Never Too Far Novel

Sophia was wondering when he was going to start the car when she suddenly noticed him reach out and leaned his upper torso over to her side.

Instantly, her pretty eyes widened and her eyelashes fluttered wildly. Subsequently, she shut her eyes instinctively and awaited his kiss.

At that moment, she heard his low rumble of laughter sounding by her ears. Soon after that, she felt someone tugging on her seatbelt and buckling it for her.

Slightly embarrassed, Sophia wished so badly for the earth to swallow her up. Right then, he cupped her tiny face in his large palms and his dominance engulfed her as he planted a sweet good-morning kiss on her lips.

“I was afraid that if I didn’t kiss you, you would be disappointed,” said Arthur in an annoying tone.

“You’re taking advantage of me and yet you think your actions are justifiable, huh?” Sophia chided him in a low voice.

In response, he burst out laughing. He did not look the least bit similar to a young master from an affluent family at all in this present moment; he was just a childish man-child in front of his beloved woman.

“Stop laughing! Let’s go!” she urged him.

Arthur’s large palm gracefully maneuvered the steering wheel as they drove out of the underground parking lot.

Meanwhile, inside Sophia’s house, Emma noticed some intriguing clues soon enough. Why are there two toothbrushes on her basin? There are also two bath towels and the color of one of them clearly belongs to a male.

As such, she started to search the place and soon found a pair of male bedroom slippers and even a pair of sneakers. At that point, she finally realized the reason why Sophia insisted on moving out—she had a boyfriend and they were both now cohabitating!

Emma was momentarily dumbfounded as she did not expect Sophia to have suddenly grown into a woman who had a boyfriend.

Gosh! As parents, we can’t interfere in such matters, so I guess I can only get her to bring him back home when the time comes. By then, we’ll be able to judge his personality and find out more about his family background.

Emma decided not to expose Sophia’s secret for the time being to avoid Sophia from feeling awkward. As such, she decided to head home and discuss the situation with Drake before inquiring with Sophia another day on whether she would bring the mystery man home.

After Anastasia had sent Jared off to school, she decided that there was something that she had to do. She had to organize a meeting and invite every elder member as well as those who held important positions from each of the Presgrave extended family. She would then have to reveal during the meeting what Liam and his family had done and raise a warning to everyone else.

Clearly, she did not wish for the same thing to occur again. If anyone dared to go after her family, then they would have to face the consequences of it.

Elliot was not going to interfere in this matter because he had left things in the hands of his wife. He was just going to be her steadfast supporter and back her from behind.

At 9.00AM, everyone important who was supposed to attend the meeting had received the notification. Naturally, some of the older generations, who presumed that they held exalted statuses due to their age, sent their children as representatives. The reason was that they intended to emphasize their status as Anastasia’s elders.

This was their unspoken way of going against this young lady, who was the Young Mistress of the Presgrave Family.

At the meeting room of Presgrave Group with the capacity of thirty pax, every family representative that was supposed to attend had already gathered together at 10.30AM. Amongst them was Jacob who was also in attendance to represent his father.

All of them had heard of the things that Liam and Lorelai did, so they were on tenterhooks at the moment as they could tell why Anastasia had called for this meeting today.

At 10.32AM, the sound of high heels were heard clicking rhythmically outside the door to the meeting room.

Soon, Anastasia appeared dressing in an elegant custom-made suit and she strode purposefully into the room. Her long hair billowed behind and she exuded elegance and dominance as the lady of the family. She had no intentions of masking her dominant aura nor did she turn up to this meeting as the younger generation of the Presgraves. She appeared at this meeting as the exalted Young Mistress of Presgrave Family; everyone on the scene could tell by sensing the aura she radiated.

Subsequently, she took a seat in the middle of the room and swept her eyes across each person in attendance. She paused for a moment and considered with a solemn expression before voicing out, “Thank you all for making the time to attend this meeting that I’ve organized.”

“Anastasia, why did you call us all here for an emergency meeting?” a woman in her fifties voiced out first and called out Anastasia’s name as if she was not the Mrs. Presgrave.

Anastasia shot a look at that woman, whose heart instantly clenched upon her gaze. The woman hurriedly corrected herself with a smile. “Mrs. Presgrave, please enlighten us.”

