Never Too Far Novel

Just as Elliot was about to get up, Anastasia reached out to hug his neck. “Then, we don’t have to use it.”

He immediately understood what she meant and was taken by surprise. Then, he kissed her gently and asked in a hoarse voice, “Sweetheart, are you sure?”

“I am!” She had promised Jared, so she decided to try and see if she could fulfill his wish of giving him a sister on his birthday next year.

…

At the break of dawn, Arthur suddenly had the urge to visit Sophia’s father after waking up.

After all, he had nothing better to do.

Deciding that he wanted it to be a surprise, he did not inform her about it. He used other means to get information about Drake’s whereabouts. After all, the Goodwins’ company was in his hands.

To avoid Emily, Arthur left at about 10:00 AM to drive directly to the hospital since his bodyguard had bought him a gift in advance, so he drove directly to the hospital.

At the hospital, Drake and the rest of his family were just at the entrance as his driver was on the way to bring them to a restaurant for lunch.

As Drake couldn’t walk, he was pushed out in a wheelchair.

At this moment, a pick-up truck drove up toward them and the man who stepped out was Christopher coming to pick Sophia up. At 5 feet 7 inches, he weighed nearly 200 pounds in sportswear and his body looked plumper than ever.

His chin and neck were almost touching each other, but this did not stop him from liking beautiful women at all.

He and Sophia were classmates from junior high until they were in university. She had always been the It girl since she was young as she was beautiful. Thus, Christopher had always been dreaming of getting her.

As for Sophia’s parents, they hoped that she would be taken care of for the rest of her life. Although he was a little plump, he came from a wealthy family, so their daughter would be able to live a prosperous life in the future.

“Dad, Mom, let Uncle G take you to the restaurant first. We’ll meet you there in a bit,” Sophia said.

“Alright, we’ll get going then.”

Then, she followed Christopher into his car where he immediately acted like a gentleman. “Sophia, today is a great day for us. Come, let’s get a gift for you.”

“Let us go eat first,” she deflected. She did not want anything from him.

“You’re going to be my wife soon, and it’s only right for me to give you a gift.” Then, he drove her straight to the jewelry store. Although she had repeatedly refused the offer, he still tried to force a diamond ring on her finger.

Ultimately, she had no choice but to wear it on her ring finger. This made him grin so widely that his triple chin was on full display.

“Sophia, you’re so beautiful today. Did you know how many boys were after you back in high school? Now, I can finally call you mine,” he boasted. He had already made up his mind to bribe the media to report their wedding. That way, he would look even more imposing.

The most beautiful girl in school was now his wife, which made it extremely wonderful!

However, Sophia had no intention of being his trophy wife. She looked at the time and said, “It’s time for us to head over to the restaurant.”

Then, Christopher finally drove them toward the restaurant.

In the hospital corridor, a group of young nurses was stunned by the sight of a man in a white shirt, who became the focus of all the women. He was like a protagonist out of a novel while the two bodyguards made him appear cold and hostile with a domineering aura.

Arthur stood at the door of the ward. He stopped outside for a few seconds before he reached out to push open the door, expecting to see Sophia’s surprised face.

However, the ward was empty.

When a nurse passed by, he politely asked the nurse in a charming voice, “Excuse me, has the patient here been discharged?”

It just so happened that the nurse happened to be in charge of the ward. “Mr. Goodwin is not discharged yet,” she hurriedly answered. “He just went out for lunch. If I’m not wrong, his daughter is getting engaged today.”

At the sound of this, his dark pupils suddenly shrank. “Engaged?”

“Yes, that is correct! According to what I’ve heard, they will meet the groom’s family and discuss the engagement. Sir, are you related to him?”

“No.” The man kept his composure and gave a quick smile, but as soon as he walked away, his face looked gloomy.

How could she not tell him she was going to get engaged?

Arthur pulled out his phone and called Sophia’s number right away.

Sophia was in the car that Christopher was driving. When she heard her phone rang, she pulled it out and checked it. Once she saw who was calling, she immediately ended the call.

“Why didn’t you answer?” Christopher asked out of curiosity.

“It’s nothing important.”

At the hospital lobby, the man couldn’t believe that she had just hung up on him. When he thought about that, he gripped the phone even tighter.

“Find out where Drake’s daughter’s engagement is,” Arthur ordered his bodyguard behind him.

The bodyguard contacted the executive at Goodwin Corporation, who put him in touch with Drake’s driver. The driver gave them the address and room number of the restaurant.

Arthur then entered the car and calmly said, “Drive to the restaurant.”

Christopher’s car slowly pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot during this time. When Sophia got out of the vehicle, he suddenly hugged her. This startled Sophia, so she avoided and told him, “Don’t do this. We do not want anyone to see us.”

