Never Too Far Novel

“Do you know that I was conscious for about ten seconds that night? And how much it pains me to hear what you’ve said to Erica?” Francis asked.

Naomi’s face blanched at the revelation as she drew a sharp breath in horror. He woke up?

“I’m so sorry, Francis. I was wrong. Please give me another chance. Help me out and I’ll do anything as you say to repay you for the rest of my life.” She was willing to do anything just to leave this appalling place.

He shook his head. “I’m not here to get you out. You should atone for your sins.”

“Francis, I’m sorry! I was wrong…” She began wailing from the bottom of her lungs.

Still, Francis was not to be moved as he continued and questioned, “And what about Erica’s true identity? I bet you had used Anastasia’s blood to replace hers in order to deceive me. You’ve used me to bring up your daughter for over 20 years and yet, this is how you treat my daughter? You’re heartless, Naomi.”

“To Erica, you’ve always been her father. She’s a good daughter and she loves you.” Naomi tried to put in good words for her daughter.

“If she truly loved me, she wouldn’t have joined hands with you to conspire against me by changing my last will and taking away my company. And for sure, she wouldn’t have murdered someone just to hide the truth of her identity!”

“Erica is still young, that’s why. She doesn’t know anything. Save her, please! She’s your daughter!” pleaded Naomi.

“Anastasia will deal with you and Erica as she has the right to do so. Everything will be done according to her call and I won’t interfere in this matter,” Francis uttered, driving the last nail into her coffin.

As the realization of her last strand of hope vanishing dawned upon her, her eyes widened in total fear. “What? You’re going to let her handle everything? N-No. Francis, she hates me to death; she’ll kill us! I’m begging you. Please save us!”

“If you had treated her nicely, she wouldn’t have taken things this far. It’s your karma.” A visit at death’s door had cleared the haze in his mind. He had made up his mind to spend the rest of his lifetime with his biological daughter in peace; the others did not bother him in the slightest anymore.

After saying what he intended to say, Francis rose to his feet.

“Francis. Francis! Don’t go! Please, save me!” The desperate woman banged her head onto the transparent barrier continuously in an attempt to make him stay.

Still, he tuned out the noise and left without turning his head.

Meanwhile, Naomi, who was held by the officers, did not feel a smidgen of pain despite the bleeding. Instead, the unprecedented despair was swallowing her little by little inside out.

The jewelry showcase commenced as scheduled at 2.00PM on Friday and it was expected to end at 9.00PM.

Since Anastasia’s jewelry would be displayed in the afternoon, she and Felicia promised to meet up together. They seated themselves at the front row, which was the best spot to watch the show.

Underneath Anastasia’s long coat was a black dress that hugged her figure well. In spite of the unobtrusive color, she exerted elegance that could readily captivate others with one single movement.

The ceremony opening was then followed up by the runway where the models began to take the center stage and present the jewelries, which were imbued with exotic styles from worldwide. Akin to other audiences, Anastasia was having the time of her life while discussing the features of the design with Felicia at times.

Finally, Anastasia’s work ‘Gloryio’ was mentioned alongside her name when the host was introducing the next design.

Her heart palpitated and before long, she saw that very necklace worn around the model’s neck. The model’s enticing collarbone complemented the jewelry well by drawing all eyes onto the item as it glittered under the illuminating lights.

As soon as the model took the limelight, the crowd plunged into a silent commotion with murmuring voices echoing against the walls.

After a few rounds of catwalks, the models retreated to the backstage, where a number of rich people expressed their liking toward Gloryio. After all, it was a one-of-a-kind jewelry that was worth adding to their collection.

“I’m sorry, but this set has been taken.”

“What? I should be the fastest one. Who is it?” the rich lady growled in disapproval.

“It’s President Presgrave of Presgrave Group. It is said that he wishes to give it to his lover,” explained the manager.

Almost instantly, the rich lady broke into a smile. “Oh! I gladly admit that I’m indeed one step too late. He has good taste.”

That was a given, considering that the designer was Elliot’s very lover!

