Never Too Far Novel

Connor finally came home at 1.00AM. He was shocked when he found Olivia awake, and he asked with a guilty conscience, “Why are you still up?”

“And why are you back at this time?”

“I was drinking and chatting with Carter! I would need to get a picture of his project that I invested in,” he lied. As Olivia was clueless about investments, she took his word for it. At this point, they did not have common topics of conversation despite sharing the same bed.

…

Ellen woke up early in the morning. She visited the flower shop nearby to pick a bouquet of flowers and some decorations for the grave visit. When she was done, she received a call from Jared telling her that he was on his way to pick her up.

At 8.30AM, a black SUV stopped at the entrance to her neighborhood. She hopped into his car, and they took off in the direction of the graveyard with bodyguard vans in tow.

The graveyard was far away in the outskirts and it would take them three hours for a roundtrip. Ellen had a heavy heart on her brother’s death anniversary because she had gradually lost her memory of his appearance, but what stayed with her was his love and protection.

“What’s his name?” Jared asked tenderly.

“Kevin. He passed away when I was seven. I was too young to understand it and did not even say my final farewell,” she explained with a guilty look.

“How did he pass?”

“Brain cancer. End-stage brain cancer. It was too late to treat it.” Her eyes were misty as she recalled the unjust fate that befell her family. First, her parents passed away when she was young, and then, her only older brother could not grow healthily.

Jared felt sorry for her and gave her a sympathetic look. He had never seen anyone with a more miserable fate than Ellen. It seemed that everyone she loved had left her.

“I will be by your side from now on,” he comforted her.

She glanced at him gratefully. “Okay!”

Then, she added, “The last time I saw him was on the burial day. I held onto his urn. It was raining, and I refused to leave the grave. My uncle had to forcefully drag me away.” She vividly recalled the scene from years ago, which she would revisit every year when she visited Kevin’s grave. Each time, she lacked the strength to face his death. The more she thought about it, the sadder she became.

While they waited at the lights, Jared reached out and patted her softly on the shoulder. He also put on some light music to distract her from the painful memories.

He did not know that Kevin was his heart donor because his parents made all the arrangements on his behalf. Moreover, his parents kept the details from him because they didn’t want him to shoulder the burden of knowledge.

Still, the heart donation was a medical miracle, for Jared’s body accepted Kevin’s heart without any complications, as though the two entities were one. Kevin’s heart received a second life in his body.

Due to the smooth process, Jared was not exposed to more information about the heart donor. Plus, he was only ten years old when the accident happened, and the near-death experience greatly affected him, to the point that he wallowed in the trauma for a long time. At this moment, the mention of Kevin did not raise any suspicion.

At the graveyard, they walked all the way to the middle of the hill. Ellen found herself by a grave in a corner overgrown with weeds. She placed the stuff in her hands on the ground and started pulling out the weeds. Similarly, Jared did not care that he was dressed in a luxurious suit and helped her to clean the site.

He glanced at the name on the headstone but did not find any photo of the deceased. The grave was minimalist in design, and even the headstone was a simple rectangular slab that appeared rather miserable and lonely.

“Ouch!” When Ellen was pulling out a bunch of weed with sharp edges, she accidentally cut her finger, after which blood started oozing from the wound.

Jared immediately hurried over and started bandaging her finger with a napkin. “Take a rest at the side. I’ll pull the weeds.”

Ellen shook her head and insisted, “I don’t need rest. I can do this.”

Jared disagreed, “If your brother knew that you are tiring yourself with that injury, he’d feel bad. Take a seat and let me do it.” He sounded authoritative in his last sentence.

Dazed, she stood aside and pressed against her bleeding finger as she watched him work on the weeds. Although he had never done anything similar since a young age, he wrapped up the chore perfectly. Soon, the grave was clear of weeds.

The bleeding on Ellen’s fingers had stopped. She placed the bouquet in front of Kevin’s headstone and took out a wooden box. She lit up some candles and lay out the decorations in front of the headstone.

