Never Too Far Novel

Since coming of age, Arthur had met countless women who approached him with ulterior motives, but Sophia was different. She was refreshingly bold and blunt. She was so naive that offending him was something she never thought to be afraid of. At the same time, he wondered if she was just a really good actress, one who was simply employing a different method of getting close to him and seducing him thereafter.

If that were the case, he ought to have seen the cracks in her pretenses by now, but he did not. Was she just really well-trained, or was she being her true self?

In another villa, Mason was awake and waiting for his sister to return. She had told him that she wanted to go night sailing, but it was already well past midnight, and she had yet to return. Knowing how crazy she could get when it came to having fun, he grew exasperated and somewhat furious. She’d better not get herself into trouble, he thought grimly.

Meanwhile, over in the largest and most opulent villa, a warm glow was shining through one of the windows. Under the red covers of the luxurious bed, two figures were entangled in what could only be described as an amorous affair.

The next morning, Anastasia woke up without any prompting whatsoever. She opened her eyes and found herself in the warm embrace of the man sleeping next to her. She dared not let her gaze flicker to his shoulders, which were decorated with claw marks that served as a reminder of their heated endeavors last night.

She could not bring herself to wake her dearest husband. Hence, she quietly took in the dark hair tousled over his forehead and his young, deep-set features. A pleased smile curled on her lips as she stared at him, wanting to burn the image of his face into the back of her mind.

After watching him sleep for a while, she decided to get out of bed and put on her clothes. However, she had only just lifted a corner of the covers when a strong pair of arms pulled her backward.

“Stay in bed with me for a while longer, Mrs. Presgrave,” the man muttered, his warm breath tickling her collarbone as he nuzzled his chin into the crook of her neck. A hoarse chuckle escaped him as he added devilishly, “I was very satisfied last night.”

Anastasia had been tipsy the night before, which resulted in her present groggy state, but the moment he said this, a particular memory surfaced in her headspace and made her blush.

“I like it when you take initiative, Mrs. Presgrave,” he went on to tease, opening his eyes. Basking in the sunlight that spilled through the window, they looked like two sparkling obsidian pools.

Anastasia quickly reached out to clap a hand over his mouth, then said shyly, “Okay, stop.”

Elliot drawled lazily, “Shall I go over the details of what you did that I loved most?”

“No thank you.” She did not want to hear about it as her face had turned positively crimson.

The day after the wedding, the guests who had to get on with the busy schedules of their lives bid their farewells and left. The weight on the flushing bride’s shoulders was finally lifted by a fraction. Visibly more relaxed now, Anastasia decided that she was going to have fun today.

That afternoon, she got a call from Mason, telling her that he had to get back to work, so she bid him goodbye.

Katrina, on the other hand, had woken up in Jacob’s bed. She was like a cat that ate the canary, and she was more than pleased to have him become her new prey.

Over in Villa No. 58, Arthur decided to leave as well, and that afternoon, he gave Elliot a heads up before getting off the island.

As for Sophia, she stood on the deck of the departing yacht and watched the strip of white shore grow into a speck. She thought about how she had pinned Arthur down on the sand the last time, and the corners of her lips tipped up into a mischievous grin.

She turned around and glanced at the man whose silhouette radiated elegance, repressing the urge to laugh as she thought about how rare it must be to see him completely caught off guard like he had that night.

Among the wedding guests who left were Presgraves’ extended family, and those who stayed were the women in the family. Lorelai, in particular, did not look like she was about to leave anytime soon.

That evening, Harriet gathered all the ladies into one dining area and set the men up in another so that dinner could be a more intimate affair. Lorelai was seated next to Anastasia, and when she saw Jared, she praised heartily, “Well, aren’t you just the most adorable little boy I’ve ever seen!”

“Hello, Aunt Lorelai,” Jared greeted sweetly.

“So, what do you want to be when you grow up, Jared?” Lorelai asked, making small talk with the child.

“I wanna be as great as Daddy,” Jared answered without even thinking.

“A brilliant dream indeed.”

