Lerisa met her mother as soon as she walked into the living room. "Good evening Mom," Lerisa greeted."Welcome, Lerisa. How was work today, and your friend, Remy?" Mrs. Antonia asked, as she was already familiar with Lerisa working with Remy and Remy also showing interest in Lerisa."It was fine, Mom. Remy invited me to attend his parents' wedding anniversary tomorrow," Lerisa said."Oh, that's nice. He's such a kind man, so when will he be coming here officially to marry you?" Mrs. Antonia questioned Lerisa as she was sitting on the living room couch alone, and already through with preparing their dinner."Mom...." Lerisa frowned. "I don't know yet," she added."You should. That's fine. I have already finished preparing dinner, I was just waiting for you and James to return home.""Okay, Mother. Let me go inside and freshen up. I will be back to join you," Lerisa said, and she quickly walked into the corridor and went to her room."Marriage? I don't think I can accept Remy. What's wro
Lerisa got out of her bed after James left her room, and she did not make any attempt to go and see Anthony.Walking into her bathroom, Lerisa decided to have her bath as she pulled off all her clothes and started taking her bath under the shower.James left Lerisa's room and went outside to inform Anthony that Lerisa was coming. Meanwhile, Mr. Fred was speaking to Anthony and invited him to join them inside the house for breakfast.Anthony had just finished exercising like he usually does on Saturday morning, so he was passing along Lerisa's family house and decided to say hi to her.Although Anthony was hesitant, knowing that Lerisa was avoiding him and had blocked him on all social platforms, he remembered her confession to him that she couldn't withstand seeing him with other ladies.Well, Anthony still missed his friendship. Though he could have decided to accept Mr. Fred's offer for breakfast with them, he accepted.Anthony finished having breakfast with Lerisa's parents and Jame
Mrs. Antonia walked out of the house gate with Lerisa, and there they both spotted Anthony and Remy.Remy stood beside his car door, while Anthony looked back at the gate as Lerisa's mother inquired, "What's going on here, Anthony?""Ma, Lerisa doesn't look properly dressed and I just informed her about it."Mrs. Antonia smiled as she looked from Lerisa to Anthony. "But Lerisa is only going out with Remy and it's not like she's going somewhere else.""I know, Mother. But for Lerisa's safety. Let her go back inside and change her clothes.""No, Mother. I am not going back to change my clothes. It's almost noon and I have to leave now with Remy," Lerisa insisted, looking away from Anthony.Lerisa was standing beside her mother, while Remy sighed and walked up to meet Lerisa. Remy remarked, "Anthony, go back to your house or call your girlfriend on the phone. Why can't you stay away from Lerisa? What do you want from her? Do you want to court her? Why show care when she's not your sister?
Lerisa smiled and looked at Remy's face. "That will be nice," she told him. But deep in her heart, she knew that she longed to be with Anthony and not Remy."Yes, I know. So what are you saying about my marriage proposal? I gave you an engagement ring, and you rejected it. Can I come over to see your family now?" Remy took some sips from his wine glass and saw Lerisa frown."No, not yet," she said, hoping not to give away her emotions again."Why are you still delaying us from getting married? Don't you trust me?" Remy asked. He was seated on the long blue couch beside Lerisa.Looking at her cute face, Remy felt the urge to pull Lerisa close and kiss her. He had forgotten to request non-alcoholic wine, and the wine he got had a little alcohol.Lerisa was already feeling drunk. She smiled and replied, "It's not that I don't like you. I do, but..." Her words trailed off, and Remy eagerly asked her, "But what? Tell me what you need me to adjust, and I am ready to become the man that you d
Anthony stood beside his black car, looking at Lerisa as she finally approached him. He caught a whiff of the alcohol scent on her."Hi, are you going home?" Lerisa asked Anthony, pretending like she didn't know she had been avoiding him."Yes. What do you want?" Anthony asked her. Lerisa looked up at Anthony's face, bit her lower lip, and responded, "You.""Lerisa, I have told you that we cannot date. Don't you get it?" Anthony asked. However, before Lerisa could reply, Remy walked out of the house without seeing Lerisa inside the event hall.He decided to check outside for Lerisa and saw her standing before Anthony and near his car."Babe!" Remy called out to Lerisa and walked up to meet her. He spun her around to face him, not minding Anthony's presence with them. "Why didn't you inform me that you were already going home?" Remy inquired of Lerisa."I thought Anthony was leaving so I decided for him to drop me home," Lerisa said, trying to free herself from Remy's hold."Anthony can
After Lerisa finished dressing up in her light nightgown, she went out of her room to have dinner with her parents. Her father arrived home with a smile and informed her that he saw her at the wedding anniversary."Dad, I was with a friend," Lerisa smiled as she assisted her mother in arranging the dining table."I know. The Creed family are not bad people but industrious. You can invite the young man over to come with his family," Mr. Fred said, and Lerisa agreed, "Okay, dad.""Okay, let us have our dinner. Where is James?" Mr. Fred asked, and Lerisa said, "I think I saw him leaving the house when I arrived with Anthony.""Okay," Mr. Fred turned silent, not wanting to inquire what Lerisa was doing with Anthony.Lerisa sat at the dining table. She thought it wasn't a bad idea to finally accept Remy. Besides, she wants to settle down and she likes Remy too.After her dinner with her parents ended, Lerisa helped her mother wash the dishes. Later, she got into her bedroom and fell asleep.
The same afternoon, Benita phoned Anthony to ask him where he was.Anthony had spent hours in the bathtub. So when he got out and saw the missed calls from Benita - 05, Anthony frowned. He rejected calling her back and did not want to hang out with Benita again.She was no different from Clara and Anthony was done with them.He walked into his closet and got the clothes that he wanted to wear. Anthony wore a cream shirt and black pants. Then he went downstairs to the living room to inform his mother that he was leaving the house and going to his new house to adjust some things there as the house was still under construction and most of the home appliances weren't complete."Okay, Anthony. But will you come home today?" Mrs. Beatrice asked with a worried expression on her face. She knew that all was not well with her son. But she couldn't ask him about it. The last time that she had tried to ask Anthony what was wrong, her husband had advised her to leave Anthony alone to deal with his
Anthony finally walked into the house shortly after locking up the gate. He was sad, but there was nothing that he could do. He entered the living room of his well-furnished apartment and got a bottle of wine to get drunk.Anthony remembered seeing Lerisa and Remy at the church. How they looked so happy together. His phone rang and staring at the caller, he saw the car dealer calling him."Sell off the car. I don't need it anymore," Anthony said, as he had budgeted to purchase the car. But now that Benita had broken his heart. He thought it was best to sell off the car.He sat on the stool closer to his in the living room. He grabbed a full bottle of wine and stood up from the stool then he walked up to the couch to get wasted.Meanwhile, Lerisa got home to her father's house. She drove into the garage and parked her small red car. Switching off the car engine, she stared at her ring finger and saw the sparkling diamond ring that Remy had worn on her finger.Leirsa was feeling tempted
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