Never Too Far Novel

Chapter 2 The Addictive Taste of Her

The room was bathed in a warm glow of the lights. The man who sat on the couch had flawless features, his handsome face the painstaking artwork of the heavens. He wore a finely tailored suit that accentuated his strong silhouette. At present, Elliot Presgrave’s eyes turned icy as his grandmother’s steely voice reverberated in his mind.

Elliot, you must take Anastasia Tillman for a wife. I will only have her and no one else as my granddaughter-in-law in the Presgrave Family.

Right now, however, the only person Elliot was thinking of was the woman whom he had ravished in the dark all those years ago. That fateful night, his drink had been laced and rendered him so intoxicated that the only thing he remembered was how the woman had hopelessly sobbed while she begged for mercy under him.

When all was done, he had taken off his watch and pressed it into her hand, thereafter passing out in the dimness of that room.

Fast forward to five years later; he was still looking for her. It was just last week when he learned that she had sold off his watch at the secondhand market, but the news came too late, for his grandmother insisted that he take some other woman for a wife.

Just then, his phone rang once more. He picked it up and greeted brusquely, “What?”

“Young Master Elliot, we have found the girl. Her name is Hayley Seymour, and she was the one who personally sold off the watch.”

“Send me her address, and I’ll pay her a visit,” Elliot ordered as an elated gleam flashed in his eyes. The mysterious girl from that night has finally been sighted! I have to find her, no matter what. I need to make it up to her for the things I’ve done that night.

Meanwhile, Hayley was in the women’s boutique. She had taken over the boutique a little over a year ago, but the business had been on a steady decline. Struggling to pay rent, she had tried to come up with ways to scrape together enough money to tide over. At last, she decided to try to sell the watch she had in her possession, and much to her pleasant surprise, it fetched a whopping price of five hundred thousand.

The watch hadn’t been hers, to begin with. Five years ago, the clubhouse staff had contacted her and told her that they had retrieved a watch from the private room, thereafter prompting her to collect it from their lost and found department. Upon arriving at the club and seeing that it was a designer men’s watch, she claimed it as her own without even a second of hesitation.

to sell it off at the secondhand market last week. Leading up to the sale, she hadn’t expected that the watch would be

she had in her account, and she thought happily to herself, I guess I can live comfortably for a

her boutique swung open, and she quickly rose to greet

trailed off then, so stunned that she abandoned the rest

her boutique stood tall and straight. He was handsome beyond comprehension,

while for Hayley to snap out of her daze before she stumbled over her words to ask, “I-Is there someone you’re looking

question, considering she was running a women’s boutique. It was impossible that a man wearing a refined handmade suit would be here to browse through dresses and the like. He looked like he stood

onto her. He searched her face,

that’s me. And you are…” She couldn’t quite finish her words; her faculty of

produced a men’s watch before her, then asked in a deep, rumbling

shrink into

Elliot pressed, eyeing the girl in front of him intently as he thought with a start, Could

years ago… Wasn’t that the room where Erica and I set Anastasia up? Why is this man

she answered straightforwardly, “Of course, that

it up to you for what happened that night,” he said as he handed the watch to her. “I’m Elliot

to Presgrave

Seymour, this is our young master’s name card. You may look for him

flew out of her chest. So the guy who slept with Anastasia five years ago was not the male escort we arranged for her, but this fine specimen who happens to be the heir to the Presgraves’

take responsibility, Elliot. Do you know how hurt and traumatized I was after that

her mind right now: to step into Anastasia’s shoes and assume the role of the victim from that fateful night. She was set on having Elliot take responsibility so

take responsibility,” the man said solemnly, his husky voice steady

Elliot has arranged a villa for you, and you can move in anytime. He will take