Secret Marriage: The CEO's Pampered Wife

But the young woman before her was saying she was her mother, that she had been forced to abandon her years ago.

Georgia Thorne’s expression was indescribably cold. Watching Naomi Shaw cry in front of her, she felt no sympathy.

She was filled with nothing but numbness.

Naomi Shaw’s eyes were red from crying. She looked at Georgia and said, "Georgia, I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I really am your mother."

"That’s enough. Say no more!" Georgia Thorne glared at her coldly. "Miss Shaw, let me make one thing perfectly clear. I have only one mother, and her name is Yara Joyce!"

’The world must have gone mad. And so has Naomi Shaw.’

’How else could she say something so absurd?’

"Georgia..."

"We’re not that close. You should just call me by my full name," Georgia Thorne interrupted coldly.

Naomi Shaw was momentarily speechless, staring at her blankly. "I’m sorry, Miss Shaw, but I have things to do. I’ll be leaving now."

’I never should have come out to meet Naomi Shaw. All it did was make me miserable.’

Naomi Shaw had fought hard for this chance to be alone with Georgia Thorne and wasn’t about to let her leave so quickly.

In a panic, she grabbed Georgia Thorne’s wrist. "Georgia, I know you can’t forgive me, but I’m really your mother! If you don’t believe me, we can get a DNA test. The results of a DNA test can’t be faked!"

"Sorry, I’m not interested!" Georgia Thorne flung her hand away, refusing to believe a word Naomi Shaw said.

Naomi Shaw shot to her feet, the legs of her chair scraping harshly against the floor and drawing the attention of nearby patrons.

Naomi didn’t want her to leave. "Your birth name was Natalie Joyce. And my name is Naomi. Think about it—why were you given a name so similar to mine?"

Georgia found this laughable. "That’s a ridiculous connection to make. Should I go ask Hayley Sullivan if I’m her daughter, too?"

"..." Naomi Shaw was at a loss for words.

She’d seen her in court that day; Hayley Sullivan was Georgia Thorne’s stepmother and had always been caustic and cruel to her.

"Then go ask Elliot Sheridan! He knows, too!"

"What did you say?" Georgia Thorne’s head snapped around. "Who did you say knows?"

Seeing that Georgia was finally willing to look at her, Naomi Shaw’s tone softened. "Elliot Sheridan. He came to talk to me about it."

Naomi Shaw just wanted Georgia Thorne to accept her as her mother, so she told Georgia everything she and Elliot Sheridan had discussed.

After hearing everything, the color drained from Georgia Thorne’s face.

’I need to sort out my thoughts. Everything is such a mess.’

Zane Lennox had said that Elliot Sheridan married her for ulterior motives, and that he had also killed her mother.

Naomi Shaw was saying that Elliot Sheridan had learned about their mother-daughter relationship long ago, probably around the time he went to Akashima to find her.

After he married Georgia, Elliot had met with Naomi and demanded that she not marry Carter Sheridan.

Their relationship would be exposed sooner or later. If the world found out that two sisters-in-law were actually mother and daughter, they would face immense public scorn.

Not wanting Georgia to become the subject of vicious gossip, Naomi took the initiative and broke up with Carter Sheridan.

Piece by piece, everything started to fall into place in her mind, and suddenly, it all made a terrible kind of sense.

’No wonder he followed me to Akashima only to break up with me. It was because Carter Sheridan was going to marry Naomi Shaw.’

’And when Elliot proposed to me... was it all a ploy to force Naomi to break up with Carter?’

’The ulterior motives Zane Lennox mentioned... was this what he was talking about?’

A sudden wave of exhaustion washed over Georgia Thorne. In this marriage, she thought she was the luckiest woman alive. Now, she realized she was the one who had been most thoroughly played.

And the one who had played her was the man who slept beside her every night, the man she had depended on with her whole heart.

"Georgia, I was wrong in the past. I’ll do everything in my power to make it up to you..."

"So you just agreed to Elliot Sheridan’s demand and broke up with Carter Sheridan?"

"What?!"

"Don’t bother. Our current relationship as strangers is just fine!"

Georgia Thorne said through gritted teeth.

Back at the apartment, Georgia Thorne sat on the sofa. The housekeeper had already finished making dinner and left.

She didn’t know how long she sat there in the living room, waiting, until she finally heard a sound at the door.

Elliot Sheridan entered the apartment but hadn’t turned on the lights yet when he saw a dark figure sitting on the sofa.

Moonlight streamed in from outside, casting a silvery glow across the floor.

Elliot Sheridan reached for the light switch, but he heard Georgia Thorne’s voice from the sofa. "Don’t turn on the light."

Her voice was off. The whole atmosphere was off.

Elliot Sheridan changed his shoes and walked toward her, tossing the suit jacket draped over his arm onto the sofa. "What’s wrong?"

As he sat down, Georgia instinctively shifted away. Elliot Sheridan’s brow furrowed as his gaze met her limpid eyes.

A flicker of disappointment showed in her clear eyes before vanishing. Georgia suddenly moved closer and wrapped her arms around him.

"Elliot!" Her voice was muffled against his chest, her hands clutching his waist tightly like a small child seeking comfort.

"What is it? What’s really wrong?" Elliot could hear the faint sound of tears in her voice. His curiosity piqued, he pulled her into his arms.

