Chapter 6: His advice

Anthony finally looked back at Lerisa's face and said, "I have to go home now, Lerisa. I hope that you're truly feeling fine."

He took another drink from the bottled water in his hands, looking directly at Lerisa. She replied, "Yes, I'm fine. See you later in the evening."

However, Lerisa's pretty, fair complexion 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 from how her face had 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 telling me you're fine when you're clearly 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 you don't have any other friends aside from me. You don't have a boyfriend, or maybe you do, but I don't know him yet and haven't met him. However, that's not why you should be looking sad," Anthony advised.

"I don't have any boyfriends, Anthony," Lerisa admitted. Anthony looked at her again and asked, "Why? Why don't you have one? You're very beautiful, Lerisa, and I want the best man for you. What about my friend Ben? He's been disturbing me about you. Why not consider dating him?"

"No. I'm not interested in Ben," Lerisa quickly replied, rejecting the idea.

Anthony's eyes squinted in suspicion as he smiled and asked, "Then who are you interested in? I don't know of anyone who's your boyfriend or love interest that could have made you look sad."

Lerisa gazed up at Anthony's face. She met his blue eyes, her lips parted to speak, but no words came out; she couldn't tell him the truth—that she was in love with him.

She gulped and stared downward.

Anthony sighed and told her, "It's okay, Lerisa. If you don't want to tell me about the guy you like... But you should know that I care about you very much and see you as more than just a friend."

"I have to be on my way home now, as I promised my mother I would be home early for breakfast after completing my exercise. If not, I could have joined you and your mom for breakfast here. How about your dad?" Anthony inquired.

"He has gone out for a weekend meeting," Lerisa said.

Anthony sighed and advised her, "Be good, okay? Take care of yourself."

Lerisa finally escorted Anthony to the exit gate. She pulled it open for him and then locked the house gate from within after he left the compound. Unbeknownst to her, her mother stood by the kitchen window, eavesdropping on their conversation as she watched them.

Lerisa wiped her tears away and turned to walk back into the house, unaware that her mother was secretly rooting for her and Anthony to marry.

Once in the living room, her mother emerged from the kitchen and asked, "What's going on between you and Anthony, Lerisa?"

Mrs. Antonia was carrying a tray of fried eggs as she walked up to the dining table and placed it down.

Lerisa walked toward the dining room to join her mother, replying, "Nothing, Mom."

Lerisa sat on a chair, her face still red, and continued to remember the diamond engagement ring she had seen with Anthony the previous day.

"You keep saying 'nothing, Mom,' but you look as red as a tomato. Didn’t you look at your reflection in the mirror, Lerisa?" her mother asked.

Lerisa sighed and replied, "I'm fine, Mom."

"Okay, if you say so, but I hope you know that I like Anthony too, and I don’t want you to chase him away with your flushed face," Mrs. Antonia joked. Lerisa only shook her head as she picked up a piece of fried egg from her plate and ate it.

"Go wash your hands first, and let’s have breakfast together since your dad is not home yet. Have you picked out the clothes you will wear to attend Anthony's birthday party this evening? Your father and I will also be attending because you know that I like Anthony very much, and I want him to marry you in future, but only when he's ready to settle down. At least this will seal our family's bond with his."

"Mom, Anthony has a girlfriend, and you and Dad should stop thinking about me becoming Anthony's wife. He will only remain my boss and family friend," Lerisa said sadly. She stood up from the chair and walked over to the kitchen door to wash her hands in the sink.

"Hmm..." Mrs. Antonia frowned and followed her daughter into the kitchen.

"Why would you say that, Lerisa? Anthony can't marry whichever girl he's dating. His parents would never support him marrying anyone except you. His dad and your father are best friends, and the same goes for his mother and me," she explained.

"Hmm." Lerisa shook her head as she finished washing her hands under the running tap water. She grabbed her teacup and said, "Mom, I'm hungry, and I still need to go out to shop for a new dress to wear to Anthony's birthday party tonight."

"Okay," Mrs. Antonia sighed and finally allowed Lerisa to pass. Lerisa walked out of the kitchen with her teacup and went to the dining table to have her breakfast.

Mrs. Antonia stepped out of the kitchen and joined her daughter in the dining room, and they had breakfast together.

Lerisa didn't want to tell her mother the truth—that she saw Anthony with an engagement ring. And he would propose to his girlfriend, maybe in the event hall, as he was preparing to settle down with another woman.

Lerisa knew her parents would be heartbroken when they witnessed Anthony going down on one knee and proposing to Clara Harry right in front of them to marry him.

Lerisa sighed again and resumed eating her bread with the fried eggs, while her mother stared at her in silence, continuing to eat her breakfast too. As they drank from their teacups, they shared a moment of quiet reflection.

****

After finishing breakfast with her mother, Lerisa cleared their used cups in the kitchen, washed them out, and finally went to her bedroom to freshen up. She wanted to go out to shop for a new gown for Anthony's birthday party.

Suddenly, her mobile phone rang, startling her. She wondered who the caller might be, as she didn’t have many friends' numbers stored in her phone.

Lerisa walked to her phone, which she kept in the drawer. She picked it up and saw that it was an unknown caller.

She answered the call while sitting on her bed, saying, "Hello, who is this?"

"Hi, Lerisa. How are you doing this morning?" A deep, masculine voice asked her.

"I'm fine; who is this?" Lerisa questioned, but she immediately recognized the voice as Ben's.

She frowned, wondering how he got her phone number.

"How did you get my mobile number?" She queried.