“I trust that everyone has heard of a matter that just happened within the past few days. Dare I say, it was quite a despicable thing to do. Liam and Lorelai Presgrave have stolen from the hospital and attempted to bear a child with my husband’s genes by quietly giving birth in another country. After our investigation, Liam will be facing imprisonment of at least ten years while Lorelai will be facing imprisonment of three years. From now on, Liam Presgrave’s branch of the family will no longer be part of the Presgraves while terminating them from any relations with our family.”

At that moment, there was an outburst in the room and everyone continued to put on an act of indignance.

“That was such a despicable thing to do. How dare they do that! This is outrageous!”

“That’s right. Lorelai used to be such a promising young one and she obtained such high qualifications too. I can’t believe that she’s actually an ugly and despicable person within. They tried to break up your family, Mrs. Presgrave, so they deserve this punishment.”

The crowd in the room was full of curses for Liam and Lorelai. Soon enough, Anastasia put a stop to that and spoke with an air of authority in a clear voice.

“I hope that each of you will cease interaction with Liam and his members of the family. At the same time, I would like to use this matter to seriously inform all of you here one thing. If any of you here dared to disrupt my family, ruin the reputation of my family members, or do anything that would harm the safety of my family members, there will be consequences. The least that could happen to you guys would be expulsion from the Presgrave Family while the worst would be imprisonment. I do not wish to see such a matter that could result in the downfall of the Presgraves.”

“Mrs. Presgrave, your words make perfect sense. We lead a great life with the help of the Presgrave Family, so what else could we ask for?”

“Yes, that’s right, Mrs. Presgrave. We’re really proud to be able to work alongside you and to maintain our close family ties, which have been passed on since more than a hundred years ago.”

Jacob clenched his fist under the table and trembled once he released it. That was because two days before, his father had mentioned about joining the Board of Directors of Presgrave Group. However, it looked like this matter was completely unachievable right now. Anastasia was warning them to refrain from seeking things that did not belong to them from the Presgrave Family.

“I may be young in age and have plenty of things to learn, but that doesn’t mean that I’m weak-willed and a pushover. I hope that none of you here will get to experience first-hand how I handle things because I would be glad to just maintain a peaceful relationship with everyone,” Anastasia spoke calmly.

In the past, Harriet’s identity as the head woman of Presgraves held her back from doing plenty of things, but she soon realized that there was no point in maintaining the Presgrave Family. As such, Harriet had instructed her to keep a distance from this bunch of people if necessary. Furthermore, Anastasia was told that she could easily sever ties with them and live a peaceful life without being disrupted.

As soon as Anastasia’s words hit, everyone in the room was immediately caught by surprise and sensed the polite warning behind the words of the family’s young mistress. They were aware that she had broken the original close ties of their families and she no longer paid much heed to the link between their families and the Presgrave Family.

Presently, it was their turn to grasp tightly to their relationship with Anastasia. On the contrary, she was no longer the one required to treat them well out of obligation.

After the meeting ended, several ladies from the older generation took the chance to build up a bond with Anastasia as they tried to win her favor. However, she did not give them a chance and left immediately in her car.

Anastasia entered the backseat before Adriana asked, “Miss Tillman, do you want to go for a walk to clear your mind?”

“Yes. Let’s go for a walk together,” Anastasia responded.

At that moment, her phone went off and she reached out to answer the call. “Hey.”

“Where have you disappeared to after the meeting?” asked Elliot from the other end. Clearly, he must have been looking for her.

“I just left and I’m about to go for a walk to get some fresh air.”

“Okay. I’ll make a lunch reservation and I’ll see you for lunch then.”

“Sure.” Anastasia smiled.

“Adriana, re-route to the prison. I would like to meet someone there.” Anastasia suddenly changed her mind about taking a walk.

“To see Lorelai?”

“Yes,” she responded. Lorelai was still detained in prison at the moment.

Inside the lockup cell, Lorelai had lost her haughtiness as she remained curled up in a corner with her long hair pulled into a ponytail behind her head. She was bare-faced without any makeup on; all that was left written on her face was frailty and weariness…

It was then that someone walked over and stated, “Lorelai Presgrave, someone is here to see you. Get up.”

Hearing that, Lorelai was a bit shocked. Is Mom here? Did Dad manage to bail me out?

