Leading Risk

CHAPTER 8

"LEYIEE!"

He irritably opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds.

"Ley!, get up and clean up after your cat's mess."

He said calmly but with a hint of annoyance, while kicking the bottom of their double-deck bed.

Before getting up, she rubbed her face and angrily glared at her brother.

"Why are you so loud this early?"

She complained while fluffing her pillow. After fixing her bed, she immediately climbed down.

"Where's the tissue?"

She asked while tying her hair.

"I don’t know, ask Mom."

He answered curtly, so she rolled her eyes at him.

"Have you had breakfast yet?"

She suddenly asked since she felt a bit hungry.

"I haven't had breakfast."

He replied sleepily before lying down again.

"Wait for me, let's eat together."

She said softly, and he nodded at her with his eyes closed.

She went downstairs and headed straight to their small store. She smiled because her hunch was right—her mom was there.

"Happy Mother's Day, Mom!"

She cheerfully greeted, and her mom turned to her and gave her a hug. She returned the hug while swaying a bit in the middle of it.

Yes, they already knew that Mother’s Day was last month, but she and her brother, Wes, made it a habit to greet their mom every morning.

"Mom, where's the tissue?"

She asked sweetly, but her mom narrowed her eyes at her before going back to arranging the goods.

"Goodness! Your cats are using up all our tissue!"

Her mom replied with frustration as she tossed a pack of tissue to her, which she caught.

She scratched her head while unpacking the tissue. Once it was open, she took two sheets—one for their room and one for cleaning up after Butchi and her babies.

"Butchi, I told you before, right? Teach your babies to poop in the bathroom."

She scolded the cat while scooping up the mess left by her kittens.

After cleaning it, she wrapped it in tissue and threw it into the trash bin outside their house.

"Wes! It's time for breakfast!"

She shouted from the kitchen. She shook her head when five minutes passed and no one came down, so she assumed he had fallen back asleep.

She made herself a cup of Energen and brewed some green tea for her mom.

"Where's the Queen Mother?"

She asked while placing the cup in front of her mom.

"She left, a while ago."

Her mom replied briefly while checking receipts from her online grocery orders.

"Oh my, it's lunchtime already?"

She was shocked when she saw from her peripheral vision their home clock hanging above their flat-screen TV. It was already 11:28 a.m. She shrugged it off while her mom went to the kitchen, holding her cup.

"Mom, what's for lunch?"

She turned to see her brother Wes, who had just come down and lazily sat in front of her.

"My goodness, why did you wake up so late? You missed breakfast! You know it's bad for you!"

Their mother scolded them, glaring. She just grimaced and focused on her mug.

"It's Ate's fault, Mom."

Wes tattled to their mom while glaring at her across the table.

"And why me? I finished everything, didn’t I?"

Leyie irritably muttered as she finished her Energen.

"But I still submitted late."

Wes retorted sarcastically.

"Okay, fine, it's my fault. Sorry, dear brother Wesley."

She apologized sweetly but with a hint of teasing. She even bowed her head as if making sure her brother felt her apology.

But instead of forgiving her, he threw the placemat at her, which made her laugh.

He ignored her and turned to their mom, who was cooking lunch.

"Happy Mother’s Day to the prettiest and kindest mom in the world!"

Wes greeted their mom affectionately, hugging her from behind.

Mom smiled widely and thanked him. Wow, and yet she gave me attitude earlier. After their lovey-dovey moment, Mom went back to cooking.

"Wes, who are you guys playing against later?"

She asked while eating her fried egg for lunch.

Mom was cooking fish stew, so she fried an egg instead since she didn’t like fish soups. Not that she was being picky or anything—she just didn’t like the taste.

"Filinvest Two, and the court is at Sunnyside Subdivision."

He bitterly replied and slammed his fork into his food. She raised an eyebrow at him and continued eating.

"Why did you only fry one egg, Poklay?"

She paused mid-bite and looked at her mom.

"He didn’t say anything, Mother."

She answered innocently and continued eating. Her mom just shook her head and glanced at her brother, who was pouting.

She glanced at her brother, who was now sulking. She sighed, unable to stand seeing him not enjoy his food, so she cut her egg in half and placed it on his plate.

"Thanks, Ate."

He said sweetly, giving her a brief glance before happily continuing his meal.

"What 'thanks'? You're washing the dishes after this."

She scolded him after she finished eating, and he stuck his tongue out at her.

"Fine, Mom, I’ll do the dishes."

He grumbled while cleaning the table. After putting away her plate, she lounged in front of their store.

"Yna! Have you eaten?"

She yelled when she saw her cousin walking toward her.

"Not yet, have you?"

Yna asked, so she nodded.

"You witch! Why didn’t you tell me?"

Her cousin hit her with her wallet, even though she had just arrived. She rubbed the spot where she was hit, feeling the hardness of the wallet.

"i***t, I just saw you!"

She replied truthfully, but Yna just gave her attitude.

"Are you watching Kuya Lester and Wes' game later?"

Yna asked while buying soft drinks from their store.

"Yeah, let's go together, okay?"

She said, feeling scared to go alone. After all, the court was in a subdivision, and people didn’t pass by there often.

She might get kidn*pped by some rich, handsome guy—that would be terrifying.

Yna nodded as she sat beside her, while she took the soft drink her cousin bought.

"You’re such a freeloader."

Yna muttered in irritation, so she handed the drink back, which was already half-finished.

She just grinned at her cousin. When she got bored of hanging around, she went back inside and lay down on the sofa in their living room. She got up when she realized she hadn’t changed out of her pajamas or even washed her face.

She glanced at their home clock. It was already three in the afternoon, so she shrugged it off since she was just staying at home anyway. She figured she’d freshen up later, before Wes' game. She shrugged and lay back on the sofa.

She opened her phone to check her messages, but seeing none, she just opened her social media.

She was shocked when she saw the Attractive man with Kai in a picture together.

"WHAT THE FETCH?!"

She yelled while swiping through the pictures that Kai had posted.

"OH MY GOD, HE'S SO HANDSOME!"

She squealed while punching the small pillow on the sofa. After freaking out, she immediately forwarded the picture to their group chat.

"My husbands <333"

She sent it with the picture she had forwarded.

She laughed while waiting for them to see it.

But her smile disappeared when several minutes passed, and no one had seen her message yet.

"You're all blocked, you fake friends."

She muttered while frowning. She adjusted the sofa and lay down again.

Now, she was biting her lip while staring at the picture intently. The Attractive man was wearing a sweater and cargo shorts, looking even more handsome because of the shades he wore like a headband on his slightly long hair, while Kai was simply dressed in a black shirt and gray sweatpants.

She suddenly noticed that they took the picture outside. She squinted at it, feeling like she had been to that place before.

She shrugged it off since she couldn’t remember the place, but it still felt very familiar. She gulped when she realized she couldn’t stop staring at the Attractive man.

"What the hell is happening to me?"

She whispered while glancing at her six-year-long crush.

"It should be him."

She was startled when someone threw wipes at her.

"Have you gone crazy?"

She stared at the culprit, but instead of getting mad, she just gave him an innocent look.

"Yes, Wes, I think I’ve gone crazy."

She answered softly while glancing at the picture she had been obsessing over earlier.