Secret Marriage: The CEO's Pampered Wife

The pink cherry blossoms reminded her of her solo trip to Vimana to see them bloom.

It had happened just earlier this year, but it already felt like a lifetime ago.

’It’s such a shame I couldn’t enjoy them with him.’

During the National Day holiday, she was busy with the competition, while Elliot happened to be away on business.

On the first day of the National Day holiday, Georgia Thorne was huddled under the covers. Elliot Sheridan had left half an hour ago to catch his flight.

She let out a soft sigh. His scent still lingered in the blankets.

Elliot had only been gone for a short while, but she already missed him.

She lazed in bed until ten in the morning before finally, sluggishly, getting up.

When she pulled open the curtains, a layer of condensation fogged the transparent glass. Only then did she realize it was pouring outside.

Perhaps it was because of the rain, but she felt completely lethargic and all she wanted to do was sleep.

After she ate breakfast, the housekeeper started cleaning the apartment.

She sat in front of her easel for a while, but she couldn’t fight off the sleepiness any longer and headed back to her room.

By then, the housekeeper had already left.

Georgia Thorne slept for a long time, waking only after night had fallen and the rain outside had stopped.

She lazily got out of bed to make herself some dinner.

’I don’t know why, but it seems the more I sleep, the sleepier I get!’

Georgia Thorne yawned and flipped open a sketchbook from her time in Akashima.

She remembered drawing many sketches of cherry blossoms back then.

From six to eleven, Georgia Thorne sat at her easel for a full five hours.

Her back grew stiff, but she didn’t notice, focused solely on perfecting the drawing of the wedding dress.

After sketching the basic design of the wedding dress, she stared at her work. The more she looked, the more familiar it seemed, as if she had drawn it somewhere before.

’But I can’t seem to remember where.’

’Maybe I drew it during the competition against Seraphina Goldsmith. No wonder it’s coming so easily tonight.’

Satisfied, Georgia Thorne put down her pencil and went to the kitchen to pour a glass of water.

Her stomach let out a GURGLE, and she realized she was very hungry.

’But I ate so much for dinner.’ Georgia Thorne opened the refrigerator. There was still food inside.

She made a quick bowl of noodles to tide herself over.

Elliot Sheridan called just as Georgia Thorne was finishing up with her bowl. He asked what she was doing.

Georgia honestly replied that she’d just finished a late-night snack.

"A late-night snack?" Elliot sounded surprised. Georgia’s appetite had always been small, and she rarely ate anything after dinner.

"I guess I got hungry from drawing for so long tonight," Georgia said, holding her phone. "What about you? Have you eaten?"

"Not yet. I just got off the plane. I’ll have lunch at the hotel once I check in."

’Lunch?’

It took Georgia a moment to react before she remembered he was in a distant country. "Make sure you get some rest."

"Yeah. You should get to bed."

Over the seven-day National Day holiday, Georgia developed a routine: sleeping until noon, then spending the afternoon and evening designing the wedding dress.

She often found herself hungry again in the middle of the night, forcing her to get up and find something else to eat.

It wasn’t just the extra meal at night; her regular meal portions had also gotten bigger.

The housekeeper thought Mr. Sheridan’s influence was taking effect, as the missus’s appetite was gradually increasing.

On the last day of the National Day holiday, Georgia was woken by the ringing of her phone.

"Hello?"

"It’s me!" Selena Sheridan’s cheerful voice came from the other end. "Are you free this afternoon? We haven’t been out shopping in ages!"

Georgia squinted, her voice thick with sleep. "No, I’m a little tired."

She had been so focused on the wedding dress design lately that she seemed to have overworked herself.

After finally finishing the last step last night, she had been too sleepy to even keep her eyes open.

She had fallen asleep without even taking a shower.

"You’ve been cooped up at home for six days! If you don’t get some sun, you’re going to start growing mold." Selena wouldn’t take no for an answer. "Get up! Nancy and I will come pick you up in a bit."

"No, I really don’t want to..."

Before Georgia could finish, Selena had already hung up.

By the time they arrived at Elliot’s private apartment, Georgia had just gotten out of bed.

"Look at these dark circles! Did you not sleep at all last night?" Selena pinched Georgia’s cheek. "That’s the one downside of having fair skin."

"The minute you don’t get enough sleep, dark circles become super obvious."

Georgia grimaced. "I really don’t want to go shopping. You two should just go!"

Her plan for the day had been to stay in bed all day long.

"No way! The three of us haven’t gone shopping together in ages." Selena pushed her. "Look at you! The moment my uncle is away, you fall into this state. Hurry up and get changed. We’re going out."

Georgia, "..."

Nancy drove. As Selena laid out the day’s itinerary, Georgia grew drowsy in the back seat.

"How about we go to Ethan Fletcher’s restaurant later?" Selena asked, turning to get Nancy’s and Georgia’s opinions.

Nancy, of course, had no objections. Georgia, on the other hand, had already fallen asleep in the back.

