Never Too Far Novel

Chapter 171-180

Chapter 171

“Uh… Can I return it?”

“Fruits are non-returnable goods! Don’t worry, miss. We provide top-grade Musang King so it’s definitely of good quality.” så

“I know that and I do trust that your goods are of good quality, but I don’t need that many.”

“Miss, I really can’t process a return for this. Fruits are non-returnable once sold!” On the other end, the owner tried hard to express his keenness to complete the sale.

Meanwhile, Anastasia was at a loss for what to do. “Alright, then. I’ll make a phone call and get back to you.”

As soon as Anastasia put down her cell phone, she instantly grabbed the landline and dialed the number to the office of a specific man.

“Hello?” The man answered the phone in a low voice.

“Did you order me a truckload of Musang King durians?” Anastasia questioned him immediately.

“Yup. You mentioned that you wanted the freedom to have durians whenever you crave them, so I’ll help you achieve this wish today. You can have as many of them as you want.” Elliot spoke up and implied that the durians today were his treat.

However, Anastasia was quite speechless and she thought, Doesn’t he realize that one can’t have too many durians? It’s fine to have some occasionally, but if too much is consumed in one day then there are a lot of side effects that would occur subsequently. The milder symptoms would be a sore throat and as for the worst-case scenario, one would even experience constipation!

“I think you should return it. I can’t finish that many. I just had one last night so I can’t have too many at a time.”

“Why not?” On the other end, the man clearly knew nothing about durians. Although he was a knowledgeable man, there were also some things that he was totally clueless

of.

“That’s because durians can cause sore throats. I can’t have too much.” Anastasia could only try her best to explain, but the other side effect sounded slightly indecent so she

didn’t mention that.

“I never return any item that I’ve paid for. You can decide how you want to deal with it.”

“But… You…”

“I have a meeting to attend now.” After Elliot said that, he hung up on her.

Meanwhile, Anastasia had to return the call of the fruit store owner, yet the purchaser of the items refused to pay heed to her words, so she was in a dilemma at the moment. In the end, she thought to herself, I guess I’ll just treat everyone to durians, then.

Subsequently, she reached out and dialed Felicia’s number to explain the situation. On the other end of the line, Felicia was elated. “This is a simple matter. I’ll arrange for everyone in the office to have one each.”

“Okay. Please make the arrangements, then, but don’t say that this is my treat. Let them know that it’s President Presgrave’s treat.”

Upon hearing that, Felicia burst into laughter. “Are you sure that you want to let them know it’s his treat?”

“Yes, just say that. I don’t want to take this credit,” Anastasia insisted.

“Sure! We’ll leave it at that, then.”

Ten minutes later, the fruit store owner happily distributed durians by the entrance of the office, and every staff member of the company who walked past was given one. This went on and no one was left out until every piece of fruit was gone.

After all that, Grace came back upstairs in good spirits and she held two durians in her hands. Anastasia expressed her gratitude as Grace excitedly mentioned, “Anastasia, do you know who treated us to this? It’s President Presgrave! It’s the Musang King variety too. Everyone’s so happy.”

At that moment, Anastasia tried to stifle her laughter. “That’s great! I’m quite happy too.”

After Grace had walked out of the room, Anastasia clutched at her stomach and placed her head on the tabletop. She was consumed with uncontrollable laughter and she nearly fell to the ground. I wonder what Elliot’s expression will be like if he finds out about this?!

Meanwhile, in the meeting room at the Presgrave Group, the room was solemnly silent as Elliot sat at the head of the table. He gave out an air of dominance seen in a leader and under the illumination of the projector lamp, he clearly gave out the feeling of a strong president.

The people in attendance today were all the upper management team of the Presgrave Group, and each one of them was involved in running various large-scale projects all over the world. They had to report back to Elliot on the progress of their projects daily and there was no room for any errors or omissions.

The Presgrave Group was involved in various financial schemes worldwide, so the company was, in fact, much more than just a leading business in the country. After Elliot’s appointment as the president, he had kept close control of the development of the company. He ended up leading the Presgrave Group toward a much brighter future than ever.