Then, the little boy turned to look at his mother and said, “After that, I’ll marry someone as beautiful as Mommy.”

Anastasia sputtered at his childish humor and said, “I suppose I should be relieved that you’ve already got that part of your life all worked out.”

Lorelai laughed and pointed out, “Children have such a wonderful naivety about them, don’t you think?”

Having listened to all this, Harriet beamed and encouraged lovingly, “I’m looking forward to seeing you all grown up, Jared.”

“By the way, Mrs. Presgrave, I’ve heard that you have a knack for jewelry design, and I was wondering if you could help me take a look at a few of my sketches,” Lorelai said enthusiastically as she gave Anastasia an expectant look.

“Of course! You can bring me those sketches anytime,” Anastasia agreed with a smile.

“Really? Thank you so much, Mrs. Presgrave!” Lorelai nodded earnestly, then continued, “I’m designing the jewelry for a friend of mine as a gift. With your feedback, I’m sure the gift will be perfect for her!”

Anastasia asked curiously, “Did you ever go to design school?”

“No, I’m just doing this as a hobby, which is rare for me. I picked it up and I fell in love with it, but I didn’t, like, receive professional instruction or anything like that. I guess that’s what sets you and me apart, huh?” Lorelai replied modestly.

Laughing, Anastasia said, “Well, I’d rather you keep this up as a hobby. It can be cabng if you turn a hobby into full-fledged work.”

Lorelai chuckled as well. “Yeah, I guess you have a point.”

At that moment, someone at the dining table caught sight of the piano sitting in the corner and started pushing Lorelai to perform a tune. The girl very obligingly walked over to the grand-looking instrument and took her seat, then started playing a song with the sort of quiet grace that lulled everyone into a trance. While the melody carried on, someone said in a low voice, “Lorelai sure is talented. She could be a maestro if she wanted!”

“I’m sure she’ll marry well someday,” another person added.

Upon hearing this, Kendra smiled and said, “That’s very sweet of you to say, but Lorelai is just an ordinary girl.”

Most of the guests had left three days after the wedding. After that, Anastasia and Elliot returned to the Presgrave Residence alongside Harriet.

Jared was due to go back to school soon, and Elliot had plenty of work piled up for him at the company. In stark contrast, Anastasia had a lot of free time on her hands, and she had seen the press release about their wedding. However, the exclusivity of the event meant that the media did not have much information to proceed with, and the journalists dared not use it as clickbait either.

Meanwhile, Arthur had stopped living in bars and bought himself a villa close to Elliot’s as a temporary dwelling place. Initially, Sophia wanted to go back to visit her parents, but Arthur refused to let her do so. As such, she ended up following him wherever he went.

That day, two world-class etiquette instructors dropped by the villa to specifically teach and guide Sophia on the ways of upper-class societies. Thus, beginning the first steps of molding her into a lady of nobility.

Sophia was admittedly frustrated by this. She wondered why Arthur was splurging on unnecessary things because she thought it would be better for everyone if she remained as carefree as she had always been, unbridled by the stuffy rules of fine society.

Nevertheless, the instructors were dedicated to their jobs, and they carried out the lessons according to a strict plan. Sophia ended up spending two hours each day learning how to stand, walk and sit properly. At the end of each lesson, she was exhausted and found herself questioning her own sanity.

While she was having these lessons, Arthur would be upstairs doing heaven-knows-what. Occasionally, fortune tellers would drop by the house, and she wondered if the young master truly believed in such things, or if he was helplessly superstitious because he certainly did not appear to her as such.

Presently, in the living room of the second floor, a medium had apparently thrown a seance to communicate with Arthur’s grandfather’s spirit in order to pinpoint the location the old man best preferred to be laid to rest.

After sending off the medium, Arthur decided that he would go to the location and scope things out for himself.

Meanwhile, Sophia had just said goodbye to her instructors. She was rubbing her aching shoulder while walking up the stairs when she suddenly heard Arthur calling out to her, “Sophia, please come over here.”

