Secret Marriage: The CEO's Pampered Wife

As for her mother, Hillary, she was too far away to get there anytime soon.

The most likely person she would have gone to was Elliot Sheridan.

Carter Sheridan called his younger brother. Elliot was currently snuggled up with Georgia Thorne in their room, watching TV.

The young couple was enjoying a cozy moment when Carter Sheridan called and immediately demanded, "Is Selena at your place?!"

Elliot and Georgia Thorne glanced at each other. Georgia was particularly anxious; Selena was her best friend.

"What’s wrong?" Elliot sat up and placed a hand on Georgia’s shoulder, signaling for her to stay calm.

Carter Sheridan quickly explained what had happened. Elliot’s brow furrowed. "I’ll have my people help search for her!"

After he hung up, Georgia finally spoke. "What’s wrong with Selena?"

"My brother brought Naomi Shaw home. When Selena found out, she ran away."

"Ran away?" Georgia Thorne frowned. "Do you think she might have gone to my place?"

Georgia grabbed her phone and called Selena Sheridan, but it went straight to voicemail. Then she called Nancy Hughes.

Nancy took a while to answer, sounding slightly out of breath. "Georgia, what’s up?"

"Nancy, are you home?" Georgia asked urgently. She thought she could hear a man’s voice in the background.

Nancy hesitated for a moment before answering, "No, I’m not! Why? You’re not planning a surprise inspection, are you?"

"No. Selena’s missing, and I think she might have tried to find us!"

"God, she’s run away from home again?"

"Basically. You’re with Dylan Heston, right? I’m going to go back to my place and check."

Georgia hung up and grabbed a fresh set of clothes to change into.

She and Elliot headed to the apartment she used to live in.

Her room had been vacant ever since she moved out.

Dylan Heston wasn’t comfortable with Nancy living there alone, so he had her move in with him.

The lease on the apartment wasn’t up for several more months, so it had just been sitting empty.

There was no sign of Selena Sheridan at the door, nor was she inside the apartment. It seemed she hadn’t come here.

’But if she didn’t come looking for me, where could she have gone?’

Georgia paced around the room anxiously until Elliot pulled her into his arms. "Don’t worry," he soothed. "She’s a grown woman. She knows how to take care of herself."

"But..." Georgia trailed off, unable to articulate her fears. All she could do was hope Selena was safe and sound.

The two of them waited in the apartment until eleven. Elliot called James Sheridan, who told him there was still no sign of her.

For three days, there was no news of Selena Sheridan whatsoever.

Georgia hadn’t slept well for three days because of it.

It was as if she had suddenly vanished into thin air, disappearing right from under their noses.

They had checked every place Selena could have possibly gone, but she wasn’t at any of them.

When Hillary, who was staying with her own family, heard that her daughter was missing, she rushed back immediately.

Arriving at the Sheridan residence, she confronted Carter Sheridan directly. "Why is Selena missing?!"

’As her mother, how could she not know her own daughter’s temperament?’

’Her daughter could be mischievous sometimes, but deep down, she was an obedient and sensible girl.’

Faced with Hillary’s interrogation, Carter Sheridan was at a loss for words.

"It’s all my fault. I acted too hastily." Carter Sheridan looked utterly wretched. He hadn’t slept in days from searching for his daughter, hadn’t changed his clothes, and was covered in stubble.

Hillary finally exploded. She threw her handbag at Carter Sheridan. "Carter Sheridan, do you even have a shred of paternal awareness?"

"I..."

"If anything happens to Selena, I will never forgive you!"

Carter Sheridan stood aside, letting Hillary hit and yell at him, allowing her to vent her frustration.

’Putting himself in her shoes, he knew that as terrible as he felt about his daughter being missing, Hillary must be feeling even worse.’

Hillary, after all, came from a well-to-do family and was known for being quiet and graceful. She hadn’t even been this furious when Carter had asked for a divorce.

After a while, her anger spent, she sat down to the side, buried her face in her hands, and began to sob.

Only then did Sharon Ennis dare to approach and comfort the woman who had been her daughter-in-law for so long.

"There, there, don’t cry." Sharon Ennis patted her shoulder. "We’re all heartbroken that Selena is missing. Carter has been up all night for days searching for her."

"Besides, we’ve already filed a police report. They’ll find her soon."

「On the fourth day of Selena Sheridan’s disappearance.」

Early the next morning, Georgia was startled awake from a nightmare, drenched in sweat.

Elliot, sleeping beside her, sensed her stirring and woke up as well.

Seeing her lightly gasping for air, he asked, "A nightmare?"

Georgia nodded. Pushing down the panic rising in her chest, she hugged Elliot tightly. "Have they found Selena yet?"

"No news yet." Elliot soothed, rubbing her back. "It’s still early. Try to get some more sleep."

Georgia hadn’t slept properly in nights. Overcome with exhaustion, she snuggled against him and fell back asleep almost instantly.

When Georgia woke again, Elliot had already left for the office.

The housekeeper asked, "Ma’am, would you like some porridge?"

Georgia sat listlessly on the sofa, having no appetite. "No, thank you."

The memory of her nightmare that morning had ruined her appetite.

Her nightmare hadn’t been about Selena Sheridan. It had been about Zane Lennox.

