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

right to order her to stay in such a roguish manner, she

“I wasn’t planning

still a long way to go before she will

at the Averna airport, a private jet had come to a stop on the tarmac, and an elegantly-dressed young lady was presently being escorted

blazing afternoon sun. As she suddenly thought of something, a smile blossomed on

already contacted Young Master Weiss’ bodyguards, and they have

said. She couldn’t wait to see

villa, and an entourage came out of the idling cars. The girl leading the entourage through the front

been running around in her mind as soon as she walked past the threshold, but

Miss Jennings. I’m Sophia, Young Master Weiss’ maid,” Sophia introduced herself politely, appraising the other girl with the expensive clothes and deciding that she

down the stairs, she broke into a dazzling grin and called out sweetly,

returned her friendliness

of you.” Emily walked up to him and grabbed his arm affectionately, then tipped her head to one side as she gave him a once-over.

did not,” he denied with

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

care of

other hand, concluded that Emily

in tow. Emily’s eyes gleamed diabolically at the sight of this, and she quickly said to them, “You girls

her, and upon hearing this, they immediately sensed

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

did a double take when she saw that Emily was pointing at

sight of Sophia’s dazed expression, Emily snapped impatiently, “You’re a maid, aren’t

so she quickly answered, “Oh, of course. I’ll have

the two mammoth bags toward the stairwell, but when she tried to lift them, she realized they were firmly weighed down on the

“Be careful with those. I have tons of valuable stuff in there; you break them, you pay, but I doubt

sure that she had no way of lifting them. Panting, she said, “Miss Jennings,

find good help these days, it seems,” Emily mocked with a cruel

this, Sophia called out for the only man in the living room to aid her. “A little help please, Mr.

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

lent the maid a helping hand by carrying the bags up the stairs. It was the most bizarre thing

her surprise, he had brought the bags into the

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

to inspect his palm with a pained expression. “I would have asked the bodyguards to help, you know. Look at how red

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

dismissively as

for you. You’re fired! Go, get out of our sights!” Emily barked commandingly at Sophia, terminating

lit up as

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

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 pay me the last time and then something came up to conveniently distract you from it? Well, with all due

scoffed, rendered speechless by her

your word, are you, Young Master Weiss? I’ve gone without a month’s salary now!” she

was going on, Emily snorted and said contemptuously, “Artie’s fortune is far more than 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

as him would never go back on his promise or mistreat his staff. Right, Young Master Weiss?” Then, she

was at a loss for

these bags ironed and hung in the wardrobe,

cheerily, “Come on, Artie, let’s leave her to

sigh in relief when Emily and Arthur finally left the room, but she couldn’t help

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

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

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

looked 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

here. Knowing the old lady, she was most likely playing matchmaker, and this was

to see me?” Emily accused, biting down on her

thinking about something else, that’s all.” He had only just

“Ow!”

they reached the guest room, they saw Sophia

wrong?” Arthur asked urgently. He reached out to grab her hand and immediately saw the red streak burn

in alarm when she made contact with the hot iron, but she didn’t think she would

and led her to the bathroom, then turned on the

saw this scene. She remembered how much Arthur hated physical contact, but here he was holding the

leaned closer to him and whispered in retort, “It’s not my fault

raised as a young lady of nobility as well, so he did not continue berating her. After turning off the tap water and drying her hand, they walked out of the bathroom together.

you just fire her?” Emily assessed Sophia

matter. I’m used

surprised by how determined he

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

things Sophia did not know how to do. She usually got her coffee from a local barista or

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 do other than

Emily after glaring at Sophia. “I’ll send someone out to get one

me tea.” She was trying to gauge how important this so-called maid was to Arthur, and there was no hiding the fact that Emily hated Sophia’s guts. Hence,

too. That way, if he decides to keep her,

had to nip this in the bud before she ended up losing Arthur to some

make tea, which, thankfully, was something she knew how

over to the couch, but just as she was setting down the cups on the coffee table, Emily asked,

she noticed that Sophia was wearing a nice dress, not

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

I shall get one ready for you,” Emily

need for that,” Arthur interjected. “Honestly, I find uniforms to

warrant such concern

all rainbows and butterflies now that Emily had moved in. That woman’s a jealous one, she thought grimly. Still, she would not have

possibly be? She wanted to cry out in exasperation. Of all the people she could have a score to settle with, it just had

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

did not reject her plea for help and invited her over to the

drove into the car porch of Elliot’s villa. She walked through the front door and into the living room,

“Mrs. Presgrave.”

me Anastasia. Mrs. Presgrave sounds too formal,”

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

proceeded to appraise Lorelai’s get-up today. The latter was dressed appropriately in an outfit that included dark academia elements

the sketch from Lorelai and giving it a cursory look, Anastasia praised,

Lorelai said humbly, laughing. “I don’t have much time usually, what with business

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

a few more things and shared a few insider’s tricks with Lorelai, Anastasia didn’t even notice that an hour had passed until she checked the time and saw that 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

for the invitation, Anastasia, but I have something planned for tonight and I should go,” Lorelai explained, gathering her things as

already so late, and Elliot will be home soon. Come on, stay for

couldn’t impose, not tonight at least. Dinner’s on me next time,

that case, I’ll see you some other day.” Anastasia walked with her out

driver’s seat, Lorelai gave her a small wave and said,

watched as the car pulled out of the porch and out

glow was cast over the

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

but did not drive in. Jared leaped out of one of the cars and dashed through the gates. He ran

was,” she answered

while exclaiming, “I love you so

to ruffle his hair, then

into the living room and saw the kitten darting back and forth on the couch, he quickly set his bag aside and began to play with the feline. The little furball had only grown cuter since

Bugatti sports car drove and parked on

was reading on the 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,

him dearly after not seeing him for the

by the waist and twirled her once, then set her back down. “Missed me?” he asked teasingly. There was a warm and gentle gleam in

as she

he approached the

then kissed him

replied with a firm

when it saw that everyone else had received Elliot’s affection.

out to pat its soft, furry head and asked, “You’re not angling for

meowed once more as if to

way the family of three and their cat hung out with each other under the evening sky. For a while, it

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

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

ambitious glimmer in Lorelai’s eyes as she said, “By the way.

still in his honeymoon phase with Anastasia.

Elliot’s feelings for me, that’s all,” Lorelai explained. It was like

pace yourself

I’ll be careful,”

when Anastasia got out of the shower that night to get ready for bed, only to see the kitten clambering onto the couch, its claws digging into the fabric as it launched itself onto the

you be with your darling little master instead of

kitten managed to get onto the couch, and as a reward, it staked out a corner and curled up in it, then

bedroom door opened and Elliot walked in dressed in his lounge suit. He had only just wrapped up an online conference with international affiliates, and there was an imperial, decisive, and deadly air about him that made him all

during moments like these. It was an

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

kissed the top of her head and murmured as he undid the buttons of his suit, “Give

what will you do after

brow and gave her a knowing look. “What do you