She did as she was told and presented herself before him, then asked, “Is there something you need help with, Young Master Weiss?”

“A shoulder rub,” he answered curtly as he cast her a sideways glance.

She then stood right behind him and began to rub his shoulders, kneading out the tense muscles as he closed his eyes and disengaged with the rest of the world.

Just as Sophia was admiring his chiseled features, she suddenly felt an alarming tickle in her nose, and before she could stop herself, she sneezed onto his face. “Ah-choo!”

She froze after the sneeze. She could not believe that she had sprayed her germs and saliva all over the features she had been admiring just seconds ago.

The air around them grew cold. Arthur’s brows furrowed as he said, “Wash my face for me.”

“I am so sorry!” she squeaked, running off into the adjoining bathroom and retrieving a moist, patterned towel. She half-knelt on the couch and began to carefully wipe his face. He kept his eyes closed the entire time, and because he had a sharp sense of smell, he could pick up the faint fragrance lingering on her.

His long lashes fluttered as he opened his eyes, and it was then that he saw Sophia wiping his face with a towel.

When she met his gaze, she flushed and said, “I am so sorry for what happened. I promise it won’t happen again.”

Arthur was speechless as well, but what made him even more incredulous was the fact that he did not mind the incident at all.

“Do not do this again,” Arthur warned.

“Yes, sir!” Sophia nodded obediently. She was so embarrassed by the incident that she wanted to crawl into a hole.

Just then, Arthur’s phone rang. A look of surprise flashed across his features when he saw the caller ID, and he hurried to answer the call. “Hello?”

“Artie, it’s me! I’m coming to visit you!” a girly voice spoke up on the other line.

When the call ended, he gave Sophia an unreadable look. She swallowed nervously and asked, “What is it?”

“A friend of mine will be staying here for a while,” he explained. A moment of thought later, he added, “From now on, you are not to misbehave in front of me, and you will act like a proper servant. Do you understand?”

Sophia was no idiot. She had a feeling that this friend of Arthur’s was someone that he secretly had a crush on, so she suggested hopefully, “You know, you’re more than welcome to give me some time off if you think I’m only going to get in your way.”

He eyed her frigidly and bit out commandingly, “You are not leaving.”

Curiosity got the better of her as she tilted her head to one side and asked in amusement, “So, is this friend of yours just an ordinary friend, or is she someone special to you?”

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” he replied with a raised brow.

“Well, if it’s the former, then I’d be more than willing to play the part of the loyal servant and wait on your hand and foot, but if it’s the latter, then my presence here would put us all in a sticky situation, don’t you think?” She wanted to go home desperately, so she enunciated the point of her argument, “Young Master Weiss, all I’m asking is that you give me some time off.”

looked torn, but in the end, he gritted his teeth and shot her a warning glare. “Do not even think

her to stay in such a roguish manner, she thought. She was only his maid, after all, and

retorted, “I wasn’t planning

It seems like there is still a long way to go before she will

come to a stop on the tarmac, and an elegantly-dressed young lady

the airport and put a hand up to block out the blazing afternoon sun. As she suddenly thought of something,

Young Master Weiss’ bodyguards,

said. She couldn’t wait to see him

of the idling cars. The girl leading the entourage through the front yard gave the garden a cursory glance, then marched straight through the door and into the

soon as she walked past the threshold, but she met eyes with a young lady instead. Astonished,

appraising the other girl with the expensive clothes and deciding that she most

girl narrowed her eyes, but when she saw Arthur coming down the stairs, she broke into a dazzling grin and called out sweetly,

friendliness and

you.” Emily walked up to him and grabbed his arm affectionately, then tipped her head

not,” he denied with a

out a crisp and alluring laugh and glanced over at Sophia who still stood by the threshold. She thereafter asked Arthur

