Never Too Far Novel

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?”

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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.”

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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.

spoken to her before, she

his business, so Anastasia was raised by her maternal grandmother. Two years later, her father had remarried and that was when Naomi joined their family. Naomi had brought along a daughter with her. After Anastasia’s grandmother had passed away due to illness, her father finally brought Anastasia back

that point, Harriet quickly halted the current topic as she didn’t want to bring up Anastasia’s painful past, so she

Nigel joining them for lunch, but she could only act confused. “Did you invite another person to

two of you out for lunch with me to have a proper discussion. It was totally beyond my expectation that you were the little girl who saved Nigel back then. It must be

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

to the former’s request and thoroughly spoke about the ordeal. Anastasia also shared with Harriet some of her experiences with Nigel when they were overseas. Meanwhile, Harriet listened on and concluded in her mind that it was proof of Anastasia and

elderly woman was very intent on bringing the

could naturally continue to provide support and compensation

also heading in the direction of 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

the barber’s, and he had gotten a stylish haircut for today’s lunch

a look at himself in the mirror, he cheered for himself. “Nigel Manson, you must win Anastasia’s heart today and get her to agree

pushed open the car door and got out of the car to enter the restaurant. Subsequently, the waiter greeted him and escorted him to the direction of the private room as

to figure out how to explain

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

he had said that, he directed his affectionate almond-shaped

with a smile. “You’re

wouldn’t dare to be late for lunch with

hearing that, Anastasia couldn’t contain herself and 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. They look

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

her hand. “I’m fine. I accidentally

TEST

EST

cooking from now on. I’ll treat

used to eating

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 realized by listening to the way the ingredients were obtained that this was

of each, then!”

be just the three of you today?”

Harriet suddenly recalled that there was another person joining

M

Anastasia and Nigel exchanged looks with each other. Is there a mysterious guest? Who is it? Harriet, however, was busy chatting with the manager, so they didn’t interrupt the

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 minimalistic

upon seeing the man, and she was quite stunned to find that he was

into the room was in fact Elliot-the man who had shamelessly mentioned he

almond-shaped eyes too. Why

too? Don’t you have any lunch conferences to attend?” Nigel lifted his brows

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 but to barge in and

there are plenty of people keen to give you a treat.” Nigel didn’t believe a single word that Elliot said. Furthermore, Nigel was quite sure that his cousin must have purposely turned

her grandsons in attendance. “Elliot mentioned to me last night that he didn’t have any lunch plans

noticed that his handsome face had stiffened slightly. Elliot clearly didn’t expect that Harriet would expose

into his hand and took a sip from it. At the same

for Anastasia, she purposely turned in the other direction as soon as

Elliot Presgrave. You guys must have

abashed look on her face as she spoke up guiltily. “Yes, we’ve met.” Not only have we met, but we’ve also even kissed

“Grandma, why don’t you hurry up and tell us the purpose of this lunch date

at Nigel, who was seated next to Harriet. “Anastasia and Nigel, I’m very happy to know

point, Anastasia thought to herself, Elliot was right in his guess! Harriet has actually taken the proposal for

so that Anastasia and I can proceed with the wedding ceremony

Elliot crossed his arms together and looked at the woman next to him with a slightly gloating look on his face as he waited

to Harriet. “Old Madam Presgrave, Nigel was just fooling around when he proposed to me that day.

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

solemnly spoke up. “Anastasia, I was quite serious during the marriage proposal. I would like to take your hand in marriage and have you as my wife. Please allow me to care for you for the rest of

that point, Anastasia lifted her head 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

His dark eyes were deep and mysterious, and one couldn’t quite tell what

was also waiting for the woman next to

consider him as a prospect.”

in a rut as she mumbled, “Old

sincere in my feelings. Ever since you saved my life, 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

from left to right. She also pursed her lips for a moment before biting on her lower lip. At that point, she looked deeply troubled as she struggled to

eyelashes formed a dense canopy and

shoot him a fleeting yet pleading look, but she could only manage to catch his nonchalant look from his handsome side profile. He behaved as if this had nothing to

was quite frustrated as she grumbled to herself, What did I expect from him

find it quite hard to accept Nigel’s marriage proposal?” Harriet’s warm voice suddenly

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

Nigel’s feelings toward her included a strong sense of gratitude. Even if he sincerely liked her, she couldn’t

sorry, Nigel, and I’m sorry, Old Madam Presgrave. I can’t accept Nigel’s proposal.” Anastasia lifted her head and she had a clear look in

was busy sipping tea, revealed a

is that so?”