Despite the Presgrave Group going through several financial crises, the giant corporation remained strong and continued to sail through the waves of the corporate world.

The meeting ended at 11.30 AM and Elliot went back to his office after that. At that moment, Rey stood by his side with pursed lips, and he looked as if he had something to report on.

Elliot glanced at him and questioned, “What’s wrong?”

Chapter 172

Rey had gone for facial expression management classes before but right now, he couldn’t contain himself and laughed out loud. “President Presgrave, the truckload of Musang King durians that you ordered for Miss Tillman was distributed to the entire company. The problem is, Miss Tillman gave the credit to you.”

Elliot’s handsome expression stiffened slightly when he heard that. “Is that so?”

“Yeah. Anyway, everyone’s full of gratitude for you.” As soon as Rey finished saying that, he instantly covered his lips and burst into laughter before quickly stifling his laughter while he covered his mouth once again.

“It’s fine to laugh.” Elliot shot Rey a look. I just didn’t expect her to be so generous and actually distribute everything.

Suddenly, Elliot recalled something and he instantly took his cell phone and dialed his grandmother’s number.

“Hello, Elliot. Do you have something to talk to me about?” Harriet’s voice rang out.

“Grandma, I would like to have lunch with you today. We haven’t seen each other for days.”

“I’d prefer to have dinner together. I have a lunch date today.”

“What sort of lunch date is it? Can I join you?”

“It wouldn’t be convenient.” Harriet spoke up frankly.

“It’s just a meal.”

“Well, I’ll be frank with you. I have a lunch date with Nigel and Anastasia today. I wanted to talk to them about their engagement the other day. I’ve decided that it’s time to pick a date for them.”

“Include me for the lunch date, then! I want to join the meal too,” Elliot responded with a smile.

“Okay. I don’t mind you joining us, but don’t you dare mess things up!”

“Don’t worry. I won’t do that.” Elliot curved his lips into a smile. I’m not going to mess things up because this won’t go to plan anyway.

in a blink of an eye, it was 11.20 AM and Anastasia glanced at her cell phone from time to time as she waited for Harriet to call her regarding the lunch date.

Just then, Anastasia’s cell phone rang and she quickly grabbed it to take a look. Indeed, it was Harriet on the line, so she took a deep breath before answering the phone. “Hello, Old Madam Presgrave.” ;

“Anastasia, you can come downstairs now. My car is about to reach the entrance of your company.” It turned out that Harriet had come in person to fetch Anastasia.

At that moment, Anastasia felt quite flattered and she revealed a smile. “Okay, I’ll be downstairs shortly.”

Anastasia walked out of the entrance to see a black car parked by the entrance, and the dominantly displayed golden logo of the Rolls-Royce was unmistakable.

The driver personally got out to open the door for Anastasia as she expressed her gratitude. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Miss Tillman,” the driver replied.

And so, Anastasia got into the back passenger seat and saw that Harriet was dressed elegantly in a dark purple dress lined with golden threads. The button of the dress was made out of ruby and it was clear to the eye that it was a hand-made, commissioned piece.

3

“Hello, Old Madam Presgrave!” Anastasia greeted Harriet.

“It’s been days since we last met. What happened to your finger?” Harriet instantly noticed Anastasia’s bandaged finger.

“It’s fine. I accidentally hurt myself.”

“Was it a bad cut?”

“It’s not too serious. It’s just a minor cut.” Anastasia curled up her lips and smiled. Upon hearing that, Harriet nodded her head. “Try to be more careful next time.” With that, the elderly woman glanced out of the car window at the building in front. “Do you work here?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s great. Elliot has taken over your company, so it’s part of our family business now. It would be much easier for us to help you out in the future.”

Meanwhile, Anastasia felt quite uneasy. Elliot had not only taken over Bourgeois Jewelry Atelier for the sake of helping a lowly staff like her, but he had actually bought over the world-renowned QR International Group that backed the Bourgeois Jewelry Atelier brand.

“Old Madam Presgrave, I’m fine so there’s no need to go all the way out to help me,” Anastasia expressed her sincere gratitude.

