Secret Marriage: The CEO's Pampered Wife

She then tried calling Zane Lennox, but his phone was already off.

Her mind was a mess. She walked outside like a zombie.

The weather outside was beautiful. A brilliant sun hung overhead, and the temperature was just right—not too cold, not too hot. A cool, damp breeze brushed against her face.

Nathan Rhodes called, asking where she had gone. Georgia Thorne looked around but couldn’t even name the street. She just said she was heading home.

Nathan was practically beside himself on the other end of the line. "They haven’t even announced the details for the finals yet! How could you just up and leave?"

Georgia hung up.

Georgia didn’t remember how she got back to the apartment. Once home, she was so exhausted that she collapsed on the sofa and fell asleep.

That night, Elliot Sheridan returned.

He found the apartment pitch-black and assumed Georgia wasn’t back yet.

He flipped on the lights, saw her asleep on the sofa, and walked over to carry her into the bedroom.

Georgia frowned uncomfortably in Elliot’s arms. Once placed on the bed, she curled up in the blanket, turning away from him.

The bedroom light was off. Georgia buried her face in the covers and opened her eyes.

She had woken up the moment Elliot touched her.

’I still don’t know how to face Elliot. He wasn’t at the office this afternoon, so where did he go?’

’Was he with Zane Lennox?’

The faint scent of smoke drifted through the silent air. He was smoking.

’He smoked last night, too.’

Georgia continued to feign sleep. After some time, Elliot left the room.

And he didn’t come back.

Georgia waited for a while, but eventually, she was too sleepy to keep her eyes open and drifted into a deep slumber.

The next morning, Georgia was woken up by a call from Nathan Rhodes.

"The finals are set for a week from now," Nathan chirped. "This time, the competition is a little different. The prize money is probably higher this year, so they’re requiring contestants to design their pieces on-site. They’ll announce the theme and everything on the day of the finals. Just rest up at home for the next few days and get your energy back so you can nail it in one go."

Georgia just grunted in acknowledgment before hanging up.

She got up to wash her face. Outside the room, only the part-time housekeeper was busy working.

"Ma’am, you’re up. Would you like some congee?" the housekeeper asked, putting down her cleaning rag.

Georgia looked around but didn’t see Elliot. "Where’s my husband?"

"He probably left for work," the housekeeper said, walking toward the kitchen. "I didn’t see him leave when I got here this morning. I thought he was still in bed with you, ma’am!"

Ever since they got married, they had always been so happy and sweet together.

Elliot often woke up at the same time as Georgia; he was always so good to her.

She had fallen asleep right after coming home yesterday and hadn’t eaten a thing. Now she was starving and quickly finished two bowls of congee.

"Ma’am, your appetite has improved a lot recently," the housekeeper remarked, adding another half-bowl of congee for her.

"I forgot to eat last night," Georgia said, taking a spoonful.

"But you don’t look like you’ve gained any weight, ma’am. In fact, you seem thinner," the housekeeper said. She appreciated a slim figure and was quite envious of people like Georgia who could eat without gaining weight.

’So he really didn’t come to bed last night, and he left early again this morning.’

After eating, Georgia stroked her cat, Blue, and gently pinched its cheeks. "Blue, do you think that ’President Sheridan’ is really him?"

Blue, unable to understand human words, stared at her with its sapphire eyes, tilted its head, and wriggled its face free from Georgia’s hand.

It jumped to the floor and meowed at Georgia, seemingly asking for food.

Georgia poured some food into Blue’s bowl, and the cat began to eat happily.

Perhaps afraid she would steal its food, it made strange noises while eating.

Georgia stroked its head. Blue glanced up at her before lowering its head to eat again.

The cat food was gone in no time. Once full, Blue went to bask in a sunbeam, stretching lazily before settling down for a nap.

’It must be nice being a cat. Just eating and sleeping all day, with no worries at all.’

With nothing else to do, Georgia decided to give the apartment a thorough cleaning.

"Ma’am, please leave this to me. You can sit down and rest for a bit." The housekeeper came in carrying a pile of freshly ironed men’s suits and, seeing Georgia cleaning, immediately rushed over to take the rag from her.

This was the housekeeper’s job, after all, and she did it with practiced ease.

Georgia didn’t argue and instead took the suits to put them in the closet.

"Where did you get this?" Georgia asked, turning to the housekeeper. She had picked up a photograph lying next to the suits.

The housekeeper was confused. "I found it in the pocket of one of sir’s suits. I meant to give it to him but forgot. I just found it again today while cleaning the laundry room. I saw it was a picture of you as a child, ma’am, so I brought it over specially."

Georgia had always kept this photograph on her desk, until it suddenly disappeared one day last year.

The photo’s inexplicable disappearance had upset her for a long time.

She didn’t have many pictures with her mother; this was one of the last ones. How did it suddenly end up in Elliot’s suit?

