Anthony ignored responding to Mark, as he didn't even avert his gaze nor bat an eye to stare at Mark Terry for a second. His gaze was strictly on Lerisa, whom he was staring at with concern.
Lerisa felt embarrassed after seeing Mark apologize to Anthony, and he exited Anthony's office immediately, shutting the door.
Mark already knew that Lerisa had a crush on Anthony, which was the reason she rejected his love proposal.
He shook his head in denial after seeing Anthony holding Lerisa closely by her arms, confirming to him that they were secret lovers pretending in front of the other staff like they were siblings.
“Lerisa..." Anthony called out Lerisa's name, making her shudder in his hold and snap out of her trance, as he was still holding her arms closely.
Anthony knew that Lerisa was not in any relationship, so he wondered what had made her look sad and if someone had broken her heart or was troubling her.
"What's wrong with you? Don't tell me it is nothing when you're looking this sad?" Anthony asked, looking deeply into her face.
"Nothing is wrong with me, Anthony. I'm fine. I only came here to collect the office key from you, but it seems like you aren't ready to leave for home,” Lerisa replied, staring downward at Anthony's chest, not wanting to meet his gaze.
“Hmm, it is alright. I'm already going home now. But I hope that you are not putting up with this act so you won't attend my birthday party tomorrow?” Anthony asked her.
“No..." Lerisa responded, immediately forcing a fake smile on her face, which made Anthony relieved to know that she was fine and that she would attend his birthday party at home, as she usually did.
“That's fine. Wait, let me drop you off,” Anthony proposed, but Lerisa immediately rejected his advances. “No need, sir… I came with my car today, so I will be leaving now."
“Sir? Haven't I told you to stop calling me sir, Lerisa? You're like a sister to me, and not just my staff here?”
Lerisa gulped heavily, feeling more sour than when she saw the ring earlier. Anthony kept reminding her that she was like a sister to him, making it clear again that he couldn't see her beyond that.
“Okay, Anthony. But I have to go home now,” Lerisa corrected her statement, not wanting to be reminded that she was like a 'sister' to him.
“Okay, drive safely home. I will come to see you tomorrow morning, once I'm through with my morning routine and my exercise too,” Anthony let her know, but Lerisa replied, "No need for that, Anthony; I said that I'm fine."
"Hmm…" Anthony hummed, finally releasing her arms and said, “It is alright. You can leave for home now."
Anthony continued watching Lerisa's face as she nervously responded to him, “Okay, goodbye, Anthony.”
Lerisa quickly turned her back on Anthony and exited his office, making her way out of the third floor and into the elevator.
Anthony knew that Lerisa was a 24-year-old lady, and he felt bad for not being able to comfort her.
Anthony walked back toward his office seat, shut his computer, and prepared to go home to his family house.
He dipped the red ring box into his trouser side pocket and picked up his briefcase to leave his office.
****
Lerisa had rushed into the elevator, not wanting to meet the other staff's eyes who were staring at her as she exited Anthony's office.
She felt like crying it all out, knowing that Anthony would never notice her feelings for him, especially now that he was settling down with Clara Harry.
Lerisa had been hoping that one day Anthony would notice her feelings and fall in love with her, but he failed to see in her eyes that she really loved him, not just working for him happily.
Lerisa stepped out of the elevator and into the first floor, the company lobby, where they usually advertised most of their new products.
The receptionist's office was there, together with their advertising section.
Lerisa rushed towards the exit door, nearly hitting some staff on her way outside. She exited the first floor, where they advertised their brand-new quality shoes and other fashion products they sold.
She bumped into Ben Wilfred on her way outside, as Ben was Anthony's friend.
“Hey, Lerisa," Ben caught up with her left arm, but she shuddered away from his hold, not liking him holding her, let alone entertaining his touch.
“What's wrong with you? Wait, who hurt you?" Ben asked, noticing Lerisa's saddened face.