When she came to the visiting room with the handcuffs on, her gaze overflowed with panic and guilt upon seeing who was waiting for her on the chair; Anastasia was the last person she had expected to see.

On the other hand, Anastasia’s piercing gaze was filled with spite and rage.

Sitting down with a lowered head, the embarrassed Lorelai could feel the scorching gaze projected on her, which made her cheeks turned hot as if they were just slapped.

“You really are shameless, Lorelai,” stated Anastasia coldly.

“I have no choice. I was forced to do that. Besides, I have liked Elliot since I was a child. It was me who first appeared in his life, so why were you the one who he married? I cannot accept this.” Lorelai revealed her suppressed emotions.

“There are no such things as who came first or who came last in love, so stop giving me such excuses. He’s my man now and you will not hurt him.”

Lorelai’s face reddened as she wanted to rebuke her, but she soon realized that everything she had to say would go against Anastasia no matter what.

“I wanted to give birth to his child, even if it meant that the child will be illegitimate.” Lorelai smiled bitterly.

Suppressing her emotions, Anastasia rejected her words outright. “You don’t have even an ounce of right to do that.”

Lorelai suddenly lashed out at Anastasia while retorting, “You think that Elliot would love you forever? One day, he will meet another woman that makes him realize he had a change of heart. Stop being so conceited.”

Regardless of anyone, a woman would still be agitated upon hearing these words.

Yet, Anastasia only listened to this calmly while knowing that her words were spoken just to spite her. “I think you should be thinking about your own future, Lorelai. About your father, he should be serving a sentence of no less than ten years. If I have my lawyers work a bit harder and dig up some more dirt on him, even twenty years is not impossible!”

“You… Don’t cross the line, Anastasia.” Lorelai started to panic.

life to repay the debt your father owes. Not only her; even your brother will also share the same fate. Still, all of this is rooted from what you and father have

she begged, “Anastasia, please leave my dad alone. I beg of you. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I can apologize

want from you is for you to taste the same pain I

then left elegantly while leaving Lorelai deeply

seen as she had a gentle expression when picking up

suitable for a couple to dine in. With a delicious lunch accompanied with wine, any conversation would lead to a romantic

up, Elliot took her bag and pulled a seat out

joyously accepted her husband’s gentlemanly gesture, felt very happy

in the meeting this morning, did they?”

and shook

did, tell me. I will

“Relax! As your wife, I will deal with trivia matters

much as she looked gentle on the outside, she was actually

charity event this week under our names. You can invite your friends to the event as well,” said

Grace. Oh, there’s also my

always with Artie?” Elliot recalled who she

I think they are dating.” Anastasia

phone out, he called Arthur to

Arthur picked his

are you? Are you

to go out for a meal

charity

be there. I’ll be bringing a

See

told Anastasia, “Artie will come. He

I told you so! Looks like we’ll be receiving

understood that his family was not just some wealthy group as they had migrated abroad about two hundred years ago and increased their influence while still maintaining their secrecy. Thus, for a girl with a normal background like Sophia, it would not be easy

that we can receive their wedding invitation soon

devil, Arthur was just waiting for Sophia to come pick him up at the hotel

presidential suite could not satisfy him anymore as he missed the cozy feeling

he finally got a call from Sophia,

down the time. What he did

received a message from the elders of his family. They were asking him when he would

on his face, for it had

the doorbell ring and opened the door quickly only to be startled by the

here, judging from her flushed face and uneven breathing. Did she want to see me

out of breath?” Arthur held her

not want to tell him that she indeed ran all the

go! My mom left.” She held

actions made Arthur smile. “Alright!” With his arms around her, he gushed, ‘Let’s go

so we don’t

He then informed her, “By the way, there’s a banquet this Friday hosted by the Presgrave Group. I’m thinking

have a dress for

can

broke now?” Sophia blinked and

thought, Does she

the coastline. Stopping at an open area, the two of

silhouette, side profile or even the back of his head—it looked just like he came out of a magazine with him being

take selfies with him more. Since Arthur had long limbs, he took the phone

them were a couple of their own consensus, they did not need a grand confession for the

said, “Do you still remember what happened during Anastasia’s wedding? I nearly got washed away by the sea. When I saw you dashing to help me, I was really moved

