Secret Marriage: The CEO's Pampered Wife

Georgia wasn’t sure if Chloe had believed Elliot. She strained to listen for a moment, but there was no sound from outside.

’Could Chloe have talked him into leaving?’

After waiting patiently for a little longer, she heard a knock on the door. Chloe’s voice called out, "It’s me!"

Georgia immediately stood up and heard Chloe call from outside, "He’s gone! Quick, open up!"

Georgia trusted Chloe, so she opened the door and scanned the area outside. Sure enough, there was no sign of Elliot.

"He’s really gone?"

Chloe shot her a glance and said teasingly, "When he was here, you refused to see him. Now that he’s gone, you suddenly can’t bear it!"

’She obviously wants to see him but is too embarrassed to admit it.’

Georgia shot her a sidelong glance. "You wouldn’t understand!"

"You’re right, I don’t!" Chloe said, looking up at the sky. "So, when did you and Elliot get married, anyway?"

"Did he go back to Portmire?" Georgia asked, dodging the question.

"How would I know!"

"..."

"But you could tell he was exhausted. His eyes were all bloodshot. I’m guessing he drove all night to get here."

"How do you know?"

"How could I not? A Land Rover, and with Portmire plates!" Chloe rolled her eyes at her. "But driving back like this... wouldn’t that count as drowsy driving? What if he gets sleepy behind the wheel, dozes off, and gets into a wreck? Do you think he’d be okay?"

"N-No, he wouldn’t! Don’t say that!"

"Why not? Car accidents happen all the time! Hey, where are you going? I haven’t finished!"

Before Chloe could finish, Georgia was already rushing out of the yard.

Elliot had driven here alone. By the time Georgia chased after him, his car was long gone.

When Georgia returned, looking dejected, Chloe burst out laughing. "Aren’t you going to call him?"

Speaking of her phone, Georgia had turned it off again after seeing his text in the middle of the night.

Georgia went back to her room, thought for a long time, then turned on her phone and called Elliot.

At that very moment, Elliot was driving into town, running an errand Chloe had asked of him.

She had told him that if he just left for a little while, Georgia was guaranteed to call.

He hadn’t believed her at first. ’If Georgia wanted to see me,’ he’d thought, ’she wouldn’t have run away to such a remote place.’

But Chloe had a good point. "Besides listening to me, what other choice do you have right now? None, right?"

And that was true. He had come all this way, and Georgia still refused to see him.

Chloe had sent Elliot to the small town to buy a bottle of vinegar. He drove slowly, impatiently waiting for Georgia’s call.

After driving a short distance, sure enough, a call from Georgia came through.

"Where are you?" Georgia asked in a small voice.

"I thought you didn’t want to see me. What’s the point in asking where I am?"

Georgia could hear the anger in Elliot’s voice. She pursed her lips. "Are you on the road, heading back?"

"..." Elliot fell silent, but he was seething. He was so furious his chest ached.

’After finding out in the middle of the night that she’d run off to this tiny town, I rushed right over. I drove for five or six hours to get here, and because her place is so remote, the GPS was useless. I had to keep stopping to ask for directions.’

’This trip hasn’t been easy, you know!’

Georgia had clearly been trying to show concern, but somehow she seemed to have only made Elliot angrier.

Softening her voice and remembering Chloe’s words, she hesitated for a long moment before speaking. "Elliot, you should find a place to rest for a while. It’s easy to get into an accident driving like this."

’He’s already been in one car accident. If it happens again, I just...’

"Oh, so you *do* know how to worry about me?" His tone was dripping with sarcasm. Georgia gripped her phone, saying nothing.

Then, Elliot hung up.

Georgia felt a pang of frustration. ’I was just trying to show I care.’

After the call, Georgia sat outside absently while Chloe helped her grandmother wind balls of yarn.

Winter had arrived. Miss Gardner was a skilled knitter and planned to make two thick sweaters: one for her granddaughter, and one for her great-grandchild.

Miss Gardner was telling Chloe about Hannah. She hadn’t been called into school, and the teacher said Hannah was being very well-behaved.

At noon, Chloe was about to start cooking when Georgia hurried into the kitchen. "Why don’t I do it!"

’The truth was, she’d had Chloe’s cooking last night, and it really wasn’t great. The girl just had no talent for it.’

"You just wait outside. Someone’s bringing over some vinegar in a bit. Grab it for me, will you?"

"Bringing vinegar? Who?"

"You’ll know when you see them!"

Georgia was sitting in the yard helping Miss Gardner with the balls of yarn when she suddenly heard the sound of a car engine from outside.

A moment later, the sound of an engine cutting off came from outside. Georgia heard Miss Gardner say, "Thorne, your husband’s here!"

