person Ian has considered to be a friend in the past ten years." Sam told Camilla with a frown as she looked down, avoiding Camilla's gaze.

"You're kidding, right?" Camilla asked with a slight laugh.

"No, she isn't." Karina said as she shook her head. "Things happened, years ago, we were too young to understand but Ian was old enough. He suffered the most from it."

"What happened?" Camilla asked, wondering what was so bad that it could affect how a young man could suddenly build a wall around him.

"Well, okay, first let me explain the Lims." Sam said as she took a deep breath.

Camilla watched as Karina reached out to her older sister and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"I don't know how much you know, but the Lims weren't always poor, as a matter of fact there was once a time that we could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Reyeses, the Chans, the Carpios, the Abads, and all of the other old families in the country." Sam explained with a frown.

"That much I know." Camilla said as she informed Sam. "During the party that your brother and I had to attend and in several conversations I've had with your brother, I learned that your family and the Reyeses were once friends."

Sam and Karina nodded, acknowledging that Camilla had the right idea.

"Our parents and our brother still get invited to events from the older families." Karina said with a sigh. "I know it's difficult for him and for them. People are always whispering behind their backs, talking about how they think we lost our fortune."

"Then there are those that judge us for living in our house, still." Sam added. "First of all, it's not easy selling property in the old city. There are standards and it takes decades to sell one. Then there is the fact that it's our ancestral house. It's where our family started, the government won't let us just sell it because it's historical."

"People talk a lot when they think we aren't listening." Karina said with a frown.

"And we know that growing up, people left Ian. When he needed a ride home they just let him walk. When he was hungry they happily let him starve. They just left him in the wind as soon as they heard we lost everything. Only two people stayed, Jas and Damien." Sam told Camilla.

"Who is Damien?" Camilla asked. It was the first time she was hearing this name.

"Our brother's only other friend. He is out of the country right now." Sam said with a shrug.

"Is that why he won't let go of Jas? Because she stood by him through everything?" Camilla asked the sisters.

"Yes and we think he really loves her, but we aren't sure about Jas. We don't know if she is staying because they are old friends or because she loves him just as much." Karina explained.

"Well, when she came here she seemed to be so in love with your brother that she was willing to attack me." Camilla told the sisters with a laugh.

"She has her own pressures too." Sam said as she frowned at the thought. "Her immediate family accepts Ian, but her extended family insists she meets other people. The thing is, she agreed to it."

"That's why you aren't sure if she loves your brother?" Camilla asked.

"Yes." Karina replied with a nod. "How the hell can you date someone else when you have a boyfriend, it's just not right." She hissed.

"She is doing it to make things easier on Ian." Sam told her younger sister with a frown. "We know how complicated their situation is at the moment. The businesses under the Ortega family are slowly crashing, the pressure is on Jas to get a partnership that will save them."

"By partnership, do you mean marriage?" Camilla asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, no." Sam said with a laugh as she shook her head. "But she uses those dates to get partnerships. We don't know how, all we know is that they talk, go on a date, then they get a new partner. But every time as soon as she closes a deal things get worse."

"You mean she -" Camilla said in shock, she didn't know what to think, or even if what she was thinking was true.

"No, well, we don't think she sleeps with them." Sam said as she thought of the possibility.

"I still don't think she is the best person for our brother." Karina told Sam as she rolled her eyes in defiance.

"It's Ian's choice who he loves, not ours." Sam told her sister. "She stood by him when everyone left him, that must mean something."

Camilla frowned at the thought of how miserable Ian's life must have been, watching everyone abandon him because of money.

And now the woman he loved was constantly with other men. How much faith did Ian have on Jas that he was able to withstand that. She knew she would never be able to survive the pain Ian must be suffering at the moment.

"Can you girls start decorating my room?" Camilla asked as she got up.

"Yeah, sure." Sam said with a smile as they watched Camilla step out of the room.