’It feels like it’s been a long time since I last thought of him.’

’Where did he go? He’s been gone for over a month now.’

At noon, Elliot called to ask if she had eaten lunch.

Georgia answered honestly that she had only had a little porridge for lunch and didn’t have much of an appetite.

"You need to eat more." ’Georgia’s appetite is a real problem,’ Elliot thought. ’When I’m not around, she barely eats anything. No wonder she’s so thin.’

"Still no sign of Selena?"

"No."

That afternoon, Georgia sat in the study, paintbrush in hand, hoping to quiet her mind.

But her usual method of calming herself down wasn’t working.

Outside the study, the housekeeper knocked. "Ma’am, your phone is ringing."

Georgia called out in acknowledgment, then opened the door to take the phone.

She frowned slightly when she saw the call was from Justin Sullivan. She didn’t want to answer.

’What could he possibly want, calling at a time like this?’

The phone rang for a while before stopping. A few seconds later, it started ringing again.

She answered the call. "It’s me," Justin Sullivan said in a low voice.

’Of course, I know it’s you.’

"What do you want?" Georgia asked.

"Where have you been living lately?" Justin Sullivan demanded. "You’re not at the Thorne residence, and you’re not at your old apartment. Who exactly are you living with?"

Justin Sullivan had staked out Georgia’s apartment building for three days.

He hadn’t seen Georgia for three whole days. The apartment was dark day and night.

Unable to wait any longer, he went upstairs and learned from an elderly woman next door that Georgia had moved out a long time ago.

The old woman also mentioned a man, saying that Georgia had moved in with him.

’Who was that man?!’

Georgia hated Justin Sullivan’s aggressive, interrogating tone. It was disgusting.

"Justin Sullivan, where I live is none of your business!"

The housekeeper, who was cleaning, saw Georgia hurry out of the study and run into her bedroom.

A few minutes later, she emerged, having changed into a fresh outfit.

"I have to go out for a bit."

"Ma’am, will you be back for dinner?"

Before the housekeeper could even finish her sentence, the front door SLAMMED shut as Georgia rushed out.

Half an hour later, she arrived at the cafe where she had agreed to meet Justin Sullivan.

Justin Sullivan always arrived early. He watched as Georgia got out of her car and jogged into the coffee shop under the blazing sun.

"You’re here." Justin Sullivan looked up, his gaze falling on Georgia, who stood before him, sweating from her haste.

His dark eyes glinted with happiness. ’I can finally see her again.’

Georgia was in no mood for pleasantries. She slapped the table. "Where is Selena?!"

’If Justin Sullivan didn’t know where Selena was, I never would have come.’

’Right now, all I want is to stay as far away from Justin Sullivan as possible.’

"What would you like to drink?"

Georgia’s only thought was of seeing Selena. "Nothing!"

But Justin Sullivan gestured for a server and ordered two lemonades. "I’m thirsty."

Georgia was speechless.

When the two lemonades arrived, Justin Sullivan took a sip and found it too cold.

"Please swap hers out for one at room temperature." ’Georgia’s health is fragile; she can’t have cold drinks.’

Georgia said nothing as the server brought over the replacement drink Justin had ordered.

Justin was in no hurry. He took a sip of his drink. "It’s been a long time since we’ve talked like this, just the two of us."

’It was true. They hadn’t sat and talked like this in a very long time.’

But Georgia was in no mood to reminisce about the past. Her thoughts were entirely focused on Selena.

"I’m not here to reminisce with you. Is Selena with you or not?" Georgia demanded, unable to hold back any longer.

"Is there really nothing left between us?" Justin Sullivan’s hand tightened around his glass, the veins on the back of it standing out. The pleasant look he’d worn moments ago vanished completely.

"Justin Sullivan, Selena has been missing for several days. If you know where she is, tell me. If you lied to get me here, then I’m leaving." With that, Georgia stood up.

Justin Sullivan leaned back against his chair, looking up at her. "So there’s really no place for me in your heart anymore."

"I thought you knew that already," Georgia said with a sigh of resignation.

Justin Sullivan gave a bitter laugh. ’I did know. I just never wanted to admit it to myself.’

"She is at my place."

"Really? Take me to her now!"

Justin Sullivan had been living in his own apartment ever since he returned to the country.

Georgia sat in Justin’s car, craning her neck to look up at the high-rise building before them. Justin got out. "This is my apartment. She’s inside. Whether you come in or not is up to you."

Justin stood by the car, waiting for Georgia’s decision.

’I’ve come all this way. How can I possibly turn back now?’

Gritting her teeth, Georgia got out of the car and followed Justin into the building.

She was hesitant at first, but her worries vanished the moment she saw Selena Sheridan lying in bed, hooked up to an IV drip.

She hurried over and knelt by the bedside, looking down at the unconscious Selena.

She reached out to touch her forehead. "She’s burning up!"

"She’s running a fever. It started last night and keeps coming back. She refused to go to the hospital, so I had to call a doctor to come here. We put her on a drip while she was asleep."

"What happened to her?" Georgia asked, her heart aching as she looked at Selena. The fever was severe. She called her friend’s name a couple of times, but Selena didn’t stir.