After the showcase, Anastasia decided to invite Felicia for a cup of coffee, but an employee approached Anastasia before she could even leave her seat. “Miss Tillman, please come backstage for a moment.”

Albeit slightly surprised by the request, she went backstage together with Felicia, only to be welcomed by the manager with a smile. “Miss Tillman, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I have a present for you.”

“A present?” While Anastasia was taken aback, the incisive Felicia had a vague guess of the situation.

The manager took out an exquisite white box before opening it to reveal a necklace. It was the one Anastasia had designed! She exclaimed, “This is my design, though! Is it really for me?”

“Yes. Mr. Presgrave has specially noted that he wishes to give it to the woman he loves the most.”

A blushing Anastasia could not contain the sweet joy in her heart. Needless to say, the man had always been adept at giving surprises.

“Anastasia, it seems like there’s a good reason for President Presgrave to insist on using the best diamonds. He’s been planning to give it to you as a gift from the very start,” teased Felicia.

Anastasia could not help but grin from ear to ear. “So, you’ve known this beforehand? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“If I’ve done that, there wouldn’t be any surprises and President Presgrave’s effort would’ve gone down the drain.”

After looking at her own work, Anastasia told the manager, “Please send it to my place.”

“Understood.”

Anastasia left her address with the manager before leaving. Right then, she thought of the man she had been missing.

“Have you received the present?” Elliot chuckled with his low voice.

“Yeah. But why?” asked Anastasia.

“It’s our engagement soon, but you still need a set of jewelry. I think it’ll be meaningful for you to wear it at our engagement ceremony.”

She had nothing to rebut the ideal answer as she was equally pleased. “I think so too.”

“I’ll see you later tonight.”

“Okay. I’m still shopping, just so you know.” She was on cloud nine.

As the engagement ceremony was nearing, Anastasia had been busy these days. Just selecting six sets of gown alone took up a lot of time since she had to take the details into account as well.

Amidst the hectic days, Harriet was the happiest person of all. The future she had been envisioning was coming true at long last—Anastasia was going to be her granddaughter-in-law.

There was a pre-gathering at Presgrave Residence later that night and Anastasia could finally see Nigel, who had been preoccupied due to a business expansion. He barely had the time to catch a breath.

“Still, I can finally become your family as your brother-in-law.” He smiled.

“It feels kinda weird.” She tried to contain her laughter as she was only two years younger than him.

“Fine. You can marry me, then,” he said in undertone so that it would not reach Elliot’s ears.

She played along. “Say it out loud for your brother to hear.”

Suddenly, someone patted Nigel’s shoulder. It was Elliot, whose eyes had narrowed dangerously. “What did you just say?”

“Huh? Did I say something? I said nothing!” Nigel blinked his eyes several times at Anastasia, signaling her to not let the cat out of the bag.

“It’s nothing.” She was about to burst into laughter because of the funny outcome.

Then, Elliot excused himself to greet the seniors and Nigel patted his chest in relief. “I’ve been afraid of him since I was young. You can never imagine his stern face when he’s angry with me. Yet, he used to stand up for me whenever I got into trouble. I really admire him.”

“For real? Tell me more about his younger days! Did he do anything mischievous or embarrassing?” A curious Anastasia was all ears.

Nigel recounted his childhood memories. “Once, I offended the seniors in my school and Elliot—who was abroad at that time—returned to the country immediately to take down seven of them all by himself! I was cheering for him at the sideline and he won! He was so cool!”

As she was listening to the story, Anastasia could literally picture the scene in her head. She had seen pictures of Elliot in his teens and he definitely had the looks of a rich young boy.

“Has he gone out with other girls?” she whispered.

Nigel shook his head as he did not dare to make up a lie for it either. “Though the girls had been lining up to date him, he didn’t like any of them. Only you.”

Anastasia was giddy with merriment at that moment. “Really? Are you telling the truth?”

“I swear.”

Based on their long friendship, she was able to discern the sincerity in his eyes and trusted his words. “Okay. I believe you.”

After greeting the elderly members, Elliot turned his head to see the duo talking with such proximity. Watching how their heads almost touched, Elliot guessed that Anastasia was prying into his past.