with Anastasia, because he had all the patience in the world for her. He was determined not to back down despite her multiple rejections

because I have made up my mind to remain single for the rest of my life.” Anastasia’s firm

his drink. He quickly covered his mouth with his large palm as he hastily turned his head to stare at

Presgrave, I hope that you can understand my circumstances as a single mother. Even if I choose to remarry,

LAN

garner Harriet’s support. After all, the latter was a woman, so she would naturally be able to understand the situation of a mother’s refusal to build a new family with a kid in tow. If she conceived

inevitable for the first child to experience

“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 and we don’t need to have another child. I’ll focus

Nigel’s father is not going to agree to that, and my daughter definitely won’t allow that too! The Manson Family line needs to be passed

and turned to speak to Nigel. “Nigel, stop being ridiculous. You have

this matter,” Nigel replied calmly, as he intentionally wanted

for the rest of my life. I’m not going to enter into a marriage with any other man, and you’re no exception.” Anastasia made her stance clear and there was no

shouldn’t speak so rashly just yet. You should give yourself some room for changing your mind just in case. Otherwise, it

as I said, so there’s no need for you to be

aback. What does Elliot mean

so she quickly gestured at Anastasia. “Come on,

this.” Nigel reached out and served some salad onto her plate over the

seeing that, Anastasia politely thanked him.

Harriet suddenly lamented, “Anastasia, it must have been destined for us to meet, so

“I’m blessed to have made acquaintance with all

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

“Grandma, what

direction and replied, “You’ve been overseas all 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

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 of taking control of the QR Jewelry Group and the current situation with him being permanently stationed at the office of Bourgeois Jewelry Atelier clearly is his way of

mentioned, “I need

down her cutlery and got up

Nigel turned to Elliot with a sharp look in

that, Elliot answered the question

or are

to me.” Elliot voiced out in a low voice. In all

went after Anastasia first, so you shouldn’t fight

clenching his fist

of her affections should be whoever that’s more capable. Or perhaps, to

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 announced that they should compete equally with each other. As such, if he failed in his bid and

his cousin, but he refused to give up without a

to this solution as this

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

would like to propose a toast with this cup of tea in place of champagne.” Harriet held a teacup in her

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

house to have some fun. I would very much like

I’ll bring him over to pay you a visit once

plate. She assumed that it was Nigel but it seemed to be coming from another direction, so she looked up and found out that it was

look. She didn’t want to appear too intimate with him around

everything and he couldn’t contain the desolateness that arose within him. He felt as if he was one step behind in everything. He couldn’t help wishing that he had taken over the Bourgeois Jewelry Atelier so that Anastasia could work for him and subsequently, he would be able

that point, Nigel was quite downcast so he found the meal quite bland and tasteless. It felt as if every bite turned

meal ended and Elliot took a look at the time before mentioning

soon?” Harriet was quite surprised to hear

since we’re heading in the same direction.” As soon as Elliot finished saying that, he turned

she quickly grabbed her bag and bade Harriet farewell. “Old Madam Presgrave, I’ll see

Chapter 177

and casually commented,

got up from his seat and offered, “Anastasia, I can give you

that point, Anastasia quickly turned around. “Nigel, do stay on and finish the meal with your grandmother.

that, Nigel could only watch helplessly as the two of them left together, and he couldn’t contain the desolateness that rose up

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 elevator slid open with a ping’, she turned to him and immediately said, “President Presgrave, thanks

Elliot shot her a

in a bad mood

head and replied before quickly walking off in the direction of the street. Suddenly, a large palm reached out and possessively grabbed hold of her wrist before dragging her to the direction of a car. Elliot pulled open the door to the front passenger seat and gestured for her to get into his

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

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

perplexed as to why Elliot suddenly lost his temper but despite racking her brain for the reason, she couldn’t quite figure it out. He was an unfathomable individual and his emotions were quite unpredictable most

rang out. “You mentioned earlier that you intend to remain single for the rest of your life. Are you

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

of getting married anyway.” Anastasia wasn’t accustomed to telling lies and she was quite happy and content with the life she had with

a blessed life and likewise, remaining single didn’t mean that one’s

Jared also likes the guy who pursues you, then would you 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 he

person Elliot was

same time,

She knows

in your own world and avoid another’s feelings.” Elliot spoke through gritted teeth as he directed

at him. His current expression was

you don’t even know what I’ve been through and you don’t know me at all, so don’t you dare jump to conclusions about me!” Anastasia was also slightly angered at that point and after finishing her sentence, she 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 will come out of this relationship. Stop the