“She takes care of my meals

Emily was without a doubt Arthur’s ‘special’

came into the house with suitcases in tow. Emily’s eyes gleamed diabolically at the sight of this, and she quickly said to them, “You girls must be tired. Go and stay at a hotel nearby to catch

hearing this,

said imperiously, “You there! Help me carry these

did a double take when she saw that Emily was

Sophia’s dazed expression, Emily snapped impatiently, “You’re a maid,

so she quickly answered, “Oh, of course.

they were firmly weighed down on the floor. Those

“Be careful with those. I have tons of valuable stuff

of lifting them. Panting, she said, “Miss Jennings, these

help these days, it seems,”

man in the living

rest of her scolding, Arthur brushed past her to the stairwell and grabbed the two bags, then easily carried them up the stairs

the stairs. It was the most bizarre thing she had

headed up the stairs as well, and much to her surprise, he had brought the bags into the guest room instead of leaving them on the second-floor

bags into Emily’s designated room either, and when she got to the top

have, Artie,” Emily interjected, then grabbed his hand to inspect his palm with a pained expression. “I would have asked the bodyguards to help, you know. Look at how

enough, the skin was chaffed red. The bags had a combined weight of more than

dismissively as

master do your work for you. You’re fired! Go, get

lit up as she asked, “Really?

you could? In case you forgot, I’ve given you a one-year advancement on your wages,”

was determined to keep her here. Going along with his act, she said, “I believe you’re the one forgetting things here, Young Master Weiss. Remember how you said you would pay me the last time and then something came up to conveniently distract you from it? Well, with all due respect, you’ll have to cough up the

speechless by her

Young Master Weiss?

anything you could ever imagine, so he wouldn’t go back on his word to pay you the pittance you’re asking for. Don’t delude

with implication, “That’s what I think too. I know a gentleman of nobility such as him would never go back on his promise or mistreat his staff. Right, Young Master Weiss?” Then, she flashed him a meaningful

man was at

pay you what he owes you, so get back to work! I want all the clothes in these bags ironed and hung in the wardrobe, and I mean every single piece of clothing, got it? If I see so much as a wrinkle, you’re done for!” she emphasized the last

that, she linked arms with Arthur and said cheerily, “Come on, Artie, let’s leave her to her work. Let’s

room, but she couldn’t help wondering why the

up one of the bags only to stop and stare at the contents for a full three seconds. Then, she picked up the black lace negligée from the very top of the pile of clothes. The fabric, or rather the lack thereof, had her stumped. Miss Jennings might as well be naked in this! Who’s she

aware of the fact that she had no idea how to operate a clothing iron. Her

maid right now, and she had no choice but to hunker down on

on about the latest details of her undoubtedly jet-setting lifestyle. She stopped talking at some point when she realized that

come here. Knowing the old lady, she

do you look like you aren’t happy to see me?” Emily accused,

to see you. I was just thinking about something else, that’s all.” He had only

“Ow!”

rose from the couch and headed up the stairs with Emily in his wake. When they reached the guest room, they saw Sophia standing by the ironing board holding her hand,

asked urgently. He reached out to grab her hand and immediately saw the red streak burn on her

in alarm when she made contact with the hot iron, but she

and led her to the bathroom, then turned on the tap to run her red, angry palm under cold water. While doing

when she saw this scene. She remembered how much Arthur hated physical contact, but here he was holding the maid’s hand with an unsettling

leaned closer to him and whispered in retort, “It’s not my fault I’ve never been

and drying her hand, they walked out of the bathroom together. Then, he glanced at Emily and said, “Have your maids do

Emily assessed Sophia belittingly and added, “We can’t pay someone who doesn’t

Arthur, however, defended her, “It doesn’t matter. I’m used

surprised by how determined he was to keep

flight and the car ride here, so make me a cup of coffee,” she ordered

coffee was one of the many things Sophia did not know how to do. She usually got her coffee from a

the despair in her wide doe eyes, he repressed the urge to sigh in frustration. She can’t iron, and she can’t make coffee. Is there anything she knows how to

lied to Emily after glaring at Sophia. “I’ll send someone

so-called maid was to Arthur, and there was no hiding the fact that Emily hated Sophia’s guts. Hence, the former was currently thinking of ways to