“You don’t have to be shy, child. We are obliged to do that. I’m also trying to redeem myself by helping you. It makes me feel slightly better by doing so.” Harriet’s eyes were red-rimmed as she spoke. “I am forever indebted to your mother and there’s nothing I can do to fully repay her in this lifetime.”

Surprised, Anastasia asked, “Old Madam Presgrave, why would you say so?”

“You might not realize this, but both Elliot’s parents’ passed away at the same time back then and I had to single-handedly hold the fort for the entire Presgrave Group. At the same time, I had to bring up a young Elliot. At that point in life, I held all of my hopes upon Elliot, so if something bad had occurred to him, I would have lost the remaining pillar of strength in my life. Your mother’s ultimate sacrifice gave us the Presgrave Group that we have today.”

Chapter 173

Anastasia’s heart sank upon hearing that. She couldn’t even imagine the state of Harriet’s situation back then. The latter was a fifty-year-old woman trying to cope with the sudden loss of her son and daughter-in-law, and she had to step up to manage a multi-million company single-handedly. Furthermore, she had to raise a young grandson and back then, Elliot was her only hope.

Right now, Elliot had grown up to become an independent man and he ran the company well, so she could finally relax and enjoy a life of retirement.

never spoken to her before, she has a mighty

impression of her mother was just the exceptionally heroic-looking woman in the photos. At that time, her father had just started up his business, so Anastasia was raised by her maternal grandmother.

want to bring up Anastasia’s painful past, so she smiled and asked, “Anastasia, why

for lunch, but she could only act

asked the two of you out for lunch with me to have a proper discussion. It was totally beyond my expectation

lips and revealed a smile. “I didn’t expect that he was your

thoroughly spoke about the ordeal. Anastasia also shared with Harriet some of her

elderly woman was very intent on bringing

part of the Manson Family, then Harriet could naturally continue to provide support and compensation

the restaurant. Nigel had received Harriet’s phone call the previous night and she had instructed him to dress up well for lunch today, as Anastasia would be

had gotten a stylish haircut for today’s lunch date. His originally quite good-looking face was much more handsome and full of vigor than ever

at the restaurant and remained in his car. Taking a look at himself in the mirror, he cheered for himself. “Nigel Manson, you

and got out of the car to enter the restaurant. Subsequently, the waiter greeted him and escorted him to the

11.50 AM. Throughout their journey, the latter was preoccupied with her thoughts as she tried to figure out how to explain the matter of the proposal to Harriet, so that Harriet could give up on the thought of making arrangements

room, Nigel instantly stood up to greet them and he lovingly addressed

had said that, he directed his affectionate

a smile. “You’re quite early

late for

she laughed upon hearing his words. Harriet watched their interaction and she was secretly quite pleased. They are indeed a perfect match for each other.

Let me have a look at it.” Nigel had noticed it almost instantly so he quickly reached out to hold her hand and

“I’m fine. I accidentally

TEST

EST

careless of you. You should avoid cooking from

Jared’s not used to eating

our food.” Harriet sat at the head of the table and the manager of the restaurant came in personally to take their order. At the same time, he introduced to them the restaurant’s specialties. Anastasia sat there and listened to him introduce their fresh and imported, luxurious ingredients, which were all air-flown to the restaurant, and she

one of each, then!” Harriet announced with

174 “Will it be just the three of you

moment, Harriet suddenly recalled that there was another person joining them, so she quickly responded, “There will

M

each other. Is there a mysterious guest? Who is it? Harriet, however, was

of a sudden, a waiter pushed open the door from the outside and a strapping, tall figure walked into the room. He had his suit jacket in his hand, and he was dressed in a white dress shirt paired with black trousers. In short, his attire was

eyes widened upon seeing the man, and she

in fact Elliot-the man who

the same time, Nigel narrowed his almond-shaped eyes too. Why did Grandma invite him along? He’s just going to

have any lunch conferences to

a chair and purposely took a seat next to Anastasia before he responded with a smile, “Well, I wasn’t invited to any lunch conferences, so I had no choice

didn’t believe a single word that Elliot said. Furthermore, Nigel was quite sure that his