His aroused interest led his feet toward them, after which he crossed his arms while pricking up his ears to hear the conversation.

Both of them were so immersed in the gossip that they did not realize the protagonist was just right there. Meanwhile, Nigel’s eyes lit up as he recalled something. “I’ll tell you one of his dark histories.”

“Dark history?”

“Before he was 16, he drove the car and was caught red-handed. The police gave him a lecture and forced him to rewrite all of the driving rules by hand.” Nigel guffawed without feeling a tad of guilt.

Anastasia let out a hearty laughter as well.

Suddenly, they could feel a cold chill accosting them as a voice resounded. “Is it that hilarious?”

The smile on Nigel’s face went stiff before he cleared his throat. “Elliot, I’m already saving your face by not exposing the time you entered the ladies’ by mistake.”

much better than I am. I have plenty of stories about

Elliot went to the ladies’ before?” Anastasia’s eyes widened in shock. Was he

to learn more of my stories, I’ll

blushing in embarrassment whereas Nigel patted Elliot’s shoulder.

could not fall asleep at

by and it was the engagement day at long

to offer their sincere wishes to the couple with the intent to spread the news. Soon, the Internet went wild over the engagement of the renowned

shoved everything off the desk in a fit of pique at her rented

end, Anastasia had become Mrs. Presgrave and Hayley

However, she was left with not much money; even her meals

always called for desperate measures. The desperate woman, who

could disguise as the gigolo to receive some money from Anastasia, who was

of her reputation by now. Thus, Hayley could threaten her with

ace card in her sleeves, Hayley was certain that Anastasia would provide her with

enough for Hayley to lead a good life for a

once. She had nothing to lose anyway, so why

taking a deep breath, Hayley took a burner phone and dialed

voice came from the other side

that she was using a voice changer app. “Anastasia Tillman, I heard that you’re getting married

Anastasia’s voice at the

miss our son so much. I wish

dare come close to

that if you give me some money. Otherwise, I’ll expose everything that had happened five years ago. I will

at Elliot’s villa, tried to maintain her composure while dealing with the scumbag she had

do you want?” She feigned

not hesitate once she heard the offer. “One

consider it if it’s

hundred thousand. That’s

can’t give you more than a hundred thousand.” Anastasia was determined to catch the

going to marry Elliot Presgrave, that rich guy. How can

voice and tone was

talking is not the gigolo, but

and I are not on good terms. He won’t

trick won’t work on me! He’ll give you anything you

fake. He doesn’t love me. It’s a

me will believe in those lies. I know a lot about you and

into conviction. It was Hayley calling her at the moment. It seemed like Hayley had been

the gigolo did not have the audacity to appear before Anastasia, Hayley was trying her luck to

the lonely Erica who’s currently in prison. I guess I should grant her a wish

the person on the phone was indeed Hayley or not—throw the bait and make her

gotta promise that you stay out of my son’s sight or I’ll make you pay

Hayley was in triumph as her trick was

from how hasty the person was, Anastasia was certain that it was indeed Hayley attempting to bamboozle her. Hayley was in dire need of

she acted as the gigolo to get money from Anastasia, which

to forgive Hayley this time round. “How should I

the location. And you gotta leave the money there in an

with a credit card. But you gotta promise me that you won’t

to give

call before dialing Elliot’s number and informed him about the situation, asking him to trap Hayley into

her plate with tonight’s engagement ceremony going on,

a sigh of relief as she left her room, thinking that Anastasia was so

her looks! As she was feeling giddy about her ‘flawless’ plan, Hayley figured that she could make Anastasia her very own magic money tree in

store before texting the password. An hour later, she would be swimming in cash and doing anything she fancied with

disguise apart from hiring someone with two hundred dollars to help her move the

shoving a bulging bag into

the nearby throng was Hayley, whose eyes were staring at the locker with excitement. She

near future, five hundred

the money as told. You better do as you’ve promised. Otherwise, you’ll never get away from

Hayley glanced at a young man next to her, who seemed quite dense, before asking whether

move a hefty bag from the locker

upon receiving the money. The loaded bag was so heavy that he could barely move it. After looking left and right, she wore a cap before trailing behind him. She even covered her face with a mask for

had arrived at the entrance, she instructed

is in that bag? It’s so heavy,” asked the curious

over by saying, “Just mask packs from my

took the thousand dollar cash

as she had expected!