“Nothing is wrong with me. I'm fine. I have to go home now,” Lerisa replied, running away to her car in the parking lot. She saw that most of the staff were leaving for home as it was Friday.
Ben sighed as his fist clenched. He came to see Anthony and Lerisa too.
Ben loved Lerisa, but she didn't give him the green light or any chance to prove his love to her or speak to her.
Sighing , Ben walked into the company building to meet with Anthony. He make his way up to the third floor where Anthony Gregson's office was.
****
Lerisa quickly got into her small red car. She picked up her white handkerchief, blew her nose, and started her red car engine.
She drove out of the company premises, passing the security checkpoint at the exit gate, and drove back home to her father's house, where she still lived with her parents.
She was the second-born child and first daughter, with a younger sister and an elder brother.
Lerisa arrived home, drove her red car into her father's compound, parked it, and finally got out of the car.
She picked up her black handbag, shut her car door, and walked into her family house as night had fallen.
Lerisa walked into the living room of her family mansion and met her mother standing beside the dining room, arranging the dining chairs.Her elder brother and younger sister weren't around, as they were still in school."Good evening, Mom," Lerisa greeted her mother but didn't stop in the living room as she walked towards the corridor that led to all the rooms in the big house.Mrs. Antonia Jonah wondered what happened to her first daughter as she saw how Lerisa's face looked pretty red.She immediately called Lerisa back."Come here, Lerisa! What happened in the office today? Why does your face look so red?"Lerisa stopped and replied, "Nothing, Mom, I'm fine."Mrs. Antonia sighed and dismissed Lerisa."That's alright; do it quickly and come join your father and me for dinner.”“Okay, Mom,” Lerisa replied, darting into the corridor as she went to her room to take her bath.Lerisa stepped into her room and shut the door. She cried and leaned against the door for support as she strode
Anthony continued to think about why Lerisa wasn't happy, as he didn't have any siblings and had grown up seeing her as a sibling to him.He sighed and focused his gaze on the road, driving home. Soon, he arrived home and drove into the garage, before getting out of his car and walking up to their duplex.“Good evening, Mom and Dad,” Anthony greeted his parents as he entered the living room and saw them sitting on the dining chairs.“Welcome home, Anthony. How was work today?” His mother smiled and replied first.“Fine, Mother,” Anthony walked up toward the living room stairs to retire to his bedroom. However, his mother spoke to him again, “Wait, Anthony, won't you join us for dinner before retiring to your bedroom?”Anthony paused, stared back at his mother, and replied, “Okay, Mom. How's my birthday preparation going? We will celebrate it here tomorrow in the event hall.”Anthony walked to the dining room table and chairs to join his parents. He pulled a seat out, before sitting dow
Lerisa was done having dinner with her parents in the dining room. None of her siblings were at home, so she stood up, locked the house entrance door, and returned to her bedroom to sleep.She went into her bedroom, picked up her phone, and saw that the time was after 10 p.m. She was surprised to see many missed calls from Anthony, and she wasted no time in immediately calling him back to know why he had called her.“Hello, Anthony," Lerisa spoke first. Anthony was standing in his bedroom, preparing to sleep. He saw his phone ringing, took it, and saw that Lerisa was the one calling him.He picked up her call and asked her, “Hey, Lerisa. I was calling you to know if you have gotten home safely and if you're alright now.”"Yeah, I'm fine now. Thanks for calling me to check," Lerisa replied with a smile. She knew that Anthony cared for her like an older brother, but he was not her real brother, as she had a big brother named James Jonah.Lerisa wished Anthony could see her beyond the si