“Elliot mentioned to me last night that he didn’t have any lunch plans

in question, and she noticed that his handsome face had stiffened slightly. Elliot clearly didn’t expect that Harriet would

end, he took his cup of tea into his hand and took a sip from it. At the same time, he peered across from the edge of his teacup, and his dark gaze went toward the woman next

she purposely turned in the other direction as soon as she sensed

this person to you, right? He’s my grandson, Elliot Presgrave. You guys must have encountered each other at

she spoke up guiltily. “Yes, we’ve met.” Not only have we met, but we’ve also even kissed more than once! It was mainly because of Elliot’s shameless personality, and that

that moment, Nigel reached out to hold Harriet’s hand. “Grandma, why don’t you

a beat as she heard that, and she turned to look at Harriet. At the same time, Harriet glanced at Anastasia with a smile on her face before turning to glance at Nigel, who was seated next to Harriet. “Anastasia and Nigel, I’m very happy to know that the two of you are in a relationship, so I’ve asked the two of you out today to discuss the date for the wedding. That way, we can get the ceremony organized

Elliot was right in his

brows happily. “Sure! Grandma, why don’t you pick a date for us so that Anastasia and I can proceed with the wedding ceremony

a slightly gloating look on his face as he waited to see how

hand, Anastasia shot a resigned look at Nigel before she turned to speak to Harriet. “Old Madam Presgrave, Nigel was just fooling around when he proposed to me that day. Don’t take it seriously.

with a marriage proposal?!” Harriet stared at her with an aghast look before

your hand in marriage

and she saw Nigel’s expectant and loving expression. She couldn’t help panicking as she pursed her lips. All of a sudden, she couldn’t seem to figure out how to express her rejection with Harriet present. After all,

cup. His dark eyes were deep and mysterious, and one couldn’t quite

he was also waiting for the woman next to him

Anastasia. He’s a great guy and I do hope that you can consider him as a prospect.” Harriet tried to matchmake the two, as she really

a sudden, Anastasia found herself in a rut

I made up my mind that my entire soul and self would belong solely to you.” Nigel took this opportunity to confess his true feelings. He also hoped that with Harriet present, Anastasia would no longer shy away from his

Chapter 175

moment before biting on her lower lip. At that point, she looked deeply troubled as she

tea. His thick eyelashes formed a dense canopy and his eyes were covered thus masking the intense, penetrating look in

his handsome side profile. He behaved as if this had nothing to do

was quite frustrated as she grumbled to herself, What did I expect from him anyway? He’s just here today to watch me make a fool of myself, or perhaps he’s just

hard to accept Nigel’s

eyes was evident because he wanted an answer. It was obvious that he was mainly after a sincere reply from

for that because she knew that just like Elliot, Nigel’s feelings toward her included

lifted her head and she had a clear look in her eyes as she spoke in

next to her, who was busy

is that so?” Harriet exclaimed

patience in the world for her. He was determined not to back down

I have made up my mind to remain single for the rest of

her, who was initially elegantly sipping his tea, choked on his drink. He quickly covered his mouth with

Old Madam Presgrave, I hope that you can understand my circumstances as a single mother. Even if I choose to remarry, I wouldn’t have

LAN

so she would naturally be able to understand the situation of a mother’s refusal to build a new family with a

for the first child to

that, Nigel instantly expressed himself, “Anastasia, Jared’s just like my own flesh and blood, and I’ll definitely treat him the same way as I would treat my own son. Also, I’m willing to respect your wishes

show it. How can that be fine? Nigel’s father is not going to agree to that, and my daughter definitely won’t allow that too! The Manson

to speak to Nigel. “Nigel, stop being ridiculous. You have to respect

as he intentionally wanted to show Elliot how determined

into a marriage with any other man,

finished her sentence. He was seated next to her, and he turned to glare at her, “Miss Tillman, you shouldn’t speak so rashly just yet. You should give yourself some room for changing your mind just in case. Otherwise, it would be embarrassing for you

response, Anastasia glared at him. “I’ll definitely do as I said, so there’s no need for you to be concerned,

was taken aback. What does Elliot mean by that? I don’t

Harriet noticed that the atmosphere seemed quite tense so she quickly gestured at Anastasia. “Come on, girl.

