EPISODE 5

Lerisa finished having dinner with her parents. None of her siblings were home, so she stood, locked the entrance door, and returned to her bedroom to sleep.

Lerisa went into her bedroom, picked up her phone, and saw it was after 10 p.m. She was surprised to see several missed calls from Anthony. She wasted no time and called him back.

The call connected, and she spoke first. "Hello, Anthony."

Anthony was still in his bedroom, preparing to sleep. He saw his phone ring, picked it up, and saw Lerisa calling. He answered, "Hey, Lerisa. I was calling to know if you got home safely and if you're alright now."

"Yeah, I'm fine now. Thanks for calling to check," Lerisa replied. She knew Anthony cared for her like an older brother. But he wasn't her brother—she had a big brother named James Jonah.

Lerisa wished Anthony could see her beyond the sibling bond or their families' closeness. She loved him too.

Anthony said, "Okay then. Goodnight. I'll still visit you tomorrow morning to check on you again."

"Okay, Anthony." Lerisa agreed. She didn't want to refuse Anthony's visit. She knew it wasn't his first time visiting her family home. Her mother liked him a lot.

Lerisa replied, "Goodnight too."

The call disconnected, and Lerisa stared at her phone screen in silence for a while.

She had saved Anthony's photos on her phone and even used his photo as her wallpaper.

Lerisa smiled and kissed Anthony's photo on the screen, feeling her heart shudder and thud in her chest for him.

*If only he could hear my heart beating.*

Lerisa blushed and plugged in her phone to charge, then went to the bathroom to ease herself before walking to her pink bed to sleep.

---

The following Saturday morning, after Anthony finished his early morning exercise and fitness training, he jogged around the neighborhood.

Anthony was a billionaire, but that didn't stop him from exercising. Mostly wealthy folks occupied the town they lived in.

Anthony wore a white sports jersey for his jog that morning—a white singlet top, white shorts, white socks, and white canvas shoes.

Anthony looked breathtakingly handsome, and plenty of young ladies along the way stole glances at him as he jogged at that early hour.

Anthony's family home was not far from Lerisa's—only two streets away.

He decided to visit Lerisa at her family mansion and find out how she was faring now, as he saw her as his junior sister and best friend.

Anthony finally approached Lerisa's family gate and knocked on it, waiting for someone inside to open it.

The huge black gate was locked from within, and Anthony didn't have his phone to call Lerisa and tell her he was there.

Anthony glanced at his golden wristwatch. It was after 8 a.m. The sun was rising gradually above the clouds. He knocked again before Lerisa, who was sweeping the frontage of her father's compound, went to pull the gate open.

Lerisa gasped, surprised to see Anthony standing there, looking breathtakingly handsome and covered in sweat.

Her breathing hitched at the sight of him in a white singlet that revealed his masculine abs. She imagine what those toned abs would feel like if she ever touched him naked.

Lerisa gulped hard and finally stared up at Anthony's handsome, dark face.

She met his sharp blue eyes and greeted him shyly, "Good morning, sir."

Anthony smiled, happy to see Lerisa's blushing face. She was very light-skinned, and he liked seeing her pretty face.

Anthony replied, "Good morning, Lerisa. How was your night?"

He lifted the water bottle in his right hand to his lips. After twisting the cap open, he drank, water dripping down the side of his lips.

Lerisa swallowed again, watching Anthony drink. She stared downward as he pulled the bottle away and asked, "I came to see you. How are you feeling now?"

"Lerisa! Who's at the gate?" Her mother call from the house.

Lerisa glanced back and replied, "Anthony is here, Mom."

Anthony moved closer to the gate. He told her, "Move aside; let me say hello to your parents first."

Lerisa wasn't wearing a bra underneath her blue nightgown. She felt her body radiate heat from Anthony's close proximity.

Lerisa immediately stepped aside and made way for Anthony to enter her parents' compound.

Anthony smiled at Lerisa's bashful face while his eyes traveled downward, lingering on her full brẹasts. He gulped and quickly looked away as his gaze caught her pointed nipples, already hard and visible through the light fabric.

Lerisa quickly stepped aside, and Anthony walked into the compound to greet her mother, who was smiling at him.

Mrs. Antonia Jonah stepped outside as she saw Anthony approaching—the man who had been speaking to Lerisa at the gate.

Mrs. Antonia smiled and greeted him first. "Our CEO, good morning, sir."

Anthony smiled and replied, "Good morning, Ma. How are you doing this morning?"

"I'm fine, Anthony, and you? What a pleasant surprise to see you here! You hardly visit us anymore since you took over as CEO. Did we do anything to offend you?" Mrs. Antonia inquired.

Anthony replied, "No, Ma. Not at all."

Anthony offered a friendly smile, and Mrs. Antonia looked relieved. She smiled back and said, "You're welcome to our house anytime. Come inside. I'm about to prepare breakfast, and you can join us."

"No, Ma. Thank you. I only came to check on Lerisa since she looked so sad yesterday," Anthony replied, his eyes moving to Lerisa, who walked up to meet them, smiling shyly and hiding her blushing face.

"Lerisa? Oh! She came home looking sad yesterday too, and I wondered what went wrong. I hope there's no problem between you both at the office," Mrs. Antonia asked.

"No, Ma. I don't have any problem with Lerisa, and I can see she's fine now. I have to head home. That's why I came—to check on her," Anthony said politely, wanting to leave.

"Okay, Anthony. Thank you for visiting and for checking on my daughter. Your mother invited me to your birthday celebration tonight. I hope you invited my daughter too," Mrs. Antonia asked, smiling brightly, as she wanted Anthony as her son-in-law.

Anthony smiled handsomely and replied, "Yes, Ma. I did."

"Okay then. We'll see you later this evening. I have to go inside now and prepare what I wanted to fry for breakfast before you arrived. Take care, Anthony," Mrs. Antonia said.

Anthony answered, "Okay, Ma."

Lerisa stood aside, listening to her mother's conversation with Anthony. Her mother then left them and went back into the bungalow, leaving her and Anthony alone.