Anthony finally stared back at Lerisa's face and said to her, "I have to go home now, Lerisa. I hope that you're truly feeling fine now."Anthony drank from the bottled water in his hands again, looking directly at Lerisa's face. She replied, "Yes, I'm fine. See you later in the evening."Lerisa's pretty, fair-complexioned face turned sad again as she remembered that Anthony would definitely propose to Clara in the evening. Since Anthony and Clara had been dating for three years or more.Anthony noticed the change in Lerisa's mood due to how her face automatically turned red. He immediately asked her, "What's wrong with you again?"Lerisa snapped out of her trance and replied, "Nothing, I'm fine.""Hmm, you keep lying to me that you're fine when you are not... Tell me the truth, Lerisa. What's bothering you? You can share whatever the problem is with me. You know that I care about you, and I know that you don't have any other friends aside from me," Anthony said. "You don't have a boyf
Ben chuckled first over the phone call, as he knew he had been asking Lerisa out, yet she didn't want to accept him.She was the first lady who had ever rejected his advances to date her, and he was determined to have her by force, whether she liked him or not. He believed that, with time, she would fall in love with him too."Does it matter how I got your number, Lerisa? The truth is that I want to hear your voice. I have been searching for your mobile number and finally got it from somewhere else.""Where?" Lerisa asked, frowning and not wanting to have anything to do with Ben.She knew that Ben was also from a rich family. He was not the first son, but he owned a hotel and was doing well at his age, despite being the same age as Anthony.Lerisa asked him, "Why are you calling me?""Chill, babe. Why are you sounding so pissed off? Yesterday, I saw that you looked so sad, and that made me truly worried about you. I couldn't sleep well last night, which is why I am calling you now to s
Lerisa sighed as she knew that she couldn't miss Anthony's birthday party. She had been there with him since he celebrated his 8th birthday party, and now he had become an adult.She knew that if she avoided attending Anthony's birthday party, it might seem as though she was jealous or holding a grudge against him, which would make her parents frown at her.Lerisa fixed her gaze on the road as she drove her car out of the street, intending to take another turn before driving onto the main road.But just then, she saw a lady and a man kissing each other in front of a black car parked on the street.Lerisa wondered who the shameless young lady and the man were, kissing in public instead of finding somewhere private.She knew that mostly rich families lived around the estate, as most houses were individually owned and some were occupied by the real homeowners along with their family members, instead of tenants.As she drove ahead to exit the street, Lerisa approached the black car and saw
Clara knew that she had lied to Remy about her name being April. That was one of her habits—lying to men about her real name since she wasn't interested in them and only wanted to have sex with them.She walked back through her house gate, as she lived there alone, and went back into her room in the rented apartment.--------However, Lerisa drove to the shopping complex where she wanted to purchase clothes. She parked her car and sighed as she remembered how Clara had denied knowing her.Lerisa thought about calling Anthony again. But she didn't know how she would explain to him that she had seen his girlfriend cheating on him.She switched off her car engine and finally stepped out of her car before locking the car door and walking up to the shopping boutique where she wanted to select a gown.Lerisa stepped into one of the feminine boutiques, and the sales representative there attended to her. "Good afternoon, ma'am. What kind of clothes do you want to buy? We have gowns, skirts, bl
Lerisa and Martha entered the living room and met their parents seated on a couch. They greeted their parents, "Good afternoon, Mom, Dad.""Welcome home, Lerisa. Your father and I forgot to purchase birthday gifts for Anthony today. How about you? Did you purchase anything when you were coming home?" Mrs. Antonia asked. Lerisa replied, "No, Mom. I forgot too."Lerisa stared at the living room wall clock and saw that it was already 2 PM.Her father said, "There's still time, Lerisa. Why not go outside now with your sister to the shops nearby and purchase something for the Gregson family? As you know, we can't go there empty-handed to attend Anthony's birthday since he is their only son.""Hmm, you're right, Father. But what do I shop for him? They’re rich, and last year we already gave Anthony a standing fan... I don't know what to buy for him this year," Lerisa said with a frown, as they had bought a lot of gifts for Anthony before, and she was unsure what to give him recently."Anythi