"I met someone today."

"Who? Selena? Nancy Hughes?"

’If only it had been one of them!’

Georgia shook her head, pulling back from his embrace to look into his dark eyes. She spoke slowly. "Someone who claims to be my mother."

The man’s expression didn’t change, but his brow furrowed imperceptibly, and the arm around her waist tightened.

’So he really does know.’

She gave a light, mirthless laugh. "Isn’t it ridiculous? My mother is clearly dead, yet this woman shows up and pretends to be her."

Elliot held her. "Do you believe her, or not?"

Elliot was filled with tension as he asked. What was meant to be known would be known, but he didn’t want Georgia to find out at a time like this.

"Do you want me to believe her?" Georgia asked, her bright eyes fixed on him.

Elliot couldn’t answer. Of course he didn’t want her to believe it.

Silence hung between them, neither one speaking.

Elliot watched her quietly, secretly trying to guess how much Naomi Shaw had told her. Everything? Or just this one piece?

"Georgia, do you trust me?"

"I do."

Georgia answered without hesitation.

Hearing this, he let out the breath he had been holding. "Georgia, I’ll be good to you for the rest of our lives."

"Mm-hmm."

Georgia nodded emphatically, burying all her doubts as she hugged Elliot.

She buried her face in the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent, and caught the strong smell of the ocean. "Did you go to the beach?"

"No," Elliot denied.

Georgia fell silent. ’If he didn’t go to the beach, then where did that smell come from?’

He said no, and Georgia didn’t argue or press the issue.

She trusted him. She had always trusted him.

Late that night, Elliot Sheridan woke and reached for the person beside him, only to find the space empty.

He patted the space again, still finding no one, and finally opened his eyes.

Georgia Thorne wasn’t in the room at all.

He scrambled out of bed and left the room. The living room was dark; no Georgia.

Elliot searched the entire apartment but couldn’t find Georgia. The only place left was the study.

The study door was shut tight. He pushed it open to find a dim light on inside.

Georgia was sitting on the sofa, a sketchbook in her lap, a pencil in her hand, drawing nonstop.

She was so focused on her drawing that she didn’t even notice Elliot enter.

He stood in the doorway, watching Georgia for a quiet moment before closing the door again.

The moment the door clicked shut, Georgia tossed her pencil down. She looked at the drawing on the page—it was a complete mess.

She ripped it out, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it in the trash.

Since marrying Elliot, Georgia had barely suffered from insomnia, and she hadn’t touched this sketchbook in a long time.

It was a habit of hers: whenever insomnia struck, she would grab a pencil and draw through the night.

As dawn approached and the sky began to lighten, Georgia finally fell asleep, clutching her sketchbook.

Little did she know, as she drew all night, Elliot lay awake in the bedroom, also unable to sleep.

He glanced at the time before entering the study. Georgia was already asleep.

He crouched down and lifted her into his arms, noticing how cold her body was.

He glanced back at the window. It was wide open, the curtains fluttering in the breeze.

’Dammit, the window was open all night.’

Just as Elliot lifted Georgia, the woman in his arms stirred.

She opened her eyes, and after seeing who was holding her, she struggled slightly. "Put me down."

"Go back to the room to sleep. It’s cold in here," Elliot said gently, but his tone left no room for refusal.

Georgia’s body was ice-cold. Pressed against Elliot’s chest, she could feel waves of warmth radiating from him.

But no amount of warmth could reach her heart now.

Georgia let Elliot carry her back to the bedroom. Smelling the faint scent of smoke in the air, she didn’t say a word, simply pulling the covers over herself and closing her eyes.

’It seems like she’s distancing herself from me.’

Elliot stood by the bed, the warmth in his eyes turning stormy. He turned and left the room.

’It looks like I need to meet with Naomi Shaw and have a good, long talk.’

Hiding under the covers, Georgia only poked her head out after she heard the door close.

’Georgia, you can avoid him for a moment, but you can’t avoid him forever.’

She had only slept for two or three hours the previous night. Exhaustion washed over her, and she was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

She slept so soundly that she didn’t even hear Elliot leave.

When she woke up, the first thing she saw was the housekeeper busy in the kitchen.

"Mrs. Sheridan, you’re awake!"

Georgia grunted in response and sat down at the dining table.

Lately, the housekeeper had noticed that Georgia seemed to have lost a lot of weight while being busy with her competition.

So, she had made a special trip to the market to buy a fresh chicken to make soup.

The rich aroma of chicken soup filled the air, but when Georgia smelled it, her stomach churned unpleasantly.

She took one sip, and the unpleasant feeling surged up from her stomach, making her feel nauseous enough to vomit.

She dropped her spoon and dashed to the bathroom to throw up.

Listening from the doorway, it sounded to the housekeeper like Georgia was vomiting her guts out. "Mrs. Sheridan, are you all right?!" she asked anxiously.

’It’s just ordinary chicken soup. Why is she throwing up like that?’

Georgia stayed in the bathroom for about ten minutes before emerging, her eyes red.

The housekeeper handed her a glass of water. "Feeling any better?"

Georgia took the glass and nodded. "Please put that chicken soup away. I can’t eat anything right now."

"Of course!" The housekeeper hurriedly took the soup from the table into the kitchen and shut the door.