Secret Marriage: The CEO's Pampered Wife

"Is that so? Too bad Naomi Shaw has already broken up with your brother. It’s too late for you to say anything now, isn’t it?"

"..."

"You know, I hate it when people lie to me!" Georgia Thorne said, her eyes welling with tears.

Elliot Sheridan couldn’t stand to see her cry, but this time, he found himself unable to move and pull her into his arms.

A great rift had formed between Georgia Thorne and Elliot Sheridan. She only asked about Naomi Shaw, never once mentioning Zane Lennox.

She forcefully suppressed those thoughts, not wanting their marriage to fall apart.

The two of them managed a strained reconciliation. Georgia Thorne hugged him. "Back when you broke up with me in Akashima, was it because of your brother and Naomi Shaw?"

Elliot Sheridan grunted in acknowledgment.

"Believe me, that was absolutely the biggest regret of my life!"

"How did you find out?"

"About what?"

"About... about Naomi Shaw!"

Georgia Thorne didn’t know what to call Naomi Shaw. After all, she only had one mother.

Elliot Sheridan stroked her hair, which had gradually grown longer, the smooth strands slipping through his palm. "Do you want to know?"

Georgia Thorne nodded emphatically.

The story wasn’t complicated. Naomi Shaw and Yara Joyce were cousins.

Naomi Shaw was born into a scholarly family; she was brilliant, talented, well-read, and sensible.

Unfortunately, when she was sixteen, her family’s fortunes declined, and she became a fallen socialite.

Her father, unable to bear the pressure of his failed business, committed suicide. Her mother, unable to live without him, slit her wrists, joining him in death.

Naomi Shaw was left to lead a hard life with her younger brother, Byron Shaw, who was only ten at the time. For a while, the two of them lived by rotating through relatives’ homes.

Life under someone else’s roof was not easy. In addition to her studies, Naomi Shaw had to work.

Her job wasn’t exactly reputable. It was in a shady place with all sorts of people, and one thing led to another, and she got to know a famous and powerful figure of the time.

Naomi Shaw was young and beautiful, different from the others, and she caught that powerful figure’s eye.

The man protected the siblings, gave them a house and a car, and fulfilled all their material needs.

For a time, it was as if the two siblings had returned to the days when the Shaw Family was still prosperous.

Until one day, Naomi Shaw came back, her face deathly pale, and said she was pregnant.

Naomi Shaw was only sixteen years old at the time.

Having a child out of wedlock was something to be scorned for, but Naomi Shaw was determined to give birth to the baby.

It was only after Naomi Shaw learned that the child’s father was a married man with a family that she gave the baby to her cousin to adopt.

That person was Yara Joyce.

At that time, Yara Joyce had just suffered the tragic loss of her own child. The sudden arrival of a baby illuminated all her hopes.

That child was her.

Georgia Thorne’s jaw dropped in astonishment, unable to believe her own life story.

Naomi Shaw’s original intention was to prevent her from being another man’s illegitimate daughter, but in the end, she still spent over a decade as Jared Thorne’s illegitimate daughter.

’It was a fate she couldn’t escape after all.’

"Who was that man?"

"I don’t know. Byron Shaw didn’t say, and he probably doesn’t want you to know either."

He only knew that Naomi Shaw and Georgia Thorne were mother and daughter; he had no idea there was such a story behind it.

Naomi Shaw got pregnant out of wedlock at sixteen and gave birth at seventeen. Twenty-three years have passed since then.

Georgia Thorne needed time to think things through.

Her mother, Yara Joyce, was actually her aunt. Naomi Shaw was her real mother, and Byron Shaw was her uncle. But then, who was her biological father?

’No wonder the paternity test with Jared Thorne showed we weren’t related.’

"Did you know my mother?" Georgia Thorne asked.

She pulled out the photo from under the pillow—the one of herself and Yara Joyce. "This photo used to be on my desk, but one day it suddenly disappeared. I looked everywhere but couldn’t find it. I thought I’d lost it, but it turns out you had it. Why did you take this picture?"

’He wouldn’t have treasured this photo just to look at me. His motive must have something to do with my mother.’

"Because she looked familiar. Can’t you see how much your mother’s eyes and brows resemble Naomi Shaw’s?"

"..." ’They really are similar,’ she thought. ’So much so that I felt a sense of familiarity the first time I saw Naomi Shaw.’

Naomi Shaw and Yara Joyce were cousins. And Yara Joyce wasn’t Naomi’s only cousin; she had others.

But the two of them had looked incredibly similar since childhood. Standing together, if it weren’t for the fact that Yara Joyce was older than Naomi Shaw, people would often mistake them for twins.

"You took my mother’s photo just because she looks like Naomi Shaw?"

"Yes."

Georgia Thorne believed Elliot Sheridan. Back when she hadn’t started losing faith in him, she had believed everything he said, one hundred percent.

The two of them had reconciled, and the cold war was over.

The past few days had been sheer torture for Elliot Sheridan, but he had finally made it through.

He breathed a sigh of relief. ’Tonight, I can finally sleep with my wife in my arms.’

With the matter of Naomi Shaw resolved, half the weight on Georgia Thorne’s heart was lifted.

The other half was the matter of Zane Lennox.

Zane Lennox’s unfinished words were like a curse, tormenting Georgia Thorne and keeping her from sleep.

