Chapter 14, Heart break
1084 Words
Lerisa rushed off the stage, not waiting for Ben to follow her. As the hall darkened, mingling with the dim lights, she collided with a masculine figure whose face she couldn't see. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, glancing down and trying to escape the event hall before witnessing Anthony propose to Clara.
However, the man grabbed her left wrist and spun her around to face him. Lerisa gasped, "Ah!" She found herself colliding with his chest, looking up to see Remy—the very man she had seen earlier that day kissing Clara by the roadside.
"Hi, pretty," Remy said, and Lerisa was taken aback, her mouth agape in disbelief.
"Hi," she managed to stammer, but just then, Ben approached and pulled her away from Remy's grip, glaring at him.
Remy smiled at both of them, and Lerisa pulled herself free from Ben's possessive hold. Remy was wearing a simple yellow shirt with some buttons left open, revealing his masculine chest. He looked breathtakingly handsome, holding a glass of red wine and taking a sip while smiling at Lerisa.
"Hi, Ben," Remy greeted, noticing Ben’s sparkling texudo, and shoes. He had seen Ben dancing with Lerisa on stage and recognized the look of affection in his eyes.
Lerisa couldn’t believe that the two men pestering her knew each other, and she wanted to escape before Anthony proposed to Clara. But Ben said, "Remy, stay away from my woman."
"Your woman?" Remy chuckled, smirking, while Lerisa froze in shock, staring at Ben.
"The last time I checked, Ben, Emma was your woman. I wonder how she feels seeing you dance with another lady?" Remy retorted, causing Lerisa to gulp, feeling guilty. She hadn’t realized that the beautiful black lady who had approached Ben earlier for a dance was his girlfriend.
"Don't listen to him, Lerisa. I'm not in a relationship with Emma. We're just friends with benefits," Ben said, noticing the guilty look on Lerisa's face.
"Friends with benefits, indeed," Remy laughed, while Ben shot him a glare, irritated by his persistent attempts to ruin his chances with Lerisa. Remy then looked at the stage, where Anthony was dancing with a lady in white, but he couldn’t see her face.
"I only came to attend my cousin's birthday party today. I wouldn't have graced any occasion like this if Anthony wasn't related to me through my mother," Remy said, finishing his drink and turning back to Lerisa. "I'm single, my lady. Can we be friends?"
"No, stay away from her," Ben quickly interjected, glaring at Remy. Lerisa didn't appreciate Ben's possessiveness.
She turned to the two men and told Ben, who was still holding her left wrist, "Let go of my hand first, Ben."
"I'm sorry, Lerisa, but you shouldn't listen to Remy," Ben replied, releasing her hand while gazing at her with affection.
"I'm sorry, but I'm leaving now. I can't stay here any longer," Lerisa said quickly, and both men asked, "Why? It's still early to go home."
They both looked at her with concern, and Lerisa hesitated before responding, "Nothing, I..."
Ben immediately asked, "Is it because of Anthony and his girlfriend? I saw your expression change when you saw them walk in together."
Lerisa's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, confirming her crush on Anthony to both men. They frowned, and Lerisa shook her head before running away from them, exiting the event hall as she could no longer bear to stay or tell them the truth.
She wasn't good at lying and rushed past the security guard at the exit gate. Once outside, she hurried to her car parked on the street.
Lerisa held her purse containing her car keys but had given the gift she bought for Anthony to her sister, Martha, before dancing with Ben.
She quickly opened the car door and climbed into the driver's seat just before either man could come outside to check on her.
Starting the engine, Lerisa drove home, feeling embarrassed by Ben's earlier question.
Meanwhile, Remy stared at Ben in silence, while Ben frowned, realizing he had never suspected that Lerisa was truly in love with Anthony.
When Lerisa saw Anthony and Clara walking into the hall, hand in hand, her expression fell. She didn’t notice that Ben was still holding her hand, staring at her face. He noticed how Lerisa scowled at the sight of Anthony and Clara together, her pretty fair face paling and turning red.
Remy finally broke the silence, asking, "Does she work for Anthony? I mean, the pretty lady who just left us now?"
"Yes," Ben replied, still watching Remy. "I’m surprised you don’t know much about your cousin. Why are you here?"
"Hmm, I don’t have time for Anthony. He’s not man enough and always does what his parents want. If my mother hadn’t insisted that I attend his birthday, I wouldn’t be here. Anthony's mother is my mother's younger sister," Remy explained.
"But you should stay away from Lerisa," Ben warned.
Remy smiled, replying, "Lerisa... is that her name? How lovely! I never knew. I can’t stay away from her, Ben. If that’s what you’re asking me to do! You and Anthony are both in serious relationships, so you should stay away from Lerisa if I’m to have her. I like her and want to marry her instead," he said, smirking at Ben.
Ben glared at him, wishing he could express his anger through looks. "You shouldn’t dare to date her, Remy, you shameless man."
"Shameless man? Hahaha. Look who’s talking! But honestly, Ben, I genuinely like that girl. I saw her earlier today after I dropped off a lady I had a one-night stand with this morning. I didn’t plan on being with anyone else until I saw Lerisa walk up to us. She accused that lady of being Clara and cheating on someone. But the lady denied knowing who Lerisa was. She told me her name was April, and I knew I couldn’t trust her again or take my relationship with her seriously since I hate liars," Remy said.
Ben warned him again, "Just stay away from Lerisa. That’s all I’m asking, and I’m not interested in who else you sleep with."
"Hmm," Remy sighed, and Ben walked away from him.
Just then, the music stopped, and Anthony went down on one knee to propose to the lady in the white dress standing in front of him on stage.
The bright lights turned on, illuminating them, and Remy gasped, "What the f**k?" as he recognized Clara.
- Writer