“You still have the cheek to mention that, eh? You’re forbidden from going to any dangerous places from now

I stuck with you, it’s either I nearly drowned at sea or rolled down a hill. Fortunately, you were always there to save me.” Having said that, she hugged his waist and looked up, still a bit baffled that the man in front of her

promising, “With me by your side, you’ll be safe and sound for the

This

then came to her mind as she asked him in a serious tone, “Young Master Arnold, I have a question for you, so please answer

also became serious, not wanting

your status, you must have had a lot of girls swarming you since you were young, so why did you choose me?” She had a

charm to her. The thing he loved about her was her smile; though it had hints of silliness, it always soothed him and made him feel like life

that she brought a sense of life into his world. Being with

as their desires and ambition were always on full display. Hence, when Sophia appeared, she was like a ray of sun that pierce

gently hugged her and kissed her head twice.

replied while

need to be the first person you think of whenever you’re in danger… and the person you come home to whenever life gets

as she laughed out loud while embracing him tightly. To her, this

an eye, Friday came as the banquet by Presgrave Group was organized. Being the star of the event, Anastasia appeared under the lenses of the media while holding

the car in a light gold dress in the evening. The dress,

flashing cameras, her naturally beautiful face was flawless. Appearing in front of the media for the first time since a long while, Elliot appeared handsome while not losing his dominating aura, which made the

that even after his marriage, this could not stop the ladies

he naturally held his wife’s hand gently and

his gaze never left

in a high-end

brought her to a dress shop to

and it fit unexpectedly well. Thanks to the pearls and diamond, it was a very flashy dress and she looked like a princess after matching it with her fair

so formally or even wore high heels in a long time, her figure that had been trained through dancing still stood out very much in the dress. With a well defined collarbone and shoulder lines, her fair skin and clear gaze made her

who was flipping through the magazine, could not take his eyes off her the moment he

as she turned away, not daring to face his

“We’ll take this dress!”

dress, it is only available for sales and not for rental

Sophia asked out of curiosity while having a feeling that it must fetch

is a piece from the top designer, Oleh. It

Sophia feel a shortness of

pay by credit card! Including the jewelry and shoes too. I don’t like the

was stunned. Wait, what? He’s going

how about we discuss this for a bit before coming to a decision?” She walked over and asked

replied, “No need for that. I

“Isn’t your bank account frozen? I don’t want you spending

this, Arthur did have his cards frozen, but his income did not depend solely on the family as he did some trading since he was bored lately with the money he

Eight million is just a number; I could even give up my life

the shop, Sophia found a black colored Bugatti parked in front as she blinked

the keys over to Arthur.

did this car

“I just bought it.”

shock. Naturally, this car was not just bought as

the banquet, she felt like she was eloping with a rich young master for she felt both nervous and expectant as to what they might do

be how it feels to be in love! I just want to

Arthur alighted from his new car and opened the door for her before reaching his other hand out to Sophia.

attention as they

venue, Elliot was chatting with the guests when he saw Arthur

“Artie.”

which was their unique way to greet each

woman standing beside him. “Let me

Presgrave.” Sophia felt very honored

you too.”

Anastasia also slipped away from the guests and came

Anastasia praised the lady in gold, “You look very beautiful

always felt that Anastasia was more akin to

years apart in age, the similarities

of you to call me ‘President Tillman’. Just call me by my name from now

common among men

right,

nodded despite getting

You sure are

gazes, Sophia pursed her lips and smiled, thinking that she was indeed lucky to

our press conference abroad this time, Anastasia! I heard that a lot of celebrities are coming to support us!” Grace clasped

you can come. I can sponsor the flight tickets

the best! I love you!”

“Anastasia, could you bring me along too?” It turned out that

Anastasia

this banquet, Anastasia.

invited Mason. She must have entered under the

accord since she was here for fun

Arthur, the man of her dreams while they were on the island, who was also standing beside Elliot. She had never thought that she would meet him at the event. With one look, she was able to discern

him, then I won’t have to worry about the

fixtated her target on

a man that was Jacob. As this was an event hosted by the Presgrave Group, all the important members of the

she was heartachingly beautiful as she looked like a lost deer in the forest, making her out to be a prize who anyone