Anthony already knew Remy would be heartbroken, so he left and went back home to apologize to his parents, not wanting to add to Remy's agony.Remy already grasped the situation, and if Anthony hadn't been his cousin, he could have dealt with him for daring to come to his house and tell him directly that he had slept with his woman.After Anthony left, Remy went back into his house to nurse his broken heart.A month passed and after the trending news stopped, Remy went back to his business. The female staff didn't dare to gossip about the matter. except they risked losing their jobs.Lerisa knew she owed Remy an apology, and her mother had said that she wouldn't marry Anthony unless she tender an apology at Remy.Lerisa arrived at Remy's hotel with the car gift that he bought for her. She did not know his house, so she donned a red dress and made her way to Remy's office.When the female staff saw Lerisa, their murmuring and gossip resurfaced. Lerisa didn't care and made her way to Re
Lerisa hadn't stepped out of her father's house since she started trending. She was ashamed and couldn't face Remy. She couldn't tell Remy why she had broken up with him.Hearing her mother's voice, Lerisa rushed out of the house as she heard her mother shouting at someone. However, as Lerisa walked out, she saw Anthony drenched, with water dripping down his body.Anthony wasn't annoyed. He didn't want to leave until he saw Lerisa."Mom! What have you done?" Lerisa shouted, shocked to see that her mother had actually baptized Anthony with a bucket of cold water. Mrs. Antonia hissed and went back into the house, not wanting to answer Lerisa's questions.Looking back at Anthony, Lerisa offered her apologies to him. She did not know that Remy had arrived earlier, but seeing Anthony wet, Lerisa offered to bring James's clothes for him to change into."See them, shameless people," Mrs. Antonia muttered from her kitchen window. She should have known that she could not change her daughter's d
Lerisa looked at her father sadly and said, "Dad, you cannot tell the Creed family that it's because of Anthony that you want to call off the wedding.""Then what should I tell them?" Mr. Fred asked. "You went to Anthony's house and ended up sleeping on his bed.""Dad, I don't want Anthony and Remy to quarrel because of me. They're brothers and...""You should have been aware that they were brothers and not comfortably slept with Anthony unclothed on his bed. I don't want to discuss this matter again. Mr. Joshua and his wife are equally disappointed, as they know this would cause a rift in their family, especially since Mrs. Samara is Mrs. Beatrice's only sister. Your actions have caused a lot of problems, but it will be settled. You can go." Mr. Fred dismissed Lerisa. He did not believe his wife at first, but after visiting the Gregson home, Mr. Joshua told him personally that his wife had been in tears, blaming Anthony as the cause."Why did Anthony not admit his feelings sooner? He
Remy already noticed that Lerisa wasn't sounding like her usual self. However, he couldn't pinpoint what was wrong with her. He donned a casual outfit, but he was still handsome and tall."Fine. If you say so, I will contact you tomorrow morning before going to work. Try to charge your phone, okay?" Remy said. As he looked at Lerisa's finger, where he had placed the engagement ring the previous day, he noticed that Lerisa had taken off the ring.He furrowed his brows and asked her, "Where's your engagement ring, Lerisa? Did you purposefully take it off? Where is it?"Remy suspected something fishy."I left it indoors," Lerisa tried to lie, but she wasn't good at lying as she spluttered."You left it indoors? Where? You know that you were not supposed to take this ring off. Fine, go inside and bring it, and you can wear it back. Right here in my presence," Remy insisted. He didn't know what was wrong with Lerisa. Just the previous night, he had called her, and she promised to call him b