“What’s the problem? After this meal, you will be my wife anyway.” He wanted to move in with Sophia so badly right now.

Even though they were going to get married in future, she still resisted him deeply.

“Fine! At the very least, we should hold hands!” Christopher ignored her refusal and forced to take her hand.

Sophia had no choice but to follow him inside the restaurant while holding her hand.

At the restaurant, Drake and his wife were chatting with the York couple. Since they were both businessmen, this was something that they had in common. Their conversation led to the Goodwin Corporation incident when a hostile acquisition left Drake with no one to turn to when it happened.

His business was thriving until there was an unexpected hostile acquisition, which resulted in him owing a significant amount of money to the bank. All of this happened as a result of his daughter losing the heirloom that belonged to a young man.

“Anyway, the past is the past. Please look out for us since we will soon be in-laws,” Drake added.

“Of course. After all, our son is totally crazy about Sophia.”

Christopher walked in while holding Sophia’s hand as they were talking.

After taking their seats, the two families began ordering food. In the meantime, Emma was observing her daughter seated next to a plump Christopher. She felt terrible for Sophia since she was unhappy with this engagement.

“Sophia! I’ll take good care of you in the future. Once you’re married to Christopher, please hurry ahead and bless our family with a grandchild. I definitely want to have a grandchild soon.” Margaret thought to herself as she looked at Sophia’s lovely face. My future grandchildren’s genes will definitely be amazing.

“Why don’t we skip the engagement and get straight to the wedding planning? At this point, we are able to discuss the dowry and what should be done with it. We are generous, we have decided to give two million dollars.” Edmund York had already decided what he will do.

“We have no demands on the dowry. Everything is fine so long as Sophia is happy.” Drake nodded.

Edmund had an idea right away. “Oh! Drake, how about we help you pay off half of your debt to make things easier and then figure out what to do about the rest?”

Drake and his wife looked at each other in silence. Because of how things were, they had no other choice as they no longer had any pride left to ask for more.

“But we also hope you can give something as your part of the wedding gift,” Margaret said out of the blue.

When Emma heard this, she quickly added, “We’ll absolutely prepare our side of the wedding gift too.”

“In that case, let’s just get right to it. Drake, we are interested in your land. So, we’re wondering whether you may make it as your gift for the wedding.”

Drake and his wife exchanged yet another glance. Our land?! However, this land is valued at 50 million dollars on the market. It wasn’t that the couple didn’t want to give the land as a wedding gift; instead, it was their only remaining possession.

Sophia was shocked to hear this and she looked at the York Family. They want a piece of land as a wedding gift?!

“Mr. Drake, we’ll build a house on that piece of land. We’ll bring you two over to stay with us by then.” Christopher said. He thought that his family deserved to benefit financially from this marriage.

Drake and his wife found themselves in a terrible predicament. They couldn’t help but think, we thought that marrying off our daughter would be a joyful occasion, but the wedding gift that the other side is asking for seems ridiculous.

“Don’t tell me you’re hesitant to give it up, Drake.” Edmund continued in his pursuit.

“Well, that’s not really true. We’ll get ready for our part of the wedding gift, but this land is under my father’s name. I don’t think I have much of a say in this.”

“However, I heard that you inherited the land from him. Certainly, you can make that decision. We also want our children to have a nicer place to live once they marry, wouldn’t you agree? You will provide the land, and we will assist in the construction of a villa. In the end, it’s for the benefit of our children.”

“Mr. and Mrs. York, I’m not too choosy about where I live. Also, I have my own property, so after Christopher and I get married, we can just move into my apartment,” Sophia said.

“An apartment? That can’t be right. Christopher can’t live in an apartment. We have always given him the best of everything since he was a child, in case you didn’t know,” Margaret refuted in a strong manner and made it sound like his son was a rare and precious gem.

A large black SUV pulled up in front of the restaurant’s entrance. The bodyguard stepped out of the vehicle to open the rear passenger seat door. The man’s slender and long legs stepped out and he walked right inside the restaurant.

“Do you have any reservations, sir?”

“We’re here to look for someone,” his bodyguard answered.

Arthur asked, “Where is The Prema Room?”

“Oh! This way, sir.” The server catered to their needs with enthusiasm. While directing them to The Prema Room, the waitress could not resist catching a glimpse of the male visitor. He is extremely attractive! Is he a celebrity?