They plagued her in her dreams. Even sleeping next to Elliot Sheridan was no help.

At night, whenever Georgia Thorne was startled awake by a nightmare, Elliot Sheridan would wake up beside her and ask what was wrong.

Georgia Thorne would shake her head, hiding her worries and refusing to speak.

It was like this the first night, and the second. By the third night, Georgia Thorne was afraid to sleep.

She stayed in bed playing on her phone. When Elliot Sheridan told her to sleep, she refused. "You go ahead. I’m not tired yet!"

Even in the small hours of the morning, Georgia Thorne’s phone screen was still lit.

’She has her eyes closed and looks like she could pass out any second, and she calls this ’not tired’?’

Elliot Sheridan took her phone away. Georgia Thorne snapped awake and snatched it back. "Did I wake you?"

"You sleep. I’m going to the study!"

Georgia Thorne threw back the covers and got out of bed, but Elliot Sheridan yanked her back up. "Georgia, what on earth is going on in your head?"

"I don’t want to disturb your sleep!" Georgia Thorne said blankly.

"Why won’t you sleep?" Elliot Sheridan said, exasperated. *That* was what he was asking. "Is it because I’m next to you that you can’t sleep? If that’s the case, then I’ll go to the study!"

It had been like this for three nights in a row. Georgia Thorne wanted to explain, but he was already gone.

She grabbed her hair in frustration. ’This really has nothing to do with him. It’s my own problem.’

’The relationship we just patched up is already starting to crack.’

Georgia Thorne wanted to mend this crack, so she woke up early the next morning to make breakfast.

Elliot Sheridan came out of the study, his expression dark. His bloodshot eyes glared at her; he must not have slept for the rest of the night.

"You’re awake! I’ve already made breakfast. Go brush your teeth and wash your face!"

Georgia Thorne pushed him toward the bathroom, but Elliot Sheridan caught her by the wrist. "Georgia, is something on your mind?"

With a single sentence, he had sharply struck a nerve.

’That’s the thing about secret worries—you can’t talk about them.’

Georgia Thorne shook her head. "What could I possibly have on my mind? Hurry up and get in there!"

She pushed him forcefully into the bathroom, shut the door, and let out a huge breath.

When Elliot Sheridan came out of the bathroom, he saw Georgia Thorne on the balcony, taking a call.

The call was from Nathan Rhodes. If he hadn’t brought it up, she would have almost forgotten that the finals were tomorrow.

These past few days, her life had been thrown into chaos by Zane Lennox’s death and the truth about Naomi Shaw, making her forget all about the competition.

Georgia Thorne returned to the living room, and Elliot Sheridan beckoned to her. "Who was that on the phone?"

"Nathan Rhodes. He was reminding me about the competition tomorrow."

"Are you ready?"

Georgia Thorne shook her head. "I’m not feeling confident."

"I’ll go with you tomorrow!"

"You don’t have to!"

The competition was a big deal. The next morning, Elliot Sheridan drove Georgia Thorne to the company, arriving precisely at seven o’clock.

The five finalists gathered in a small conference room.

The organizer stood at the front and announced, "At the investors’ request, this year’s final will be different from usual. The entire event will be recorded for broadcast. A dedicated camera crew will be filming. Understand?"

Georgia Thorne, sitting in the back, raised her hand. "Excuse me, when you say ’recorded for broadcast,’ does that mean it will be shown on television?"

"That’s right. We’ve already contacted a television network and reached an agreement," the organizer confirmed.

Georgia Thorne heard the excited whispers of the others around her. "Does that mean we’re going to be on TV?"

"Wow, this is just like a celebrity talent show! We’re so lucky!"

While everyone else was excited, only Georgia Thorne was frowning. "Excuse me, but when you’re filming, can you please not show my face?"

Her abrupt words made everyone else stare at Georgia Thorne as if she were an alien.

"I’m sorry, I don’t want to be on TV. If at all possible, please don’t film my face." Georgia Thorne took a deep breath, then added after a pause, "Otherwise, I’d rather withdraw from the competition!"

’I want to make a name for myself, but not by showing my face to the world.’

Georgia Thorne’s statement stunned even the organizers.

The organizer said awkwardly, "It’s too late to withdraw from the competition now."

"Then please just make sure the cameras don’t get my face."

"I’ll do my best to communicate that to the camera crew."

This competition was indeed different from the usual ones.

Usually, for a design project, you not only had to submit sketches but also present the finished piece.

But in this competition, the judges would only look at the design sketches, not the actual finished works.

In that respect, it was much simpler, but there was also a strict time limit.

The time allotted for the design sketches was two hours, from nine to eleven o’clock.

It wasn’t too different from how she usually drew. After speaking with the cameraman, Georgia Thorne once again stressed to him not to film her face.

The cameraman agreed.

The competition officially began. After seeing the theme, Georgia Thorne held her pencil, not knowing what to draw.

The theme was "Blank." Nothing.

The other contestants quickly picked up their pencils, but Georgia Thorne remained motionless.

Nathan Rhodes was watching from below, anxious. "What’s going on with her? Everyone else has started, why isn’t she moving?!"

Preston Larkin said he didn’t know either. "Not sure. Maybe she hasn’t figured out her idea yet."