"What did she do last night, pull an all-nighter? How can she fall asleep so easily!"

"You wouldn’t get it. They’re newlyweds who are apart. She must miss him a lot at night," Nancy teased.

Georgia forced herself to muster some energy and followed the two power-shoppers.

By noon, Georgia was so hungry she felt like her stomach was caving in, and she could barely stand up straight.

When Selena and Nancy dove headfirst into another boutique, Georgia couldn’t take it anymore. She collapsed onto a sofa and said to a nearby sales associate, "Excuse me, could you please get me a glass of water?"

"Of course. One moment, please."

Georgia was both starving and thirsty. Before the water could arrive, Selena and Nancy emerged from the back of the store. "Let’s go."

"What’s wrong? You didn’t like the clothes here?"

Selena crossed her arms, surveying the store. "It’s no different from the other shops. Let’s find another one."

"..."

’I could cry,’ Georgia thought, ’I should have been much, much firmer in my refusal earlier.’

’Sleeping at home would have been infinitely better than shopping with them.’

The two were already striding cheerfully toward the exit, leaving Georgia no choice but to stand up and miserably trail after them.

She had only taken a couple of steps when the phone in her pocket rang.

She fumbled for her phone. "Hello, this is Georgia Thorne."

"It’s me, Georgia."

The hoarse, familiar voice sent a chill through Georgia’s entire body, as if ice-cold blood was creeping up from the soles of her feet.

"Z-Zane Lennox?" she stammered, her voice uncertain.

"Georgia, you can’t even recognize my voice anymore?" Zane Lennox asked with a bitter laugh.

But Georgia couldn’t bring herself to laugh.

At their wedding, Georgia had waited from morning till night, but Zane Lennox, the groom, never showed up.

After that day, Zane Lennox had vanished without a trace. Even after a lengthy police search, there had been no news of him.

’How long has it been since he disappeared?’

’Almost two months now. Right before I married Elliot.’

"Yeah, it’s me. I’m your husb—wait, that’s not right. Your husband is Elliot Sheridan now, isn’t he!" Zane paused, his voice growing even more bitter.

Georgia couldn’t answer. Only a few close friends and family knew she had married Elliot.

’How could Zane know? He’s been gone for so long.’

"Zane, where are you right now? Are you in Portmire? Your parents have been so worried since you disappeared. You..."

"What about you?"

"I was worried about you too!" Georgia replied without thinking.

"Were you really worried about me? No, Georgia, you weren’t worried about me at all!" Zane said. "If you were, you would have waited for me to come back, not married Elliot Sheridan!"

"I did wait for you! I saw your text message. I really did wait."

She had waited from morning until night. A whole day, and he never showed.

"It doesn’t matter anymore." Zane laughed coldly. "Georgia, you shouldn’t have married Elliot Sheridan. Do you have any idea what his real motives are!"

"What do you mean?"

Georgia’s heart leaped into her throat, and she gripped her phone, at a complete loss.

"What do I mean? You should go ask Elliot why he really married you. Ask him what he did to your mother!..." BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

"Zane! Zane?"

Georgia frantically tried to ask more, but Zane had already hung up.

’He disappeared so suddenly, and now he’s reappeared just as suddenly with a phone call like this. What is he trying to do? And why did he have to drag Elliot into it?’

’Where has he been for the past two-plus months?!’

Selena turned back when she realized Georgia hadn’t followed. "Georgia, what are you doing standing there?"

After that, Georgia remained in a daze.

Selena assumed she was just hungry, so the three of them headed to the restaurant.

Ethan Fletcher wasn’t at the restaurant, but as soon as Selena mentioned his name, the staff became incredibly respectful.

They were shown to the best private room, and a waiter served their food and drinks. "Enjoy your meal, ladies!"

Georgia ate in silence, listening to her two friends chat.

"Ugh, I’m so jealous of you two. Look at me!" Selena said, running a hand through her hair in frustration. "My family wants to send me abroad to continue my studies!"

"Studying abroad is great! Once you start working, you’ll realize how wonderful your college days were!" Nancy said with a pout. "Work is miserable. You’re walking on eggshells every day, always ready for your boss to yell at you!"

Georgia remained silent throughout the entire meal. When they suggested going for karaoke afterward, she refused.

"I really can’t. I’m just too tired today."

"Alright." Seeing that she really wasn’t in a good state, Selena let her off the hook.

"Can you get back on your own?"

Georgia rolled her eyes. "I’m not a child!"

After seeing Selena and Nancy off, Georgia hailed a taxi back to the apartment.

When she got home, the part-time housekeeper was in the middle of making dinner.

"Madam, you’re back!"

Georgia mumbled an acknowledgment and said weakly, "You don’t have to make dinner. I don’t feel like eating."

"Oh? You’re not having dinner, Madam?"

The housekeeper came out of the kitchen and saw that Georgia had already disappeared into the bedroom.

She couldn’t help but worry. ’Something seems off with Madam today,’ she thought. ’She’s gone back to not wanting to eat again.’