At the same time, the atmosphere in The Prema Room had become a little awkward. The York Family was keen about getting that piece of land, but the Goodwin Family was in a dilemma.

moment and the sweet voice of the waitress welcoming someone was

door in surprise while a noble looking man entered the

was so shocked when she saw the man that she jumped from her seat. “Mr. Weiss, why are

to Sophia. He narrowed his eyes as he thought, is this the

the man, they were shocked as well and

man. So, he rose up and said in an

unpleasant tone, she hurriedly introduced him to Arthur. “This is my

engagement party?” Christopher was furious. When he saw that this man

is.” She waved her hands to indicate that he had misunderstood. She then reached out her hands to

and followed

behind her once they were outside. “Young Master Weiss, why are

pig inside there?” he laughed as if he had just

“Don’t say such rude

squash you?” He didn’t pay attention

embarrassment when she heard that. Can’t this man

no longer can serve you. Please revoke our agreement,”

only way to resolve her father’s debt was to sever

a whole year.” He crossed his arms and gave her

short, I’m getting engaged. I’m going to get married to someone else. So, all I can say is that from now on, I’ll only

fiance know about our relationship?” Arthur narrowed

reddened after hearing this. Why does he act as if we are having an affair? For goodness sake, we’re just friends.

lip and said, “There’s nothing between

opening the door behind her. From the corner of his eye, Arthur could see and

you forgotten that we

who had just opened the door and walked out, heard this statement at first instance. Since he was angry, he asked

to him and explained, “Christopher,

her time to react, a set of

Sophia completely

as his future fiancee was being kissed by another

by the side was also surprised as he saw Young Master Weiss initiating a kiss with a

a smug look and sneered at Christopher

angry voice. “Let go of her! She’s my girlfriend, and you have no right to

an embrace with a cedar scented chest the next second. “I’ve touched her, so what are you going to do?” Arthur smirked as

you ought to think this through! Your father’s 10 billion dollars debt will be due soon, and if you are not engaged with me, no one’s going to pay for him. He may need to spend at least 3 years in jail if he can’t pay up!” Christopher was still determined to get Sophia for himself. After all, he’d

push off Arthur, a deep male voice said, “You’re willing to marry yourself to this pig for a mere 10

never heard such haughty remarks in her life. Meanwhile, Christopher became enraged

take out 10

withdrew a black card from his wallet and handed it to Sophia. “Take it and use the money to pay off your father’s debt. Return to serve me after you’ve

or seven black cards in this man’s wallet, if he wasn’t mistaken. With his current net

and raised her head. She knew she couldn’t accept something like that from

has plans to do something bad. Let’s go inside.” Christopher then moved toward her and tried to pull her away from Arthur, but Arthur’s bodyguard

grip on her waist. Then she

heard that, he was a little disappointed. This woman is willing to marry

give Arthur a

Looking at him, she said, “Christopher, let’s cancel our engagement for today.

He looked

when the York Family asked her to marry Christopher and said they would help her father pay off his debt, it was just empty promises. Out of greed, they

she could get her parents to sell everything they owned to pay off the debt. She was also willing to stay

also tell that her parents were having trouble deciding what to do about the piece of land. She knew that the York

pushed open the door to the room. Once she entered the room, she addressed the York Family, “Mr. and Mrs. York, I regret to inform you that I cannot get engaged to Christopher. Please forgive me.” She then turned to her parents and said, “Let’s go home, Mom and

what’s the matter? I thought we discussed this, so why have you decided not to get engaged to Christopher this

York Family’s true motives for this engagement. Now that Sophia had openly broken off her engagement,

way over to him and began pushing him out. After Emma

right then. When he bought Drake Goodwin’s company the last time, he was the one who earned the 10 billion dollars

standing in the hallway, she spoke to him. “I’m going to take my dad back to the hospital, so I’ll

with ill intent. So, he only

numbers after he watched the family of three enter into the elevator. “I need help with this one

room. Infuriated, he said, “How dare they look down on us, the Goodwin Family! Fine! I will wait till

land as a wedding gift and present it to us. Who knew Sophia

into the car to return to the hospital. As she sat in the front

Mom and Dad. I’ll pay them the rest of the money when I obtain a job in the future,” Sophia

thought about how hard it might

Drake’s phone rang. Thus, he picked up his phone

on the other end of the line had said until

Sophia stared at him with

eyes revealed traces of both joy and confusion as he spoke with the person on the phone. “Alright. Alright. Thank you. On Monday,

up the phone, he said to Emma and Sophia, “That was from the bank. They called to

you?” Emma asked quickly. “Could the York Family be

way the York Family has this much

a sudden, Sophia knew who helped Drake to pay off his debt. So, she told them, “I know, Mom and Dad!