"Huh?" Georgia replied, confused. ’My husband?’

The midday sun was perfect. Georgia and Miss Gardner were sitting in its rays, basking in the pleasant warmth.

A figure suddenly blocked the sun above, casting a shadow over her. Georgia’s gaze traveled up from a pair of leather shoes, past tailored slacks, until the man’s handsome face, half-lit and half-obscured, forced its way into her vision.

’Hadn’t he left?!’

Georgia was confused for a moment, but then she saw the bottle of vinegar the man was holding out and instantly understood she’d been tricked by Chloe and Elliot working together. Her face immediately flushed red.

The guilt that had flooded her heart turned completely to anger. She glared at Elliot. "I thought you left!"

"Well, it seemed like someone couldn’t bear to see me go!" Elliot flashed a brilliant smile. "Besides, did I ever say I was leaving?"

He shook the vinegar in his hand, his smiling eyes telling her he had only gone out to buy it.

Chloe poked her head out of the kitchen. "Took you long enough to buy a bottle of vinegar," she said to Elliot. "Anyone would think you went all the way to Vesperia to get it!"

Elliot handed the vinegar to Chloe, then turned back, slipping a hand into his pocket. "Georgia, I want to talk."

Georgia stood up. "I have nothing to talk about with you!"

’All he wants to talk about is what happened that night.’

’Over the past two days, the memories of that night had slowly started coming back to her.’

’She had willingly taken those drinks for Elliot. She couldn’t blame anyone for getting drunk. The most important part was that she had been the one to initiate... everything.’

Because of this, the shy and timid Georgia found it even harder to look Elliot in the eye.

The moment she looked into his eyes, the memories of that night came rushing back. His passionate words echoed in her ears, and even more mortifying was the memory of her own forwardness.

Georgia tried to retreat into her room again, but Elliot was a step faster this time. As she tried to close the door, he blocked it with his hand. "Let’s talk!"

"I already told you, there’s nothing to—"

"Do you want me to talk about what we did that night out here?"

"You!"

Elliot’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough for the other two to hear.

Georgia’s gaze went past him to where Chloe was staring at them with a look of pure gossip on her face. Angrily biting her lip, she let Elliot in.

Inside the room—

Georgia sat on a chair, her gaze occasionally flicking toward Elliot at her side.

Neither of them spoke. The room was completely silent.

’On the outside, she kept her expression blank, but inside, she was so nervous her heart was pounding like a drum.’

’Her head ached from overthinking. It would be better to just bring it up herself.’

So she closed her eyes, gathering her thoughts and composing a mental script. Just as she was about to speak, his voice interrupted her. "What’s a girl like you doing running off to a place like this all alone?"

She froze. What Elliot said was a world away from what she’d been expecting.

She answered meekly, "I didn’t come alone. I came with Chloe."

Chloe, the one who had sent him on the vinegar errand.

Elliot’s face darkened. "And you’re not afraid she’ll trick you?"

"She was my classmate in junior high!"

Arguing about whether Chloe was a good person seemed rather pointless.

Elliot changed the subject. "When are you planning to go back?"

"I just got here! This is only the second day." The implication was that it was far too soon to think about leaving.

Elliot knew their company had given them a week off. "But do you have any idea that I’ve been looking for you for a day and a night? I thought something had happened to you."

"What could possibly happen to me!" Georgia pouted, looking just like a little kid.

"Georgia, I’m not a psychic. I can’t predict whether tomorrow or disaster will come first. Do you have any idea how many terrible scenarios I imagined yesterday while I was searching for you?! ... Georgia, you turned off your phone, you didn’t answer my texts... I was going out of my mind looking for you, do you get that?!" Elliot pinched the bridge of his nose and strode toward her.

Georgia thought he was angry. Seeing him approach, she instinctively started to back away.

"Ell—"

But instead of yelling, he just pulled her into his embrace. His powerful arms wrapped tightly around her, and his low, husky voice sent a wave of warmth straight to her heart. "Georgia, don’t just disappear like that again. I get worried. Even if you need to get away, at least answer my calls, okay?"

Georgia had been about to pull away, but when she heard his almost pleading tone, her hands, uncertain of what to do, slowly came to rest on his waist.

’He must have really thought something had happened to me. That’s why he was so anxious.’

When he couldn’t find her, he grew frantic, his mind completely consumed by thoughts of Georgia.

He’d never felt like this before. Georgia was the first person to ever make him feel so frantic.

Georgia felt the warmth of his chest seeping into her, bit by bit. She spoke softly, "It’s not that. I just... I just didn’t know how to face you!"

"Why couldn’t you face me? Is it because of what happened that night?" He released her, looking down to meet her gaze.