Anthony continued to think about why Lerisa wasn't happy, as he didn't have any siblings and had grown up seeing Lerisa 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 mansion.
“Good evening, Mom and Dad,” Anthony greeted his parents as he stepped into the living room and saw his parents sitting in the dining room.
His mother smiled and replied first, “Welcome home, Anthony. How was work today?”
“Fine, mother,” Anthony walked up toward the living room stairs to retire to his bedroom. However, his mother spoke to him, “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 the birthday preparation going? We will celebrate it here tomorrow in the event hall.”
Anthony walked to the dining room to join his parents. He pulled a seat out before sitting down across from his father. His mother replied, “Fine.”
Anthony's phone rang, and he took it out of his trouser side pocket. He saw that Clara was calling him.
“Excuse me, Mom and Dad, I have to answer this call. Hello, babe, I will call you back later,” Anthony said on the phone call to Clara. He immediately ended the call and smiled back at his parents while dragging his chair closer to the dining table.
Mrs. Beatrice smiled at Anthony and knew her son was in a relationship. She didn't want to disturb him by asking who the baby was, as she was eagerly awaiting for Anthony to settle down with Lerisa Jonah, whom she loved and wanted as her daughter-in-law.
“How about Lerisa, Anthony? Did she come to the company today?” Anthony's father finally asked him before they resumed eating.
Anthony frowned a little, remembering the sad look he saw on Lerisa's face before she left the company. His mother asked him, “What's wrong, Anthony?”
“Nothing, mom. Lerisa is fine. She came to work today,” Anthony answered, and he asked, “Where's the meal?”
“Anthony, I know that you only see Lerisa as a friend. But her father is a good friend of mine, and not just my assistant in the past. Mr. Fred Jonah supported me and encouraged me in building the company that you're now controlling. So I want you to know that the Jonah family matters so much to me for asking you about Lerisa,” spoke Mr. Joshua Gregson.
“I can understand, father. Where's Sandra, mom?” Anthony asked. Just then, Sandra stepped out of the kitchen with the tray of their meals in her hands and approached the dining table to serve their dinners, as she was their maid.
“I'm sorry for the delay,” Sandra apologized. Mrs. Beatrice sighed and replied, “It's okay, Sandra. Be quick.”
Anthony and his parents finally resumed eating their dinner in silence. When Anthony was through, he stood up from his dining seat and said to his parents, "Thanks, Mom, Dad, I'm going back upstairs to my bedroom to rest. Good night.”
“Yes, good night, Anthony,” replied Mrs. Beatrice. She watched as Anthony walked away and climbed the stairs in the living room to his bedroom.
Anthony walked into his bedroom and sighed as he decided to call Clara to know why she had called him earlier. He couldn't answer her call because he was with his parents. He missed Clara, and the phone call connected.
“Hello, babe,” Anthony said, and he stripped off his coat. He heard Clara respond, “Hi, sweetheart. How was your day at the office?”
Clara was in the clubhouse, and Anthony could hear the sound of club music playing in the background. He asked her, “Where are you, babe?”
“I'm in the club. My girlfriend is having a birthday party today, so she invited me over. You know I cannot turn down her invitation," replied Clara.
“Hmm....” Anthony stared at his wristwatch and saw it was already after 9 p.m. He said, “But it's getting late, babe. Start going back home now; I am not happy with you being there.”
“Hahaha. I know, babe, relax. I didn't come here to sleep with anyone, and it is a midnight party. I will be fine,” Clara assured. However, Anthony frowned, but as he wanted to complain, Clara immediately told him, “I have to end the call now, babe. Goodnight, and see you tomorrow at your parents' house. But you know that I'm not happy with you choosing to celebrate your birthday at your parents' home instead of a hotel as an adult.”
“Hmm,” Anthony frowned and said, “It's how my parents want it. Clara, and I cannot go against them."
“How your parents want it? But not how I want it, Anthony. Anyway, it's okay. Good night," Clara said, and Anthony heard the sound of the phone call disconnected, which made his frown deepen.
Anthony loved Clara; he sighed and took off his long white sleeve shirt. He was about to strip off his trousers, but he touched the red ring box that he had kept in his trouser pocket.
He took it out and stared at it again, intending to propose to Clara the following day.
Anthony sighed and walked toward his bed drawer to drop the red ring box there.
He walked to his bathroom to bathe, and after he was through, he got out and wore his usual white robe, walking to his bed, and he sat on it to use his laptop.
Anthony thought about calling Lerisa on the phone to find out if she was fine now and had gotten home safely. He sighed, picking up his phone, and he unlocked the phone screen and called Lerisa directly.
Lerisa was through bathing in her bathroom and was wearing an ash-colored nightgown. She sat on the dining room chair with her parents, having her dinner. She wasn't with her phone, so Anthony's call didn't connect as she was eating her dinner.