Jared was looking at her when he felt a dull pain in his chest. He reached out and pressed against it lightly—the pitiful sight of Ellen made his heart ache.

Thanks to Jared’s company, Ellen did not spend too much time cleaning the grave. After the visit, she went down the hill with Jared. At the foot of the hill, he grabbed a first-aid kit from the SUV trunk and disinfected her wound again.

To ease things for her, he lifted her and seated her in the trunk. She sat there and received his help with the dressing. The bodyguards in the vans nearby did not come down to disturb Jared, as no one wanted to ruin the perfect atmosphere.

When Jared was done bandaging Ellen’s wounds, he brought her downtown where they had lunch. After that, they went to a pet store. He had decided to buy her a cat as a companion after sensing her loneliness on that day.

Ellen had always wanted a cat since she was a child, but she could not raise one because of her living arrangement. Now that she had the time and space for a cat, she would love to have one.

Jared allowed her to pick her pet, and she selected a Ragdoll. To her surprise, she learned that the tiny cat was priced at 9 thousand dollars. Holding the cat, she was dumbfounded at the price, but Jared paid for it without hesitation. Not only that, he bought all the accessories and food for the cat.

Ellen went home with her new pet that day, and Jared followed along to help. The presence of the cat was healing for her, and she could not let go of it when she reached home.

A childlike Ellen had been giving all her attention to the pet, causing a certain someone to feel neglected and upset. When the cat ran up to Jared, he scooped it into his arms and successfully got Ellen to come into his embrace.

He caressed the back of her head, and his hand traveled down to her waist. She was too focused on playing with the cat and did not notice his advances. He gulped and kissed her on the cheek, making her blush.

Smiling, he muttered, “Are you picking the cat over your boyfriend now?”

She realized that she had neglected him, for she did not even offer him a glass of water after he arrived. She smiled at him and said, “I’ll get you some water.”

“Iced water,” he clarified. Without iced water, it would be hard for him to put out the fire that was burning in him.

She grabbed a bottle of iced water from the ice box. At that moment, the cat started meowing for help from Jared’s arms, seemingly out of fear. She put down the bottle and went over to “save” her cat.

Dressed in a black suit, Jared looked imposing despite his young age. It was not surprising that even pets would be scared of the vibe that emanated from him.

“Alright now. Take good care of your cat. I’ll need to drop by the office.” He stood up with the bottled water in hand. She sent him to the entrance with the cat in her arms. There, he suddenly rubbed the cat’s head and said, “Okay now. Daddy’s leaving! Have fun with your mommy!”

Ellen’s face turned as red as a tomato at the suggestive titles. He was pleased to see her shy expression and left her place with a satisfied smile on his face.

…

Connor received a call when he was at home. He was informed that the project he invested 700 hundred thousand into had suffered great losses, and it was impossible to recoup his money. Those were the only liquid assets he owned.

“What? Did all my money go down the drain?” He almost had a heart attack from anger after hearing the news.

Olivia hurried out of the kitchen with a pale face as she fumed, “Did you lose the 700 thousand?”

Connor was not an expert in investment after all. He slumped on the couch, shaking from head to toe, and refused to listen to any explanation from the caller.

“Didn’t I tell you to save your money? Why did you have to invest? Look at what we have left now? We’re going to sleep on the streets,” she reprimanded him.

“Shut up.” His male ego hurt, and he bellowed at her.

Olivia’s mind went blank, and she yelled back at him, “How dare you raise your voice at me?”

In the next instant, Connor grabbed his car keys and left the house. Still puffing from anger, Olivia grabbed her jewelry, including the huge diamond ring, in an attempt to sell them off.

She arrived at the consignment store and waited for the employee’s valuation. The employee merely smiled and returned the ring to her upon first glance. “Madam, we do not accept high-grade counterfeit items.”

“What? What do you mean? This is a genuine diamond ring,” Olivia fired back, looking down at the employee whom she assumed to be ignorant.

“A high-carat diamond ring will come with international certification. Yours is a common Moissanite diamond ring, which isn’t worth much.”

“How much is the market price?”

