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.”

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

no right to order her to stay in such

“I wasn’t planning on

a long way to go before

private jet had come to a stop on the tarmac, and an elegantly-dressed young lady was

the blazing afternoon

contacted Young Master Weiss’ bodyguards, and they have sent

go then,” she said. She couldn’t

entourage came out 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

around in her mind as soon as she walked past the threshold, but she met eyes with a young lady instead. Astonished, she demanded,

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

her eyes, but when she saw Arthur coming down the stairs, she broke

friendliness and

me come over to take care of you.” Emily walked up to him and grabbed his arm affectionately, then tipped her head

not,” he denied

out a crisp and alluring laugh and glanced over at Sophia who still stood by the

answered. “She takes care of my meals

Emily was without a doubt

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.

used to waiting on her, and upon hearing

as she said imperiously, “You there! Help me carry

double take when she saw

expression, Emily snapped impatiently, “You’re a maid,

then that Sophia remembered Arthur asking her to act like a well-behaved servant, so she quickly answered, “Oh, of course.

tried to lift them, she realized they were firmly weighed down on the floor. Those two maids who came with Emily must come from professional weightlifting

as she watched Sophia struggle to lift the bags. “Be careful with those. I have tons of valuable stuff in there; you break them, you pay, but I doubt

Panting, she said, “Miss Jennings, these bags are far too heavy for me to

days, it

only man in the living room to aid her. “A

ask Artie to carry out a servant’s duty, you little—” Before Emily could continue the rest of her scolding, Arthur brushed past her to the stairwell and grabbed the two bags, then easily carried them up the stairs in a

had actually lent the maid a helping hand by carrying the bags up the stairs. It was the

he had brought the bags into the guest room

to oh-so-charitably bring the bags into Emily’s designated room either, and when she got to the top of the stairs, she quickly said, “Thank you, Young

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 red your

at his palm as well, and sure enough, the skin was chaffed red. The bags had a combined weight of more than a hundred

fine,” Arthur said dismissively as he pulled away from

you had your master do your work for you. You’re fired! Go, get out of our sights!” Emily barked commandingly at Sophia, terminating her

then her eyes lit up as she asked,

I’ve given you a one-year advancement on

quickly grasped the situation and realized that this man 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

rendered speechless

Master Weiss?

than anything you could ever imagine, so he wouldn’t go back on his word to pay you the

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

was at a loss for

overshadowed by the maid, and she grew infuriated as she snapped, “Okay, fine, he’ll 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 part of her command and sprinkled malice on top of it, too. “The password for

Arthur and said cheerily, “Come on, Artie, let’s leave her to her work. Let’s catch up on all the latest details of your

room, but she couldn’t

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 going to wear

to operate a clothing iron. Her parents had raised her like a princess all

was supposedly Arthur’s maid right now, and she had no choice but to hunker down on these menial household tasks, which were not so much menial to her as they were

distracted as he listened to Emily prattle on about the latest details of her undoubtedly jet-setting lifestyle. She stopped talking at some point when she realized that he seemed miles

looked at her with narrowed eyes. He knew exactly why Martha had asked Emily to come here. Knowing the old lady, she was most likely playing matchmaker, and this was just her way of setting him up

to see me?” Emily accused, biting

He had

“Ow!”

Emily in his wake. When they reached the

reached out to grab her hand

burned myself earlier. I’ll be fine,” Sophia said. She had instinctively cried out in alarm when she made contact with the hot iron, but

her and led her to the bathroom, then turned on the tap to run her red, angry palm under cold water. While doing so, he chided, “You should always pay attention when you’re

She remembered how much Arthur hated physical contact, but here he was holding

whispered in retort, “It’s not my fault I’ve never been

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

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

“It doesn’t matter.

surprised by how determined he was to keep

ride here, so make me a cup of coffee,” she ordered Sophia furiously. “Prove yourself

one of the many things Sophia did not know how to do. She usually got her coffee from a local barista or any other cafe. Right now, she tossed Arthur a pleading look, trying to get

doe eyes, he repressed the urge to sigh in frustration. She can’t iron, and she can’t

machine here,” he lied to Emily after glaring at Sophia. “I’ll send someone out to get one

and there was no hiding the fact that Emily hated Sophia’s guts. Hence, the former was currently thinking of ways to get rid of the latter and eradicate any good impression Sophia

have to make Artie hate her too. That way, if he

had to nip this in the bud before

Sophia bustled off into the kitchen to make tea,

and brought the tray over to the couch, but just as she was setting down the cups

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

she said slowly, “I’ve only started work a month ago, so I

for you,”

no need for that,” Arthur interjected. “Honestly, I find uniforms to

tea. She began to wonder just who Sophia was to warrant such concern from Arthur, who

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

possibly be? She wanted to cry out in exasperation. Of all the people she

received a call from Lorelai that morning. Lorelai told Anastasia that she was desperate to design the perfect jewelry for her friend’s engagement and that she was

her plea for help and invited

walked through the front door and into the living room, whereupon she was

“Mrs. Presgrave.”

call me Anastasia. Mrs. Presgrave sounds too formal,”

didn’t want to offend you,” Lorelai explained.

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.

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

sudden inspiration, I guess,” Lorelai said humbly, laughing. “I don’t have much time usually, what with business investments

several parts of the design that needed to be smoothed over and suggested several ways Lorelai

until she checked the time and saw that it was already 5.30 pm. She thereafter

Anastasia, but I have something planned for tonight and I should go,” Lorelai

it’s already so late, and Elliot will be home soon. Come on,

nice of you to offer, but I couldn’t impose, not tonight at least. Dinner’s on me

Anastasia

her a small wave and said, “Thanks for today.

the wave, Anastasia watched as the car

sunset glow was cast over the garden,

She did not go back into the living room. Instead, she glanced at

expected, the fleet of cars escorting the little boy pulled up outside the house but did not drive in. Jared leaped out of one of the cars and dashed through the gates. He ran up to Anastasia when he saw her

was,” she answered with

and held her hand while

ruffle his hair, then led him into the

his

later into the evening, a black Bugatti sports car drove and parked on the car porch. The soft purr of the car engine

she saw Elliot walking up to

dearly after not seeing him for

Elliot opened his arms and caught her just as she threw herself into his embrace like a child. He lifted her up by the waist and twirled her once, then set

nodded, smiling as she

Jared demanded as he

then kissed him on the cheek lovingly. “Did

bet!” Jared replied

when it saw that everyone else

feline to be part of the family, Elliot reached out to pat its

more as if to answer

the way the family of three and their cat hung out with each other under the evening

her what happened with Anastasia. Upon hearing the details, Kendra said on the other line, “You

deliberately dropped by Anastasia’s house during the late 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 help Lorelai make a

in Lorelai’s eyes as she said, “By the way. Mom, I’ve already sent in my resume

little too soon, Lorelai. My father said not to rush the plan, remember? After 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 make a

don’t worry, I’m only doing this to gauge Elliot’s feelings for me, that’s all,” Lorelai explained. It was like playing chess, and every move she made

that you pace

know, Mom. I’ll be careful,”

see the kitten clambering onto the couch, its claws digging into the fabric as it launched itself onto the padded cushion. It let out a soft mewl as

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

the couch, and as a reward, it staked out a corner and curled up in it, then

dressed in his lounge suit. He had only just wrapped up an online conference with

primal urges that seized her during moments like these.

of him, the side that lay on the other end of the spectrum from his aloof

reading her mind, Elliot kissed the top of her head and murmured

what will you do

gave her a knowing