Secret Marriage: The CEO's Pampered Wife

"Have you ever seen a wedding ring that only one person wears?!"

Elliot Sheridan caught a fleeting, teasing smile in her eyes. He was suddenly certain Georgia Thorne had been playing dumb with him from the start.

"Oh, so this is a wedding ring!" Georgia feigned a look of sudden realization as she stared at her finger. "Since *someone* didn’t say anything, I just thought it was a regular ring!"

As she spoke, Georgia shot a sidelong glance at the man. "I had no idea *certain people* enjoyed being so sneaky!"

Her words made Elliot’s face shift between pale and flushed. "This is *our* wedding ring!"

"Mm, I get it now," Georgia replied coolly.

’Mm, I get it now. What’s that supposed to mean?’

Elliot pressed his lips together. Why did her response sound so... lackluster?

He grabbed Georgia’s hand and said warningly, "You’ve put the ring on. You’re not allowed to take it off for the rest of your life!"

"Not even when I shower?"

"No!"

’He really is a tyrant.’

Georgia forcefully pulled her hand back from his grasp and looked at the ring. "It’s beautiful!"

It was a simple, plain band without much embellishment, set with only a single, small diamond. It was a perfect match for Elliot’s.

The wedding ring wasn’t ostentatious, much like Elliot’s own understated style.

After admiring it for a moment, Georgia suddenly remembered something and asked, "You stayed in Solara for a few days. Was it for these two rings?"

Elliot just grunted in response, but when he heard Georgia say the ring was beautiful, the tension in his face relaxed.

’Of course it’s beautiful! I specially commissioned a wedding ring designer from Solara to make it!’

Georgia adored the ring, but she also felt a little disappointed. It wasn’t as romantic as she had imagined.

She muttered softly, "Too bad there was no proposal!"

"You’re the one who proposed to me. What other proposal do you need?!" Elliot heard her and immediately retorted.

Georgia sulked. The more she thought about it, the more she felt she’d gotten the short end of the stick by being the one to ask.

Georgia turned her head away to look at the scenery outside the window, but in her heart, she had no regrets.

’The truth is, my heart had already said yes back when Elliot made his third request.’

’But back then, I was still burdened by my promise to Zane Lennox.’

’It was Zane who broke his promise. Marrying Elliot leaves me with a clear conscience.’

A sense of clarity washed over Georgia. She unconsciously caressed the ring with her thumb, feeling its simple, solid presence.

’This is his promise of a lifetime to me.’

In the bright hallway, Elliot protectively held Georgia close as they walked to the door of a private room at the end of the corridor.

"Who are we meeting?" Georgia asked curiously.

"Didn’t I tell you last time? I’m taking you to meet my older brother and the woman he keeps on the side."

Er...

Georgia had thought Elliot was just speaking offhandedly, and she had agreed just as casually.

’Carter Sheridan is Selena’s father. If he finds out about my relationship with Elliot, will he turn around and tell Selena?’

Elliot gently patted her shoulder. "Don’t worry. My brother is reliable. He won’t tell anyone."

Elliot pushed open the door to the private room and led Georgia inside.

Inside, two people were sitting at a square table.

One was Elliot’s older brother, Carter Sheridan, and the other was a woman Georgia had never seen before.

Georgia carefully studied the woman beside Carter. Her long, beautiful black hair cascaded smoothly down her back, and her delicate features were soft and gentle. She was a natural, delicate beauty.

’This must be the person who caused Carter to divorce Hillary.’

Georgia didn’t like homewreckers, but she couldn’t bring herself to feel any revulsion toward the woman before her.

Her expression was neutral as she followed Elliot’s lead in greeting them.

Carter recognized Georgia. After all, Selena used to clamor for them to adopt her so they could be sisters.

He looked at Elliot in surprise. The latter just smiled, wrapping his arm around Georgia. "Let me introduce you. This is my wife."

At his words, it wasn’t just Carter who was stunned; the woman beside him was shocked as well. Elliot idly played with Georgia’s small hand, revealing the rings on both of their ring fingers.

Though the style was simple, anyone could see they were a matching pair of wedding rings.

Elliot squeezed Georgia’s waist with a smile. "Aren’t you going to say hello?"

Georgia could imagine their shock. If she were in their shoes, she’d be surprised too.

Putting herself in their position, Georgia could understand how they were feeling.

She straightened up and greeted them, "Hello... Hello!"

Georgia didn’t know the woman beside Carter and wasn’t sure what to call her. After a moment’s hesitation, she offered a smiling hello.

The woman nodded, unable to speak a word, her shocked gaze fixed on Georgia.

Carter introduced her, "This is Naomi Shaw."

An awkward meal began. Georgia felt awkward at first, but the feeling gradually subsided.

After a while, she wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but whenever she lowered her head, she felt two pairs of eyes fixed on her.

But when she looked up, there was nothing!

Halfway through the meal, Carter, who was probably still reeling from Elliot’s bombshell, went outside with him for a chat under the pretext of having a smoke.

Inside the private room, only Georgia and Naomi were left.