Before, Elliot had been in and out of her old apartment. It would have been easy for him to take her photo.

Georgia grew even more confused, smoothing the photo out in her palm. ’Why would he secretly take my picture?’

Zane Lennox’s words echoed in her ears. Her intuition told her he knew something about all this.

"Ma’am? Ma’am!" The housekeeper called her name several times before Georgia snapped out of it and looked at her. "What is it?"

"Ma’am, are you not feeling well? Should you see a doctor?" the housekeeper asked with concern. The color had suddenly drained from Georgia’s face.

"I’m fine," Georgia said, waving her hand dismissively as she walked out of the room.

Her phone screen on the coffee table was flashing. Georgia walked over and saw several missed calls.

She instinctively thought the calls were from Zane Lennox, which was perfect—she had so many questions for him.

She hurriedly called the number back, but a woman’s voice answered.

"Georgia, it’s me. It’s Naomi Shaw."

In a quiet café, Georgia took a sip of water and stared blankly out the window.

Naomi Shaw was Carter Sheridan’s other woman, and she was originally supposed to marry him.

But for some reason, Naomi had suddenly broken off all ties with Carter, saying they would no longer see each other.

Only after Selena Sheridan learned of this did her attitude toward Carter improve.

Georgia had had very few interactions with her—practically none, in fact. She had no idea why Naomi would suddenly ask to meet with her.

Georgia waited in the café for twenty minutes, finishing her glass of water just as Naomi Shaw rushed in.

"I’m sorry, the traffic was terrible," Naomi said, her face full of apology.

"It’s fine. Miss Shaw, was there something you wanted to see me about?" Georgia asked curiously.

Naomi had steeled her resolve to tell Georgia the truth about their relationship.

But now, seeing her in the flesh, she was choked with emotion and couldn’t speak.

"Georgia, actually, I’m..." Naomi stared into Georgia’s eyes, but the words ’I’m your mother’ were stuck in her throat.

"Miss Shaw, please feel free to speak plainly. If there’s anything I can help you with, I certainly will," Georgia said with a smile, confused about what Naomi was trying to say.

Naomi didn’t know how to begin, how to make Georgia believe her.

"I’m Byron Shaw’s older sister. I heard you were injured a while ago. You’ve recovered, I hope?" The words came to her lips, but she changed them to something else.

When Naomi heard about Georgia’s injury, she had been scared to death. She had just found her after so long; she couldn’t bear the thought of losing her before even getting a chance.

Afterward, she had wanted to visit Georgia in the hospital, but Byron kept stopping her. She tried to sneak in a few times but was blocked by the security guards at the entrance.

After Elliot married Georgia, Naomi had met with him.

Elliot made it clear that he knew about her relationship with Georgia.

And it was precisely because he knew that he wouldn’t allow her to meet Georgia.

In what world could a mother and daughter marry two brothers and become sisters-in-law?

So Elliot’s meaning was clear: she had to break up with Carter Sheridan.

Elliot had said he would find an opportunity to arrange a reunion for her and Georgia, but she had waited for so long and heard nothing from him.

Left with no other choice, she had to seek out Georgia herself.

"I’m fine, my injury has mostly healed. It was an accident, and I’m sorry to have troubled Attorney Shaw," Georgia said, surprised. She hadn’t realized Naomi and Byron Shaw were related.

In turn, her attitude toward Naomi became even more polite.

The more Naomi looked at Georgia, the more she felt they resembled each other in certain ways.

This was the child she had carried for ten months.

She had only been with her for a month before being forced to give her to Yara Joyce to raise.

Tears welled in Naomi’s eyes as she reached out and grasped Georgia’s hand.

Georgia was very uncomfortable. She didn’t understand the meaning behind this gesture.

’If she regrets her decision and wants to get back together with Carter Sheridan, she should be talking to him, not me.’

She could be polite to Naomi, but she couldn’t bring herself to be warm and familiar on such short notice.

Forcing an unfamiliar smile, she withdrew her hand from Naomi’s grasp. "Miss Shaw, if you have something to say, please just say it."

Georgia’s coldness was undoubtedly a blow to Naomi. With tears in her eyes, she said, "Georgia, I know you might not believe this when I say it, but I have no other choice."

"I didn’t want to back then, really. I was under so much pressure, you and I..." Naomi rambled incoherently. "Georgia, I’m your mother. I’ve been looking for you for over a decade."

The smile on Georgia’s face instantly vanished, replaced by a sharp, piercing glare directed at Naomi.

The latter continued, "I know this is hard for you to accept, but it’s true. After I gave birth to you, because of certain things, I had to give you to your... your eventual... mother. I really had no choice back then..."

In this world, the person Georgia respected most was her mother. Even when their lives were difficult, her mother had never once abandoned her.