Never Too Far Novel

“Next question. What does Connor have to do with Kevin?”

“After Kevin’s parents passed away, Connor—his uncle—and his wife Olivia became his guardians.”

Something invisible squeezed Jared’s heart and he placed his hand on his chest. “Do you know that Kevin had a younger sister called Ellen?”

“I think he did, but she was very young back then. We didn’t look into much of that family.”

“Are you aware that Connor hogged all that compensation money and consigned his niece to an old lady? He did not look after her for the past sixteen years.” Jared could not smother the pain in his chest.

He realized that Ellen’s brother was the one who donated his heart to him, and Ellen did not know a thing about the donation. Otherwise, she would’ve told him when they were at the cemetery.

Darn it! He slammed his hand on the steering wheel, making Benjamin flinch. Benjamin hurriedly comforted, “Mr. Presgrave, calm down. You mustn’t be too emotional!”

“You had one job and yet, Ellen did not get her due at all. Connor and his family took all the credit. She has had a hard time since young. You guys are partly responsible for that.” Jared’s expression turned grim. His fist could’ve landed on Benjamin’s face if he did not rein in his temper.

Benjamin was so frightened that he let off the steam by criticizing Connor. “How can they not look after the donor’s sister and enjoy the money by themselves? They’re ridiculous!”

Benjamin suddenly thought of the rumor that had been circulating in the company. I think the rumored girl is Ellen too. Are they the same person? Gosh… He’s gonna tell me off for sure.

“Find out how Connor spent that money. I’ll ask Ellen to get ’em back.”

“What about this time? Are you still going to give him money?”

“I will, but not to them.” Jared snorted coldly. For the past few years, Jared had already repaid Connor enough for signing the contract back then. Now, it was time for Ellen to reclaim what was rightfully hers. Jared would make it happen.

Then, he requested Benjamin to get out of the car so that he could go to Ellen, whom he missed so much. Strong guilt was fettering him. I have her brother’s heart, yet she is clueless about it. How am I supposed to tell her the truth so that she won’t get hurt?

Connor left the cafe when he happened to see Benjamin entering a car. “Mr. Stark, could you give me a lift?”

Benjamin could not bother to straighten up his attitude. During the past sixteen years, he was in charge of handling Connor’s matters and requests. Connor was so shameless that he could send his daughter abroad to pursue her studies by using the Presgrave Family’s name. Yet, the donor’s sister did not benefit from anything.

“Sorry, but I have a meeting to rush to,” Benjamin replied as his visage grim.

The sensitive Connor noticed the change in Benjamin’s attitude, so he bent over. “What’s the matter, Mr. Stark? Did I say something wrong?”

“Mr. Aguirre, I think you should figure things out on your own. There are certain principles that we must abide by as humans. How could you cross the line?” Benjamin wanted to teach him a lesson.

Connor’s neck turned crimson. “I can’t follow. What did I do?”

“Say, does the donor have a sister? Did she benefit anything from the deal? Do you know how angry President Presgrave is?”

Connor’s mind went blank, and he was jittery. “Mr. Presgrave already found out about it?”

“He’s not an idiot. Just who are you trying to fool?”

Did Mr. Presgrave see through my lies? Is he aware of Kevin’s identity?

Connor’s countenance turned pale for embarrassing himself. He resented Olivia for coming up with this horrible idea. Forget about the money, I bet Jared would not even wish to see me anymore.

Benjamin drove his car away, leaving Connor standing all alone in the same spot. It took him a while before he called Olivia.

“Honey, how did it go?”

“Your idea is literally stupid. Mr. Presgrave has found out that Ellen’s brother is Kevin, and you told me to blabber all those nonsense to him? Do you think he’ll give us the money now?”

“What? He knows that Kevin is Ellen’s brother? Honey, did you actually do as I say? How can you be this silly? I was just thinking out loud. You shouldn’t have taken it seriously.” She refused to take the blame.

“You! I-If we don’t get the money, you’re gonna get it from me.” His ineptitude made him vent his anger on his wife.

Meanwhile, Olivia was an irresponsible person who never acknowledged her wrongdoings. The money received from Jared was the reason Connor and Olivia could put up with each other this long. Otherwise, they would’ve separated ways eons ago.

Connor’s face was burning in embarrassment.

We’re done for. We’re not getting another penny, and now Ellen’s gonna come after us.

On the other hand, Olivia was equally livid after the phone call. She dialed Selena right away.

“What? Mr. Presgrave found out that Kevin is Ellen’s brother? We’re doomed, Mom. If Ellen knows that we didn’t give her a share of the money, she’s gonna take her revenge!”