Seymour, you’re under arrest for blackmailing

within split seconds. What? How did

blackmail anyone. She gave it to me willingly!” With that being said, she forwent the money and dashed with all her might. Still, the bodyguards, who were

go of me!

Tillman’s bodyguards. You can’t escape,

did that b*tch know

like that.” Then,

contorted her face and her heart sank to the pit of her stomach, for she had not foreseen herself

willing to increase the amount to five hundred thousand—the higher the amount of money involved, the heavier the penalty would be. Still, the

growled Hayley before she was cuffed and taken away by the

meantime, Anastasia, who was in the makeup room, was informed that Hayley was taken into custody. Everything had gone as planned and it added to the icing on

Tillman, shall we start with the

as the elite makeup team tended to

of her advanced age, he

the watch I gave you? Do you not like my present?” Harriet saw

smiling Elliot replied, “Okay, Grandma. I’ll wear

God

by God?”

course! This watch brings good luck to

will wear it

pick up Anastasia because Elliot had picked Harriet up, so he asked for a motorcade to head over in his stead.

you to come back and forth. I can take a cab

take a watch from the cabinet.” Elliot told

“Sure! Which one?”

me to search for it.

After all, she

was a gift from

surge of joy, as she was a bit jealous, wondering which woman gave

it to you later,”

she paired it with her white diamond dress, which

entered his closet. Inside, there was a display glass for his watches. Under the lights, the watches radiated its uniqueness and

Anastasia could see the light emerald watch reflecting a

it was the same one as in the picture. Then, she placed it in her bag and

twilight was prominent today, which signaled a very

Anastasia sitting

it was one of the properties of the Mansons. The exterior of the extravagant hotel was lined with

see that on the inside of the black car sat an elegant woman

at the entrance, a man had stood there for quite a while in a stylish black suit

woman he had been anticipating

the door to the sight of Anastasia staring back at him too. Witnessing the man’s charisma made

in her eyes was full of love and care for

also dressed to the nines today. Any

seen Anastasia look at a man with such a gaze. He had once hoped she would look upon him so, but now he understood that he

Elliot was worthy of such

had decided they were a pair from the start and that he himself

him, even though he already

them happiness, as the thing he hoped to see the most was

was being extra shy today, was being led

she finally turn back and see Nigel. She raised her hand

Nigel replied, “You finally

looked on smilingly, admiring the woman who was soon to be

being the thirdwheel involuntarily, Nigel coughed lightly. “Can you two stop publicly displaying your love? At least wait until the

at him. “Nigel,

words while covering her mouth, as

Inside the venue hall.

and dreamy. Since Anastasia liked a blue-themed engagement venue, the whole thing was decorated in teal and sky blue,

making

waiting room by the side, Anastasia finally remembered about the watch, so she took it out and gave it to

nodded. “Yup. It’s this one.” Taking off his other watch, he said, ” This was a gift from my grandma for my 20th birthday.” Wearing it, he continued, “Grandma said that this was a watch

“Your grandmother’s

wavered at this, as it was this precise watch that attracted Hayley, the evil woman,

he just treated it as a gift from his grandmother and not as a lucky

indeed lucky since he

out with Elliot, and they entered the room later, accompanied by two

child stared at Anastasia. He thought that this was the prettiest he had ever seen his mother and

dotingly. “Thank you,

I am! I can finally call Mr. Presgrave as ‘Daddy’!” Jared

at his words. “Yup. He’s your daddy from

by, with Francis sitting right in front of the hall in a suit, looking

blood would truly love him and that he would spend the rest of his life making

for the others, he did not

daughter, Brenda, walked over and

start then!” Harriet could not wait to announce that Anastasia

for this

have!” Harriet

6.50 pm, so there were just two