Chapter 288 - 275: Who Did He Fight With?
They hadn’t cooked at home for several days, so they ordered takeout that evening.
That night, while Elliot Sheridan was in the shower, Georgia Thorne called Nancy Hughes.
Nancy Hughes picked up and immediately launched into a tirade before saying, "My dear girl, you finally called me back! Where on earth have you been?"
"I just ran into an old classmate and went on a trip to clear my head," Georgia Thorne said, scratching her hair.
"Clear your head? You have no idea what your husband has been doing to Portmire!" Nancy Hughes huffed. When Georgia didn’t respond, she continued, "He’s been trying to turn the world upside down. He was so frantic here he went and picked a fight, and you? You were off having a good time and clearing your head!"
"...Who did he fight?" Georgia genuinely had no idea what had been happening in Portmire.
Elliot Sheridan hadn’t mentioned a thing, so she had assumed nothing had happened.
"Who else could it be? That Erin Irving, of course!" Nancy’s voice dropped several decibels. "I heard from Dylan Heston that those two have been mortal enemies for ages. When you suddenly disappeared, Elliot Sheridan thought you’d been kidnapped by Erin Irving. He was so frantic that he beat Erin up without a second thought. It even made the papers!"
The fight between Elliot Sheridan and Erin Irving had caused a huge uproar, especially since it happened right at the entrance of the Irving Group.
The incident made the entertainment news and still hadn’t been suppressed.
Nancy told her she could find all the news stories just by searching online.
People who didn’t know the full story thought Elliot Sheridan had impulsively fought Erin Irving over a business project. Only those in the know understood who Elliot’s rage was truly aimed at.
In short, countless versions of the reason for their fight were circulating in the news that day.
When Elliot Sheridan came out of the shower, he saw Georgia Thorne sitting on the bed, staring blankly at her phone. She was so absorbed she didn’t even notice he’d come out.
He walked over and snatched the phone from her hand. "What are you looking at?"
Seeing the news she was browsing, he closed the web page. "What’s so interesting about this stuff?"
"You fought with Erin Irving?" Georgia scooted over, took the towel from him, and knelt on the edge of the bed to dry his hair.
Elliot grunted in acknowledgment. "Don’t read this kind of garbage news in the future."
"I heard you fought him for me?" Georgia asked again. "Did you think I’d disappeared because Erin Irving had kidnapped me?"
Elliot’s lips thinned as he gave another heavy grunt of confirmation.
Georgia felt a sweet warmth knowing how much Elliot cared, but getting into a physical fight didn’t seem like his style.
"How old are you? Why are you acting like a young kid and getting into fights?" Georgia muttered.
She thought back carefully, and the last time she’d seen boys fighting was probably back in high school.
Georgia had always kept her distance from that sort of thing. She’d taken one look and hurried away. Later, she heard both boys involved ended up in the hospital.
Elliot huffed, feeling the pads of her fingers gently massaging the pressure points on his scalp. "So don’t just disappear on me again. Who knows what kind of crazy thing I might do next time!"
In the moment he fought Erin Irving, he hadn’t expected to resort to trading blows.
But the moment he imagined Georgia meeting with some accident in Erin’s hands, his rage had boiled over uncontrollably.
He and Erin Irving had never gotten along, but by then, he was mature enough to know that some things couldn’t be solved with fists.
Competing and suppressing each other through business tactics seemed more appropriate for their age.
"Are you hurt?" Georgia suddenly asked.
Seeing the picture of the two of them tangled up together, it must have been pretty serious.
"Just a scratch."
"Where are you hurt? Let me see!"
Georgia was worried. She carefully examined his face and found nothing out of the ordinary, so her gaze shifted to his body.
Sure enough, when Elliot Sheridan took off his lounge shirt, she saw a large bruise on his chest. Besides that one, there were many others, large and small, scattered across his body.
"So many bruises, and you call it a scratch! Sit here. I’ll go find some liniment." Georgia got off the bed and found the first-aid kit in a storage compartment.
’This should work on the bruises.’
"Put it on yourself," Georgia said, tossing the ointment to him.
Elliot didn’t move. "I’m the patient, and you’re making me do it myself?"
"Didn’t you just say it was only a scratch?!" Georgia pouted. The bruise on his chest did look terrifying.
Elliot knitted his brow, putting on a pained expression. "It’s starting to hurt a little. Do you think I might have injured an internal organ?"
His performance was incredibly convincing, and Georgia grew a little worried. "Should I take you to the hospital?"
"No need. It’ll be fine if you just put the ointment on for me."
Georgia was speechless.
’He’s getting more and more shameless.’