“I doubt she dares! She was way too young back then. What did she even know at that age? Even if we had given some money to her, would she have been able to use it?” Olivia acted like an elderly person with a conventional mindset.

“Mom, it’s possible, if Mr. Presgrave helps her. With his backing, she might be able to take away half of the assets we own right now.” Selena, who had been to college, knew the laws better.

“What? Is it that serious? What are we gonna do?” Olivia was surprised because Selena had a point.

“We mustn’t sit still doing anything. It’s possible that Ellen will hate Mr. Presgrave if she knows that he has Kevin’s heart. Let’s hope that she’ll hate him.”

“Ellen is head over heels for him, though. Why will she hate him?”

“Tell her that the Presgrave Family set Kevin up when he hadn’t passed away. That way, she’ll resent the Presgraves to the bone.”

“Will it work?” Olivia was at her wit’s ends.

“Trust me. Mom, just sit back and watch. I’m sure this will drive a wedge between her and Mr. Presgrave. Alright. I think I should give her a call right now.” Selena had to be one step ahead of Jared before he revealed the truth to Ellen.

Selena, who was at a hotel, dialed Ellen’s number. Meanwhile, Ellen was patting the cat on the balcony. Life was peaceful and wonderful at that moment.

Suddenly, her phone rang. Her brows knitted when she realized that it was a call from Selena.

Why is she calling me?

Ellen decided to ignore it, but Selena did not stop calling her.

Did something happen to Uncle Connor? His affair is a time bomb after all.

She answered the call at long last, albeit with an unfriendly tone. “Hello.”

“Thank God you answered the call. You know what? I overheard something shocking and I must tell you this.” Selena sounded urgent.

What is it?”

“It’s about Kevin. I overheard my parents talking. It is shocking.”

Ellen frowned. “Just tell me.”

“Listen, you better break up with Mr. Presgrave. Don’t hesitate or you’ll feel sorry for your brother,” emphasized Selena on purpose.

“Why?” Ellen could not understand the situation.

“Just do as I say, or you’ll regret it.”

“I’m done talking to you.” Ellen knew that favorable words would never come out of Selena’s lips.

the chase. “Wait, hold on! I’ll tell you. Back then, someone wanted Kevin’s heart, and my parents

was shocked to the core. Even the cat

in dire need of a healthy heart, and his parents found us. They threatened Dad and Mom and offered a deal, so

looming dizziness.

buried without a heart? Why was it Jared? Why

“Are

Don’t be fooled by his looks, money, and gentle side. Think about it, why is he treating you so well? Isn’t

well not because of love, but to

to you. He’s waiting for the perfect

You’re lying!” Ellen closed her eyes, not wanting to accept

rich overnight. Guess why. It’s impossible to be this loaded with Dad’s salary, right? Well, it’s all from the Presgraves. My parents didn’t give you a single penny because you were young back then. They have been saving it for your dowry.” Selena was set on making Ellen hate Jared for

a few speculations regarding the reason behind her uncle’s sudden wealth;

price

that? How could they take

we expect from them? A sheer little threat is enough to force my parents

Ellen as she raised her voice.

heard that the doctor told my parents to be ready to give up on him. They were about to remove the machine from Kevin when the Presgraves came.” Selena made an

know about this all those years.” Daggers pierced Ellen’s heart. It pained her

way to see you.

we’re poor and powerless? I will never step back from this!” Ire had

decided not to marry Jared and dwelled in the painful lie, she wouldn’t be in a state to

would need to face an

sorry, Ellen. I just found out about it not long ago. Don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

this moment, both of them heard the doorbell ring, so Selena quickly wrapped it up. “It

Alas. Only if

cheeks, yet her heart was blazing in grief, hatred, and anger. They

doorbell did not stop ringing. Next, she opened the

of him had a resentful gaze. It was as if

pointed at his chest. “Does that belong to my

tell you. The donor was your brother. I just found

was grateful to God for bestowing such a fate to let him meet her, protect her, and love

suddenly burst into tears. Her body teetered,

complexion, Jared hurriedly hugged her waist to pull her into his arms. The dizzy Ellen shoved him away due to

Don’t touch me!” she screamed. She’d rather prop herself against the wall instead of letting

“Do

“Why? Do you feel

the way here to apologize to you,”

heart by force, you monsters!”

to the hospital. We contacted your uncle, and he agreed. I cannot be any more grateful to your brother. I was able to survive, thanks to him, and my family is eternally grateful to yours. It is only today that I

in despair, she mired into a self-destructive predicament. She raised her

but promise me that you won’t do anything silly.”