“You can get it for around 1,000 to 3,000 on the market.”

Olivia’s face turned red in shame and humiliation. She had never thought that his husband would deceive her with a counterfeit item. His profession of love turned into a joke.

She left the store in low spirits. Feeling uncontrollably angry and increasingly spiteful of her husband, who failed in his investments and lied to her about the diamond ring, she dialed his number.

“Hello?” Connor picked up the call, feeling upset.

the guts to tell me that it’s worth

to engage with her, and he promptly hung up on her. She almost had

than Olivia. Whenever he was in a bad mood, he would

Selena to tell her

say? All of the 750 thousand go down the drain?” Selena was angry as well. It’d be better if Connor could give her the money! She asked, “Mom, do we have any money

asset we have right now! Even our house is mortgaged! Your dad also took out a car

whereabouts of the lost money. She knew that her dad definitely spent a lot on his mistress and their

do? Are we going bankrupt? Are we

is willing to put

pleasantly surprised. “You think? Mom, how much can we ask

Olivia claimed confidently, thinking that the Presgraves were a billionaire family. Jared wouldn’t be alive without us. It shouldn’t

worries were gone in a second as she daydreamed about the amount she could receive after Connor asked for an extra 15

he used up the money, but he also lied

keep an eye on Dad’s money. I’m

did not want to divulge. At that moment, she needed her family to unite and get the money from the Presgraves. Instead, she said to Olivia, “Oh, I’m just saying. You shouldn’t overthink. Why don’t you and Dad work on getting the

it at home tonight.” Olivia put aside their couple arguments,

his side. I am fifty years old, and my son is only six. The huge age gap worried him. The son was the hope of the Aguirre Family, and Connor vowed to be with the kid until he was all grown up. Because of that, he needed to

also understood that Connor was an unambitious man who usually got all his money from a wealthy family. Although she did not know what favor Connor had performed for

get more money by asking, right?” Aida badly wanted him to get another huge sum of wealth and give her a piece of the pie.

gratitude the Presgraves had shown him, he believed that they would give in to any of his demands even if

his all for the sake of his son. Hearing that, Aida happily wrapped her arms around his

her comfortingly. “Of course,

with someone else—Kevin’s closest

…

boring as before. The cuteness of the pet melted her

Jared had referred to them as the “Mommy” and

with the cat until evening and felt a little tired. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep on the couch. As she had been busy playing with the cat,

and immediately thought of having dinner with Ellen. He called her number, but all he heard was a

a bad omen. Why is her phone turned off? Did something happen

features were clouded with worry, and he became more irritated as time went

Did she go out? Or is she abducted?” He got in

was all alone, worried him

breath-taking view of the street. Anyone looking at the car

help but wonder about the girl that had commanded such care and attention from the car owner. Meanwhile, the girl in question was sound asleep, and she did

into her neighborhood pressed urgently on the elevator button. When he arrived in front of the door, he was panting

a care for the neighbors at that moment. He needed to know

thought she heard the sound of someone banging on her door in her dream. When she was fully awake,

the peephole, she immediately relaxed when she saw Jared. She opened the door for him and looked

into a solid hug. He sighed softly and confessed,

suffered from a great shock, judging from his tight hug that almost suffocated her. What did I do

let go of her and held her by the shoulders. “Why is your phone turned

turned off?” She rubbed her eyes. “I just

broke into a smile when he realized that he had misunderstood the situation. It

her phone was indeed dead. “I’m sorry. My phone is off. I probably took too many photos of the cat. That’s why the phone shut down when I was

your phone on at all

every day.” She raised her hand and swore.

She shook her head.

late dinner later.” He lay on her couch and checked out the cat in his arms.

against

the cat out of shock. Ellen rushed over

laughed along. “This little rascal! I’m going to teach you

scolding the cat softly, Ellen looked up and witnessed him taking off

and she quickly turned her back on him. Gosh! How could he take

a shower?” she

“I am.”