if he decides to keep her, I

this in the bud before she

kitchen to make tea, which, thankfully, was something she knew

tea and brought the tray over to the couch, but just as she was setting down the cups on the coffee table, Emily asked, “You’re

immediately unhappy when she noticed that Sophia was wearing a nice dress, not to mention,

eyes flickered over to Arthur as she said slowly, “I’ve only started

for you,” Emily

Arthur interjected. “Honestly,

choke on her tea. She began to wonder just who Sophia was to warrant such concern from Arthur, who was famed for being stoic, and

the living room. She had a feeling that her life here wasn’t going to be all rainbows and butterflies now that Emily had moved in. That woman’s a jealous one, she thought grimly. Still, she would not have to suffer like this if she could find that

exasperation. Of all the people she

was desperate to design the perfect jewelry for her friend’s engagement and that she was

plea for help and invited

the car porch of Elliot’s villa. She walked through the front door and into the living room, whereupon she was greeted by Anastasia, who looked like a vision

“Mrs. Presgrave.”

Presgrave

name since the first time we met, but I didn’t want to offend you,” Lorelai explained. With a self-mocking smile, she

fine. You can call me by my name when it’s just the both of us,” Anastasia said with a smile. She then proceeded to appraise Lorelai’s get-up today. The latter was dressed appropriately in an outfit that included dark academia elements with just an understated, feminine appeal. She was also wearing very light make-up

Lorelai and giving it a cursory look, Anastasia praised, “There’s definitely

laughing. “I don’t have much

be smoothed over and suggested several ways Lorelai could achieve it. The latter nodded delightedly and said, “You really are a

it was already 5.30 pm. She thereafter rose to have the kitchen prepare dinner, but just as she was about to invite Lorelai to stay, the girl shook her head and said she

I have something planned for tonight and I should

Elliot will be home soon. Come on, stay for

couldn’t impose, not tonight at least. Dinner’s on me next time, okay?” Lorelai said, politely but

Anastasia walked with her out the

gave her a small wave and said,

Returning the wave, Anastasia watched as the car pulled

glow was cast over the garden, coating

go back into the

out of one of the cars and dashed through the gates.

was,” she answered with an affectionate

held her hand while exclaiming, “I

She reached out to ruffle his hair, then

back and forth on the couch, he quickly set his bag aside and began to

into the evening, a black Bugatti sports car drove and parked on the car porch.

grassy lawn right outside the living room while Jared was playing with the cat. When she saw Elliot walking up to her with his silhouette outlined by the twilight glow, she set her book down and ran to meet him in

dearly after not

into his embrace like a child. He lifted her up by the waist and twirled her once, then set her back down. “Missed me?” he asked teasingly. There was a

nodded, smiling as she

too,” Jared demanded as he approached the loving couple

go of Anastasia and bent to pick up the little guy, then kissed him on the

replied with a

decidedly unhappy when it saw that everyone else

pat its soft, furry

kitten meowed once more as if to

it. There was a serenity in the way the family of

her what happened with Anastasia. Upon hearing the details, Kendra said on the other line, “You did the right thing, Lorelai. That way, Anastasia won’t

afternoon and left before dinner time just so the latter wouldn’t think she was trying to butt into her family affairs. The clever planning would

she said, “By the way. Mom, I’ve already

all, Elliot is still in his honeymoon phase with Anastasia. You ought to wait until she’s got a second kid on the way before you

that’s all,” Lorelai explained. It was like

pace yourself and don’t muck up

know, Mom. I’ll be careful,”

the kitten clambering onto the couch, its claws digging into the fabric as it launched itself onto

“Shouldn’t you be with your darling little master instead of

to get onto the couch, and as a reward, it staked out a corner and curled

suit. He had only just wrapped up an online conference with

her during moments like these. It was an almost feral instinct that

the hidden side of him, the side that lay on the other end of

her mind, Elliot kissed the top of her head and murmured as he undid the buttons of his

what will you do after

raised a brow and gave her a