make me hate you more, Jared Presgrave. I’ll get out of here and the company, and I won’t touch any of those things you

losing her spurred Jared’s anxiety, but he tried to soften

his chest, whereas the man was confused by her actions. The steady heartbeat rendered it impossible to fight back the tears in her eyes; he dared not move a muscle, letting her be. No one knew

Ellen returned to the living room for the cat. After settling

was worried she might abandon the cat for real, and if he forgot about it instead, the cat might starve to death. He held the box as she closed the door

all, Connor and Olivia kept the seven-year-old girl in the dark,

and love her forever

began packing her stuff behind the door

pulled over by Olivia. “I found a way to stop Ellen from coming after

was

She’s all puffed up because of Mr. Presgrave. What happens to her if they break up? Plus, we’ve gone bust. If she insists on getting the money from us, we’ll have no choice but to sell the house

the chase!” He

Presgraves forced us to sign the donation agreement. She can’t even bear the sight of Mr. Presgrave now. If she happens to call you, just tell her the same story. That

momentarily. “Are we

Family, so why should we be afraid?” Olivia rebuked confidently. “Do you think she can seriously pull something on us? Even if that happens, we can just settle it

time. Now, my investment has gone out of the window, and I have two families to feed. I won’t be able to choke up the money for Ellen. It’s not bad to put

and all they had left was the assets in their possession right now. As an afterthought, he became petty. Right, we mustn’t give Ellen our money. She’s a girl; she’s

not until then that she realized how many things Jared had given her. She looked at her phone, which was a present from him, and felt relieved for

details of what happened that year to validate Selena’s words. In

when the dialer’s name gave him a bag of nerves, but he picked up

I have something to ask you.” She sounded unusually

must be about your brother’s donation to

they threaten you to sign the agreement? Did

he figured it was fine to lie to make her hate the Presgrave Family. “Yeah, they did. If I didn’t sign it, they

would they have

rich family? Even if they didn’t tell us what they’d do to us, we wouldn’t be

Connor, be honest.

to you? They forced me to sign the papers. After the surgery, they even stopped by to thank us and stuffed us with money. Ellie, I was

her memory. On the day Kevin passed away, a few men in suits came to Connor’s place and gave a credit card right in front of

invisible weight sat upon her chest and

You should lead a good life too. If anything happens, I will help you.” Connor comforted her, and the tad of guilt in him remained only for a fleeting second, though. “Ellie, listen. You must not be at odds with the Presgrave Family. They’re loaded and powerful. If you make a ruckus, you’ll be in danger.” He tried to make her

bit her

is for normal people like us. Don’t ever gamble your life. And one more thing—stay away from

in much pain?” A sharp pang pricked Ellen’s chest, making it impossible

allowed to enter the operating

been in so much pain. They dug his heart out before he passed

only wish was to leave everything Jared gave her. She removed the SIM card to insert it into her old phone. Next, she pulled out her luggage and opened the door. To her surprise, the man was leaning against

approached her.

tears streamed down her cheeks. The sheer

entered the elevator with her while holding the

he wished that she would yell or vent her emotions at him as long as it was not a

of the neighborhood. She was pulling her luggage as he trailed

go of my hand. I don’t wanna see you.” She

you want to

lifetime.”

“If you hate the idea of me using his

frantic eyes, fearing that he might

and added, “I can wait for another donor. If

ten back then. The poor boy was bedridden, waiting to be saved, so who was she to despise him for that? Although she did not wish to see him, she had

It’s just hard for me to

on the pedal and almost dragged the sophisticated man along the road. Jared’s knees were on the ground, prompting her to pop her head out of the window

You should stay away from a scumbag

like this again. It’s dangerous,” she reminded. Later, she averted her gaze back to the neighborhood, which shrank into a tiny dot. I wonder if

other hand, the bodyguards

we go

“Sir, are you alright?”

occurred to him. “Follow her. I

to stay, it would be difficult to track her down in

heaved a sigh, her final words easing his heart a

what went wrong. Ellen shouldn’t be that emotional upon knowing

other party before proceeding with the transplant, so it was not a forceful deal. Therefore, he wondered why the permissible deal sounded like a deception to Ellen. He fully believed in his parents, who would never do something

from the Aguirre

Ellen coming after their money under Jared’s support. Thus, they decided to seize the chance to drive a wedge between

how the Aguirres told her the story. If they lied that it was a forceful donation,