I don’t have clothes for you at

have Stanley send over some fresh clothes.” He made a call to Stanley and gave his orders. Half-naked, he narrowed

his words. You are attractive! I just can’t bring

just

body every day to others?” he poked fun

blushed embarrassedly again when she realized that he was using her bathroom, even when she had a guest bathroom at her place. He clearly didn’t want to use the

“school” the cat. Twenty minutes later, she heard the doorbell ringing, and she opened the door with the cat in her arms. Stanley

some clothes for Mr. Presgrave,” he explained and gave

you want to come in?” She smiled at him. He

date between Mr. Presgrave and

the entrance with the bag of clothes in her hands. Her eyes widened again at the sight of Jared wading out with only a towel wrapped around his waist. Water was dripping from his hair. Droplets clung to his body and accentuated the outlines

the bag with clothes as her face reddened. “Stanley sent

bedroom. His back muscles were a work of art—his broad shoulders and narrow waist were the epitome of

a first for her. Even though she watched enough half-naked men in movies, seeing

to calm down. Soon, she heard his footsteps from behind. Turning

bring you to dinner,” he said, feeling hungry. She let go

home. Not only that, she prepared dinner for

Have you

and care of his

“We are running low on cash! We still need to service the home mortgage and your car loans. We can’t skimp on Lena’s dowry as well. But where should we get

a cigarette and drew on it before saying, “I will meet with Young Master Jared tomorrow and try to

husband had thought it through. She sat down beside him happily and

see if I can bring this up! You shouldn’t go and meet

she didn’t tell him that she had left a bad impression on Jared earlier. Moreover, Connor should

It’s hard for me to get a job at this

few decades of living comfortably, he could not stand the idea of working any

out of money, they wouldn’t be able

go from frugal to extravagant, but difficult the

visit Presgrave Group tomorrow! I’ll see what I can do about getting the

Ellen is working there? You must request to meet Young Master Jared outside and not inform him that Kevin is Ellen’s brother,”

correct. “All

illegitimate son. Don’t tell him he’s

heart raced as he realized Olivia’s words were making sense. If Young Master Jared inquires, how should I introduce Kevin?

sleep. He was considering how to approach Young Master Jared, whom he had

of a wealthy man would take kindness for granted. What if he refuses to give me money if I

up with some plausible justifications. He had already made up excuses such as being duped by friends and family. Furthermore, he would say that his family’s financial situation had deteriorated, so he was hoping that Jared would send his family some money to allow him to continue living since he was once

the Presgraves again in this life. He planned to mention how difficult it was for them to decide to donate Kevin’s heart following extubation. Young Master Jared must be made aware that the decision to

trance at 4.00AM. During his sleep, he dreamed of a bloody

money? Why?” Kevin asked, his eyes red,

Connor shoved Kevin away, saying, “You are already

had the advantage of seniority. He then said to Kevin, who continued to bother him, “I am your uncle, and your mother

didn’t you split the money with my sister?

the relocation fund, and she’s not short of money. Stop bothering me, or I’ll

No!” He awoke screaming in his dream when Kevin roared

who hurriedly asked her husband drenched in a cold sweat and panting like a cow, “What’s the problem, honey? Did

find it was just a dream, and the panic in his heart gradually faded. He got to his feet, lit a cigarette, and headed to the balcony for a smoke. Kevin’s questioning flooded Connor’s mind, making him frustrated

turning a good-hearted person selfish and causing them to

concerned with making enough money to live a comfortable life, but

by an unspoken fear: running out of money and being

for my son? What will happen

must get a massive sum of

future. She will have a wonderful husband to look after her. Furthermore, she is in college now and can support herself. She won’t be starving or short on cash because she has

not give Ellen a penny after obtaining the money from

said to him as she put it on for him, “Connor, our family is counting on you to speak up. We will be too shy to ask for extra money again, so I hope you try to get more money this

for only 15 million, and no

as if she had bagged the 15 million. The Presgraves will be generous and straightforward without delays if they are willing to give the money. As

given on the spot. She had already planned what she would buy with the 15

living a magnificent life for the previous ten years, he now