Mr. Weiss whom we just saw in the hallway?” Drake questioned in

the debt? You still owe him an

she knew that Arthur was the one who had paid Drake’s

about this. I

thought, how will Sophia handle this? Is it

they arrived at the

Sophia and told her, “If it’s really Mr.

head

After

The phone was answered as a low, deep voice of a man of unknown temperament

the one who helped settle my father’s

had settled his

Why did you do it?” Even if her brain were to burst,

owe me a family heirloom and

Sophia had no choice

the man heard what Sophia said, he asked in a serious tone, “So,

turned red, but she answered

hour to return to my villa,” he

right back.” She responded before she hung up

to struggle to make a living,

felt like she was in a trance as she gazed

feel trapped when she thought she would be with Arthur for a long

afternoon tea. When Emily first saw her, she was so mad that she threw up her tea and called Sophia out of the blue,

when she heard that. “Can I help you in any way, Miss

all of a sudden. “It’s dirty on the floor. Come

though, things are different. Arthur’s guest is Emily while I work for him. So, doing these things

on her knees and picked up the desserts that had fallen on the floor, but all of a sudden, Emily stomped on one of the desserts with her shoe. She took them off and said, “My

she was on her knees. Arthur appeared at

with a teacup in one hand and desserts sprawled on the floor underneath her. Then, he noticed Sophia, who was kneeling down and collecting the desserts off the ground as if

clean up the mess she had intentionally made when she

turned her head to look at the man who was coming toward them. She continued picking up

a hand that reached out to grab it. When she heard the man’s voice, it sounded

hand back as

she looked at Emily’s shoes, which were placed to one side and said, “Miss Jennings, let

she saw that Sophia knew how to behave.

was going on because he knew Emily well. He had seen the desserts on the floor and the dessert stains on her

order your personal attendants to take care of all of your everyday needs. Don’t instruct Sophia any longer,” he told Emily before instructing Sophia, “Stop cleaning and come inside with

unhappily and demanded, “Artie, why can’t I make her do what I want? How is she better than my

calm manner. Then, he dragged Sophia into the living room where he reminded her, “Moving forward, you must serve me only and

words serve me only because these were incredibly vague

what she was told

He couldn’t attend to her for long because he had

she received a phone call from her father thereafter. He contacted to see

yes. I’m now working for him, so it may be a while before I can see you

over my company

over your

Drake sighed. He recalled how ruthless Arthur had been the last time he took over the business. There was no introduction or advance notice as the man

business partners had used the company’s shares as collateral for a loan of hundred of billion dollars. For this reason, the company was sold and the sale proceeds were transmitted directly to the bank. It was later found out that Drake was also responsible for another debt, which had been taken

debt that Arthur had

change the situation. As a result, he had little choice but to accept his fate. On

comforted him. She stood by the handrail on the second story and glanced down at Arthur

been able to believe that those delicately pursed

earlier in the morning to meet a few important visitors. As a jewelry designer, she’d always been attentive and patient with clients. Even though she was with a prominent status now, she still met with every client and that dignified attitude of hers

was able to secure

competitive. That meant that if they truly wanted to break away from their old operating model, they

she was aware that the company had a lot of unproductive staff. She was aware that the majority of

this in mind, she made the decision to restructure the entire organization

of all the employees she knew

to a conclusion. The Vice-president was held by Larry while Felicia was promoted to regional chief director. On the other hand, Mason was given an instant promotion and had the responsibility of running the general business operations of the Bourgeois couture line as

had to do was to give them responsibilities that were suited

All of the managers who believed their jobs were secure and well-compensated were demoted to positions of less significance whereas their salaries were also

big office of Bourgeois while those who were rehired realized at the same time that the top management of the corporation had practiced fairness and justice. This realization motivated their strong will to devote themselves to their

restructuring the company, Anastasia was looking at some documents in her office. Suddenly, she heard Grace’s voice coming from outside and judging from the lady’s intonation, she sounded like she

can’t enter. President Tillman is

with that petite figure of hers. Coincidentally, this

he pushed open the door and made his way across to Anastasia’s desk. “President Tillman, what’s the meaning of this?! I have been working in Bourgeois for 8 years. I’m pretty sure I

manager, with a piercing gaze and spoke, “Mr. Quigley, I must remind you that Bourgeois will not support idlers from now on. You can submit your resignation if

top.” Gordon sneered, after which he quickly added, “All in all, you successfully seduced a man like

pamper anyone in the company. Therefore, she said coldly, “I dare to because I’m the boss of Bourgeois! I have the

I’ll go on a strike with all

strike will come first.” After she finished speaking, she coldly recounted his charges. “Don’t think I don’t know what you have been up to! I have calculated the amount of money

Even so, he still pretended to be calm as

when I’ll see you in court. Are you sure you want to

Dressing like this, she looked slender and mesmerizing while radiating a domineering aura