"So what are you having us do? Do you want me to come officially see your family?" Remy asked, and Lerisa gasped out, "No. Don't come here now." "Why? How else will they know that I am serious about you and deeply sorry for my mistakes? I really do love you, Lerisa, and I want to have you as my wife; please give me a chance too," Remy begged, and Lerisa sighed heavily. "Let's just be friends for some time now. You know that it hasn't been long since all this happened, including Anthony breaking up with his ex-girlfriend that you slept with," Lerisa felt sour saying that. Not only because she loves Anthony, but because she knew how she caught Clara with Remy too. She could probably understand his regret, and Remy said, "But Anthony has already moved on. We cannot continue to dwell on the past, Lerisa. Life goes on, and I want you to know that I am serious about you." "Hmm, okay. I will think about us, but it's still better we get to date first; maybe after that, we will know if we
Lerisa drove her small red car to the church, Martha said, "I am so excited. I cannot wait to meet my big brother once he arrives home." "Me too," Lerisa replied as they finally arrived at their church, just a few minutes' drive from her father's home. Lerisa drove into the premises and parked. At the same time, Anthony also arrived with his car and parked his Jeep right beside Lerisa and her family. Lerisa got out of her car and met Anthony's gaze as he walked over to assist his parents in opening the car door. Though Anthony's car wasn't faulty, he was just being a gentleman. Lerisa quickly looked away from Anthony, not wanting to greet him, as she locked her car door. Her mother and sister paused and greeted Anthony's parents as they got out of his car. Lerisa knew she couldn't walk away without greeting Mrs. Beatrice and Mr. Joshua. She didn't hold any grudge against them, so she paused and greeted only Anthony's parents, avoiding Anthony's intense gaze. Anthony was wearin
Anthony stood speechless and staring at Lerisa. He observed her get into her car and leave the church premises with her mother and sister seated in the back seat of her car. Lerisa looked away from Anthony as she drove past him and zoomed off, not needing his advice. She went home, and her mother and sister couldn't stop teasing her about what Mrs. Beatrice Gregson was asking her about. "Lerisa, you don't want to disclose what you went to do there with Anthony and his mother?" Mrs. Antonia asked Lerisa. She was seated at the back seat with Martha and looking at the rear-view mirror, hopefully to catch a glimpse of her first daughter's facial reaction. "It is nothing, mom," came Lerisa's calm reply. She arrived at her family house and drove into the garage. Then she parked her red car. She didn't take notice that her father's car ahead arrived. Switching off her car engine, she took her silver handbag with her as she got out of her car first. "Don't mind her, Mom. My sister doesn't
Lerisa knew that her elder brother had just returned home, and she couldn't leave the house to go outside and meet with Remy. Not only that, her family had warned her to stay away from him too. She was concerned about heeding Anthony's warning. But she didn't perceive Remy as a bad man. The only issue is that she felt nothing for him and wasn't in love with him, as much as her innocent heart yearns to be with Anthony. "No, I cannot meet with you today. How about within the week, as my elder brother just returned home today, and my father is still insisting that I resume working in Anthony's office?" "Hmm," Remy fell short of words for a moment. After a while, he replied, "That's fine. I know your family is kicking against our affair because of my mistake, but I assure you that I've changed since I met you. I haven't been with another woman." "I will agree, thank you." Lerisa didn't know what to feel about Remy's confession to her, and he told her, "Do take care of yourself. We will
"Lerisa, I have given what your elder brother and Martha said a second thought. I think it is best that you don't go to the L.H. group for now, for your mental health's sake. James has finally agreed to work temporarily in your place in the L.H. group until he is stable and buoyant enough to establish himself. So don't worry about resuming tomorrow morning at L.H. Group. That's all I have to say to you for now." Mr. Fred dismissed Lerisa, and she smiled, since her father had lifted off the heavy load from her chest. Feeling relieved, Lerisa finally replied, "Okay, Dad. Thank you for understanding with me. May I leave now?" "Sure, you can go back to your room," Mr. Fred replied, and Lerisa happily walked away into the corridor. She was relieved to know that her father didn't press on her resuming with Anthony again the following day. She had even washed some of her office clothes that she would wear to resume work. "Thank goodness," Lerisa muttered to herself, approaching her room do
Mrs. Samara looked back at her younger sister and asked, "Do you know the young woman that your son is going out to meet?" "Hmm. I do know her. She's our family friend, but Anthony doesn't want to marry her. I heard that Remy is interested in her as well," Mrs. Beatrice said, and her elder sister screamed out, "Oh! That's the lady that Remy was telling me about today. I didn't know her much and can't remember if I had seen her before." "She's a good woman and will make a good wife. I have told Anthony to move on and let Lerisa be since he didn't want her. But now he's getting me confused," Mrs. Beatrice said as she looked away from her elder sister. They were dressed in similar white gowns, but Mrs. Samara's gown had some mix of blue printed on it. "Hmm, don't let it be that they want to fight because of another woman again. What is wrong with Anthony and Remy? These two wouldn't come in between us," Mrs. Samara looked displeased. "But Remy didn't tell me that she was very close t
Lerisa was inside her room, sleeping on her bed when she heard a subtle knocking on her room door. She frowned and sprang up on the bed, then she walked up to her room door and pulled it open. There she saw her elder brother looking at her face. "Lerisa, were you sleeping? So sorry for disturbing your peaceful sleep, but your husband is here to see you," James teased her, but Lerisa's brows furrowed as she knew who James was referring to as her husband. "Who is that, James?" Lerisa inquired, and her elder brother turned to leave the corridor as he was famished. He turned to face her and asked, "Who else, if not Anthony." "Is he really here, by this time? What does he want from me again? Why can't he just face his life?" Lerisa complained, and her elder brother swiftly turned around to face her. "What's going on between you two, Lerisa?" "Nothing. I just don't want to have anything to do with Anthony again, why can't he just understand that?" Lerisa murmured and she walked up to ex
Even after dinner ended, Lerisa was still sad, she knew her brother was tight that she hadn't moved on from Anthony.Why does the heart find it difficult to love again? Lerisa wondered.She was still sad when she got back to her room. She couldn't believe that she was so annoyed just by seeing the man that she likes so much."Just because Anthony doesn't want me, that's not why I should be angry with him," Lerisa scolded herself in her room.She went to take a refreshing shower. When she got back into her bedroom, she wore a cream-colored night dress and lay on her bed to sleep.She slept on time, after thinking about her relationship with Remy. Lerisa finally made up her mind to tell Remy that she cannot date him since Anthony doesn't want her too.She had told herself that she would explain her reason to Remy when she finally got to meet with him.Meanwhile, Anthony arrived home and parked his car in his family house. He wasn't with his phone and knew that his mother would be worrie
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