Before getting up to leave, Elliot deliberately piled a lot of food into Georgia’s bowl, telling her she had to finish it all before he came back.

Georgia grimaced. With her small appetite, there was no way she could eat all this.

As she silently picked at the food in her bowl, Naomi suddenly spoke from across the table. "You’re Georgia Thorne, right?"

Georgia hadn’t expected Naomi to initiate a conversation. She nodded.

"You’re so beautiful," Naomi praised sincerely.

Georgia had never been complimented by another woman before. She scratched her hair shyly and smiled at her.

Lifting her head to meet Naomi’s gaze, she then heard her ask, "Did you really marry Elliot?"

’Carter has already divorced Hillary. If he’s determined to marry Naomi, no one can stop him.’

’If they really get married, then Naomi and I will be sisters-in-law.’

Georgia nodded graciously. "We just registered our marriage at the Civil Affairs Bureau not long ago."

"Congratulations!" Naomi smiled, her gaze dropping to Georgia’s ring. "Can I see your ring?"

"Of course."

Georgia held out her hand. Naomi took it and examined the wedding ring closely. "It’s beautiful."

Naomi said this quietly, her gaze fixed unabashedly on Georgia.

It gave Georgia the strange impression that she didn’t know if Naomi was talking about the ring or her.

Georgia pulled her hand back. Not knowing what to talk about with Naomi, she simply lowered her head and ate in silence.

Naomi just stared at her, the emotion in her eyes practically overflowing.

In the empty hallway, the two brothers, Elliot and Carter, stood by a window.

Carter frowned. "Have you lost your mind? If Dad finds out you married someone else, he’ll faint from anger."

Elliot took a drag from his cigarette, his cool gaze falling on his brother. "Instead of worrying about me, you should worry about yourself. Dad won’t approve of Naomi marrying into the family either."

Carter felt the air catch in his lungs, choked by his younger brother’s words.

It was true he could barely fend for himself right now, but his situation was still much better than Elliot’s.

"Elliot, the person you married isn’t Joanne Donovan. Do you think Quincy Rhodes is someone you can just brush off?"

"I know how to handle this."

Seeing Elliot’s confident expression, Carter was momentarily at a loss for words.

He had to admit, Elliot was indeed smart.

Ever since they were young, he’d been a master strategist, planning one hundred steps ahead for every one he took.

He would never do something he wasn’t sure of.

"Then how are you going to explain this to Mom and Dad?" Based on the last time they met, when Georgia was also sitting with them, James Sheridan and Sharon Ennis must not know about Elliot’s marriage yet.

’Typical of his personality. Act first, report later.’

"I know what I’m doing!"

The brothers talked for a while longer, then fell into mutual silence.

Finally, Carter sighed and said, "Erin Irving came to see me."

"Don’t rush into anything yet. Find out what his motives are first."

"I know that!"

After a while, the two brothers returned to the private room.

Elliot sat down and saw that Georgia’s bowl was empty, and he smiled with satisfaction.

Immediately, he personally ladled a full bowl of soup. "Drink this."

In Georgia’s eyes, Elliot’s actions felt like coercion.

She couldn’t possibly eat so much, and now she had to drink a bowl of soup.

Georgia’s face fell. "I’m not drinking it."

"Why are you being disobedient again?" Seeing that she wouldn’t take it, Elliot picked up the spoon. "You’re so thin. If you don’t eat more, people will think I’m mistreating you! Or do I have to feed you myself?"

He brought the spoon full of soup to Georgia’s lips, signaling for her to open her mouth.

There were other people in the room, and Georgia was embarrassed.

"I’ll do it myself." She reached out, took the spoon and bowl from Elliot’s hands, and started to drink.

It was chicken soup, made with some nourishing Chinese herbs. The aroma was rich, and the taste was savory without being greasy.

After the meal, Georgia was completely stuffed.

After saying goodbye to Carter and Naomi, Georgia and Elliot got into the car.

"We’re going to my place?"

The words were a question, but the tone was indisputable. Where was her chance to refuse?

After eating so much, all she wanted to do was sleep.

By the time the car pulled into the underground garage, Georgia had already dozed off, fast asleep in her seat.

Elliot called her name a few times, but she didn’t wake up.

So he simply carried her into the apartment.

Early the next morning, Georgia felt like a heavy rock was pressing on her chest, making it hard to breathe.

She couldn’t move her body either. Georgia slowly opened her eyes and looked at the face of the man pressed up right beside her.

Elliot was sound asleep. His peaceful sleeping face had lost some of its usual cold severity, making him look even more attractive.

A night’s growth had left a stubble of faint scruff on his chin, which was pressing against her forehead, both prickly and itchy.

His hot breath fell on Georgia’s cheek in warm gusts.

Her body was held tightly in his embrace, unable to move.

She pushed his arm off her chest and shifted her body. Before she could even sit up, Elliot’s other hand grabbed her shoulder and pressed her back down. "Sleep a little longer with me!"

’How am I supposed to cook in a situation like this?!’

CLANG! A knife hit the cutting board with a sharp sound.