Mrs. Antonia frowned and accompanied James to Lerisa's room. Lerisa had cried herself to sleep on her bed. She was hungry and weak, but she didn't want to meet with anyone. She had also switched off her phone."Lerisa!" With a gentle knock on her daughter's room door, Mrs. Antonia called Lerisa. "Lerisa, are you in there?" Mrs. Antonia asked again, and Lerisa, feeling hungry, woke up.Lerisa pulled the door of her room open. Her mother and James gasped as they spotted her."Since when did you return?" Mrs. Antonia was the first to ask Lerisa, who looked sad, as did James."Not too long ago. Maybe after you and Dad left for church," Lerisa replied in a sad tone."What happened? Why do you sound sad?" Mrs. Antonia inquired. Lerisa shook her head and said, "Nothing, Mom. I am hungry."As Lerisa walked out of the corridor, Mrs. Antonia saw the red marks all over Lerisa's neck. She inquired, "Wait, Lerisa. What happened to you? Who beat you?"Mrs. Antonia rushed to examine her daughter's ne
"Please, Lerisa, I am sorry," Anthony tried to apologize to Lerisa after his mother left his bedroom with a grimace.Lerisa started crying on the bed as she realized what she had just done with Anthony."What am I going to explain to Remy now? Remy loves me too," Lerisa cried, still sitting on Anthony's bed."You will tell Remy the truth, that you cannot go ahead and marry him," Anthony replied, as he wanted to touch Lerisa's arms again, not equally satisfied with the previous night's events with her. However, Lerisa pushed his hands away."No! It's easy for you to say, but I cannot do it. I cannot face Remy. I have to go home now." Lerisa stepped down from the bed, and Anthony admired her physique.Anthony got down from the bed, fully unclothed. Seeing him in that state, Lerisa remembered all that had happened between them the previous night; she wanted more but knew she had Remy to deal with and, more likely, her family too.Lerisa shook her head and wanted to search the room for her
Anthony stood up from the tiled floor. He knew that it wasn't just him and Lerisa alone. Due to his silence and denial of his feelings for Lerisa, Remy had already engaged Lerisa, and now he was coming to break that bond. The media would become aware, and it would also cause a rift in their family.Lerisa sobbed, and Anthony hugged her closely, comforting her."I am sorry," he continued to apologize, and Lerisa knew that if she had to choose between Anthony and Remy, she would pick Anthony."I don't know what to tell Remy. I don't want to see you both fight because of me," Lerisa said as she turned her back to Anthony's chest.Anthony kissed Lerisa on the neck; he could no longer hold himself back. He had always restrained himself, but now that he had confessed his feelings to Lerisa, Anthony reached to undress her, and she didn't try to stop him. She wanted him badly and hadn't thought the day would come so soon.Lerisa held Anthony close, and they kissed as Anthony took her into his
"How could you lie to me, Anthony? I have been in love with you all these years, and you lie to me that I am just like a sister to you." Lerisa was in tears, and Anthony's heart broke. He turned Lerisa to face him, but she pushed his hands off just as his hands touched her arms."Stay away from me! You cheated on me; you pretended not to be in love with me, breaking my heart further with all your lies. Yet you know the truth that we are destined to be together. Why are you denying that, Anthony? Do you feel scared that you would hurt me in the long run and feel another man deserves me?"Lerisa was in tears as she moved away from Anthony. Anthony stood speechless; he loved Lerisa, but he couldn't admit it to her. He had also felt she saw him as an older brother, and it was only recently when she confessed her feelings to him—that she had been in love with him and couldn't bear to see him with other women—that he knew he had wronged her dearly."I am sorry," Anthony said, but Lerisa move
Lerisa sat down next to Anthony at the dining table, and the maid served them dinner.Anthony's eyes were still glued to Lerisa's face as he saw her frowning. She was going to marry his cousin, so he shouldn't be entertaining the thought of snatching Lerisa from Remy.Anthony finally asked Lerisa, "Do you like the meal, or do you want me to order something for you?"Lerisa didn't look up at Anthony's face. She stared at her plate, which contained jollof rice and fried turkey legs for dinner. She eventually replied to him, "It's okay. I can manage it."Mrs. Beatrice smiled understandingly at Lerisa, not interfering; she soon blessed their meal, and they started eating.After dinner, Anthony's mother called his father, and Anthony spoke to his father for a while.Lerisa knew that she had switched off her phone to avoid her parents. She couldn't face them, so she waited for Anthony to show her to the guest room to rest.Anthony's mother was exhausted, admiring her son's house. She wanted