Returning with the CEO'S Twins for Revenge

Lesson Learned

“I’ve been waiting. Do you like your new home?”

Ciara smiled and then moved into her brother’s outstretched arms.

She sighed, reveling in his warmth.

“I’ve missed you, big brother,” she murmured, snuggling even closer.

“Missed you too, chummy. I always wondered when you were going to listen to me. Why did you sign the marriage contract in the first place?”

Ciara sighed again, pulling back.

“You know why.”

She patted him on his cheek and entered fully into his tastefully furnished penthouse.

“Mum and dad would not…”

“Are you going to trouble me with questions, or you’re going to pamper your prodigal sister?” Ciara pouted with her arms folded.

Leo laughed, taking her hand and leading her into the kitchen. There, he fed her with the most nutritious and delicious meals. Afterward, he prepared a hot bath for her and then watched her sleep.

Leo sighed, brushing hair out of her face. If not that he had promised to stay away and help keep her identity a secret, he would have taught Ryan a lesson. But no need to hold back now. She was ready, ready to take back what were hers and he would be by her side to help her through it all.

******

Over four hours later, Ciara finally awoke, feeling less tired and more refreshed than she had ever been in years. She yawned loudly and then laughed at herself.

“It’s impossible that I’m hungry, not after the mountain I demolished,” she chuckled, shaking her head, but soon, she was up on her feet and running for the kitchen.

“Where are you off to?”

She froze mid-run. She turned around with a wide smile.

“Hey, big brother.”

Leo c****d his head, “are you hungry?”

She itched her head.

“I thought as much. I already ordered pizza, should be here in a couple of minutes.”

She heaved a sigh of relief.

“You’re the best.” She shot him two thumbs up, then turned around and began walking away.

“Do you want to see your new room? I’ve had your things brought up and arranged.”

“Later…” she yawned, “I’m set to take over the Company. Have my favorite uncles sold their shares?”

Leo beamed, “in a jiffy. You’re the major shareholder now and, if you choose to become the CEO.”

Ciara turned back to him with a huge smile.

“Want to let me show you some things so you can get a hang of how things work?”

“Definitely,” she beamed at her cousin's brother.

Leo was handsome and charming, he was the ladies’ man, but he was far more the best brother ever. He was too good to her and even when their uncles rebelled and schemed against their family, he didn’t take advantage of her vulnerable state and dupe her. She promised herself that she would repay him somehow.

“I’ll help you take back everything, don’t you worry. I’ll make sure you never suffer again and that you live blissfully for the rest of your life.”

He patted her hair and hugged her tightly. She sniffed.

“I’ve watched you suffer for a long time, and it broke my heart each time. I’ll protect you, I’ll protect you with my life.”

“I’ll protect you too, Leo, with my life. You’ve been the best, you’ve helped me so much. Thank you.”

*******

Ciara read through the files in front of her carefully, her eyes narrowed in concentration.

“This is ridiculous,” she shook her head, “over half a million just to get a little piece of… and who uses such a ridiculous amount to refurbish? How dare they steal from me in broad daylight?”

Leo laughed from his lying position on the couch in his private study. Ciara was at the table, going through the company’s previous year’s report.

“What’s funny?” She glared at him, “why didn’t you do anything? They have obviously been stealing and such large amounts, and I’m very certain this has been going on for a long time.”

“Yeah. I would have loved to do something, but I had no say in the affairs of the Company, plus it would have seemed suspicious.”

“Did you get yourself some shares too?”

“Yeah. You have a 65 percent share, I have 20 and the rest have 5 percent each.”

Ciara nodded, “Can I get additional information on the rest of the shareholders?”

“Sure. Second drawer on your right.”

Thirty minutes later, Ciara was utterly disgusted.

“Leo, do you mean to tell me that criminals have been managing my company these past years!” She shouted, gaping at the information she just read.

“When I kept asking you to leave miserable Ryan, now you understand why,” Leo answered, nonchalantly.

Ciara groaned, slapping herself in the face with the papers.

“I must have been so foolish to think I could get clues about mum and dad’s accident out of him. I mean, he was not even involved, and to think, I stayed for almost a year and would have stayed longer if he hadn’t cheated on me.”

“Have you finally admitted that you have feelings for him?”

Ciara pulled the papers off her face.

“I do not.”

“Ok.”

“Maybe I do,” she sighed, a displeased look on her face, “but you can’t blame me. If he didn’t have such a nasty attitude, he would have been the perfect husband.”

“Yeah, I know,” Leo snorted, “what kind of man signs a marriage contract? That’s just cowardice in my opinion. Marriage isn’t something you sign an agreement on. If he wasn’t ready to get married, he should have simply told his parents so and not coarse a weak nurse into marrying him for money, what if you really were a weak nurse? Wouldn’t you have signed yourself into a death wish? And what does he do after? He doesn’t even honor the fake marriage vows, he cheats on you with some sleazy fake doll. If he can’t honor a fake agreement, what makes you think he’ll honor a real one?”

Ciara was blown into silence by Leo’s outburst. Ever since Ryan's maltreatment, she had been making excuses for him and denying the plain old truth, but hearing it now from a third person’s view, she realized how naive she had been. Why in God’s name did she sign a marriage contract? That was foolish and an insult to God who made marriage holy and sacred.

Only when a teardrop fell into the white paper did she realize she was shedding tears.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking…” she sobbed.

Leo sighed but made no move to comfort her. Some lessons were best learned the hard way. His phone rang. He blindly picked up the phone from the side table and accepted the call.

He listened for a few seconds, then his eyes widened.

“What?.. Okay… Okay, that’s cool. No, not yet… I’ll give you the go ahead.”

“What is it?” Ciara queried with a voice hoarse from crying.

“They want to know who the major shareholder is,” Leo answered with a grave voice, sitting up.

“Who?”

“Our uncles.”

Ciara's eyes widened.