Anthony finally dropped his mobile phone into his bed drawer and continued his online research on his laptop. After browsing for a while, he switched off his laptop and went to plug it in to charge.
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 finally 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. Furthermore, she was surprised to see many missed calls from Anthony. She wasted no time and immediately called Anthony back to know why he had called her.The phone call connected, and she spoke first: “Hello, Anthony.”Anthony was still standing in his bedroom, preparing to step out to have dinner with his parents before retiring back to his bedroom to sleep.He saw his phone ringing, took it, and saw that Lerisa was the one calling him.Anthony picked up his phone, and asked Lerisa, “Hey, Lerisa. I was calling you before 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," replied Lerisa. She knew that Anthony cared for her like an olde
Anthony finally stared back at Lerisa's face, and he 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 have been dating for three years or more.Anthony noticed the change in Lerisa's mood as 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 fine... 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," said Anthony."You don't have a bo
Ben chuckled first over the phone call, as he knew he had been asking Lerisa out, yet she didn't want to accept him.Lerisa 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. Ben believed that, with time, Lerisa would fall in love with him too.He replied, "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 since 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, 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 ca
Lerisa sighed as she knew she couldn't miss Anthony's birthday party. She had been there with him since his seventh birthday and now, as an adult.She knew that avoiding the party might make her seem jealous or resentful, which would displease her parents.Lerisa fixed her gaze on the road as she drove her car out of the street, intending to turn onto another street before reaching the main road.However, she saw a man and a woman kissing in front of a black car parked on the street.Lerisa wondered who the shameless couple was, choosing to kiss in public instead of finding a private place.She knew that wealthy families lived in the area, with most houses being owned by the residents, not tenants.As she drove past the black car, she saw the woman's face. To her shock, it was Anthony's girlfriend, Clara Harry, kissing the man.Lerisa's jaw dropped as she slowed down her car to get a better look at them.She had initially wanted to look away, but she couldn't believe that Clara, whom A
Clara knew that she had lied to Remy about her name being April. This was one of her habits of 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 entered her room in the rented apartment.Meanwhile, 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. However, she didn't know how to explain to him that she saw his girlfriend cheating on him.She switched off her car engine, stepped out of her car, locked the door, and walked up to the shopping boutique where she wanted to select a gown.Entering one of the feminine boutiques, the sales representative greeted her, "Good afternoon ma'am. What kind of clothes are you looking for? We have gowns, skirts, blouses, trousers, and any other feminine wear you may need." Leris
Lerisa met with her parents in their living room and greeted them, "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 on your way home?" Mrs. Antonia asked. Lerisa replied, "No, mom. I forgot too."Lerisa glanced at the living room wall clock and saw that it was already 2 pm.Her father said, "There's still time, Lerisa. Why don't you go outside with your sister to the nearby shops and buy a gift for the Gregson family? We can't show up at Anthony's birthday party empty-handed, especially since he is their only son."Lerisa frowned, "What should I buy for him? They're wealthy, and we already gave Anthony a standing fan last year. I don't know what to get him this year.""Anything you choose will be fine, Lerisa. We just need to show our appreciation. It wouldn't be polite to go to their house without a gift, receive one from them, and enjoy their hospitality," Lerisa's father
Later in the evening, Lerisa was in her room when she received a phone call from Anthony. It was already 5 pm, and she had finished dressing up and applying a little makeup on her face.She was nervous to see the caller ID showing Anthony's name and didn't know whether to pick up his call or not. She was worried sick because she hadn't informed him yet about Clara cheating on him.Taking a deep breath, Lerisa finally answered the call just before it could end, and Anthony's deep, masculine voice greeted her, "Hello, Lerisa...""Hi, Anthony. I'm on my way now," Lerisa quickly replied. Anthony asked her, "Are you sure? Or do you not want to attend my birthday party tonight?"Anthony wanted to see Lerisa's face around as he saw her like his younger sister. Lerisa immediately said, "Why wouldn't I attend your birthday? I'm coming, please... Just a minute," she begged."Alright, I'm expecting you. Please don't disappoint me. Later, you can share your problem with me, and if you need money,
Staring at his handsome reflection again in the wide wall mirror for the last time, Anthony finally walked out of his bedroom upstairs. He followed the passage of the top floor and went downstairs to the event hall in the second wing of their mansion."Welcome the celebrant!! As we have been waiting for this joyful moment, to begin with the celebration of his new age with him. Anthony Gregson!" The female host shouted as she watched Anthony walk out onto the front stage into the event hall."Thank you all, Thank you," Anthony said as the round of applause increased for him. After he appeared on stage and accepted the microphone from the female host's hand in a white gown.She was a young lady, although married, but she was the host of the show. She smiled sweetly at Anthony as he smiled back at her and all the guests who had arrived in the event hall with him and his family. They all clapped happily for him too.Lerisa stood at a corner in the event hall and smiled at Anthony too. She