reached out and served some salad onto her

politely thanked him. “Thanks,

for us to meet, so I sincerely hope

176 “I’m blessed to have made acquaintance with all

you saved Nigel’s life while overseas, so I’ve already regarded you as my family after these two

and exclaimed, “Grandma, what did you just say?

these years, so it’s quite normal for you to be unaware of this incident. Elliot was kidnapped when he was six years old, and Anastasia’s mother sacrificed her life

and Elliot also had such a great act of kindness linking the two of them. Is that why Elliot steadfastly stays by Anastasia’s side? Is he also intent on repaying Anastasia for everything that she had done, just like me?Elliot’s actions

Harriet mentioned, “I need to go

cutlery and got up to escort Harriet from her seat. Meanwhile, Harriet happily

swung shut after them, Nigel turned to Elliot with a sharp look in

hearing that, Elliot answered the question without

you just trying to repay her kind act, or are you truly fond of her?”

of the reasons are valid to me.” Elliot voiced out in a low voice. In all honesty, he was indeed quite reluctant to go after the same

so you shouldn’t fight me for her

clenching

this. The deserving person of her affections should be whoever that’s more

that case, let’s compete equally for her affections and see which one of us manages to win her heart. If you succeed, then I’ll acknowledge her as my sister-in law, and vice versa if I win. What do you say?” Nigel bluntly

not as capable as his cousin, but he refused to give

this solution as this was the best way that wouldn’t affect

two men immediately acted as if nothing had happened. They continued to enjoy their meal and sip from their teacups, and the

in place of champagne.” Harriet held a teacup

flattered, Anastasia quickly got up to toast Harriet. “Here’s a toast

bring Jared over to our house to have some fun. I would very much like to meet

you a visit

sensed someone serving something to her plate. She assumed that it was Nigel but it seemed to be coming from another direction, so

at him and shot him a warning look. She didn’t want to appear too

Jewelry Atelier so

so he found the meal quite bland and tasteless. It felt as if every

and Elliot took a look at the time before mentioning to Harriet, “Grandma,

soon?” Harriet

soon as Elliot finished saying that, he turned to Anastasia, who was still in her seat.

her bag and bade Harriet farewell. “Old Madam Presgrave, I’ll see you next

Chapter 177

that, Anastasia turned to Elliot and casually commented, “Thanks for the kind offer,

from his seat and offered, “Anastasia, I can give

and finish the meal with your grandmother. I’ll catch a

together, and he couldn’t contain the desolateness that rose up within him. Is

had a dark expression on his face and it was as if he had suffered a huge loss in his business. Instantly, she became quite reluctant to catch a ride with him so as soon as the doors to the

shot her

It’s because you’re obviously in a bad mood

the direction of the street. Suddenly, a large palm reached out and possessively grabbed hold of her wrist

too domineering! Can’t I go back by myself without catching a

driver’s seat too. Subsequently, the black car drove off and merged

her brain for the reason, she couldn’t quite figure it out. He was

a sudden, Elliot’s low, interrogating voice rang out. “You mentioned earlier that you intend to remain

and she turned her head to stare at his handsome side profile. Similarly, he turned

of getting married anyway.” Anastasia wasn’t accustomed to telling lies and she was quite happy and content with the life she had with her son right now, so she found it

blessed life and likewise, remaining single didn’t mean that one’s life would definitely be an unhappy

still maintain your stance of not getting married?” Elliot continued to direct questions at her. Coincidentally, their car came to a stop in front of the traffic light, so

person Elliot was referring to was

the other direction to look out of the window. At the same time, she shook her head firmly. “I don’t plan to get married.

upon hearing her words. She knows that I’m referring to myself and yet, she still

point of view? Don’t keep hiding in your own world and avoid another’s feelings.” Elliot spoke through gritted teeth as he directed his deep eyes at her. He seemed to be extremely angry at the

current expression was exceptionally forbidding and his gaze was full

remained quite annoyed so she continued on her tirade, “I told you this before. I don’t need you to repay me for anything, so could you please suppress your feelings for me? Nothing

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