And so, Elliot Sheridan shamelessly and officially moved into her small apartment, leaving early for work and coming home late every day.
Georgia still had vacation days left, and she was bored staying at home.
So one day, after Elliot left for work, Georgia went out too, carrying her drawing board on her back.
There was a place in Portmire with rather nice scenery. Many students came to sketch here every day, and even more schools organized week-long stays for their art classes.
The weather was nice today, perfect for sketching outdoors.
The sketching spot was in a suburb of Portmire, where there was an art studio run by a teacher named Evan Shelby.
It had been there for a long time, and many students came to sketch every day.
Georgia pushed the door open. A huge, south-facing floor-to-ceiling window brought the entire distant landscape into view. Bright sunlight streamed in, filling the studio with light.
Evan Shelby had built this studio specifically for sketching the local scenery. Just across the way were rolling mountains, a perfect view.
The studio was quiet. Seven or eight students were seated inside, and Evan Shelby was helping one of them with corrections.
Besides the art studio for sketching, there was also a youth hostel here.
"Teacher Shepherd," Georgia greeted with a smile.
Evan Shelby, now in his forties, turned to look at Georgia but didn’t recognize her at first. "And you are?"
"Natalie Joyce?" he said uncertainly after staring for a long moment.
Georgia winked at him. "Teacher Shepherd, have you forgotten me so quickly?"
"You silly girl, you haven’t been here in years! You’ve changed so much, I couldn’t recognize you!" Evan Shelby immediately beckoned for Georgia to sit down and poured her some water.
"It’s only been seven or eight years!" Georgia said, tossing out a number.
"Seven or eight years, and you know it!" As an elder, Evan Shelby had always doted on Georgia.
Speaking of which, it was Justin Sullivan who had first brought her to this studio.
Back then, Justin Sullivan loved to paint and often went out to sketch. Georgia would always tag along.
That’s how she met Teacher Shepherd, the owner of the studio. After she developed an interest in painting, she and Justin started coming here almost every week.
But after Justin Sullivan left, Georgia came back once on her own and then never set foot in the place again.
The studio was still the same studio, and Teacher Shepherd was still the same Teacher Shepherd. The only thing that had changed was one’s state of mind.
Georgia stuck out her tongue. "Teacher Shepherd, I barely ever come to visit. Are you really going to lecture me?"
"How would I dare? If I lectured you and Jean found out, he’d give me an earful!" Evan Shelby roared with laughter.
Evan Shelby had spent all these years in the suburbs, rarely venturing into the city. He didn’t even know that Justin Sullivan had married into the Sinclair family.
"Teacher Shepherd..." Georgia suddenly didn’t know how to explain it to Evan Shelby. How could she explain that she and Justin Sullivan were no longer together?
’Then again, they had never officially been together in the first place.’
Evan Shelby said, "Jean will be here later. You two can catch up!"
"What?"
"Jean called me last night and said he’d be coming this morning." Evan Shelby glanced at Georgia. "You’re such a busy girl. Look at Jean—he’s a general manager now, and he still makes time to come see an old man like me!"
Georgia had come today partly to sketch and partly just to see Evan Shelby. As for anyone else, she had no desire to see them.
"Teacher Shepherd, you’re saying he’s coming too?"
"That’s right. He’s been coming once a week ever since he returned to the country." Evan Shelby was something of a half-mentor to Justin Sullivan, and he was naturally proud of such a distinguished protégé.
Georgia fell silent. Meanwhile, Evan Shelby was called away by another student for guidance.
Georgia didn’t think about running away. ’Since I’m already here, if we meet, we meet.’
As if she had taken a calming pill, Georgia opened her drawing board and sat down quietly.
Justin Sullivan arrived rather late. His black suit jacket was open, revealing a striped shirt underneath.
The hem of his jacket fluttered coldly in the wind. From inside the studio, Georgia watched Justin get out of his car.
’Not even wearing a coat or anything. Isn’t he cold?!’
Justin Sullivan entered the studio, called out to Teacher Shepherd, and then spotted Georgia sitting off to the side.
For a moment, he wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him. How else could he be seeing Georgia here?
After looking closely and confirming it was indeed Georgia, his joy outweighed his surprise. He quickly took a step forward. "Nina?"
"It’s me, Uncle. Long time no see!" Georgia greeted him gracefully, without a hint of avoidance.
Justin Sullivan, however, stopped dead in his tracks.
His smile froze, his lips forming a stiff line. Even the last glimmer of light in his eyes dimmed. "What are you doing here?"
"I haven’t seen Teacher Shepherd in a long time, so I made a special trip."
’It’s been a while since I’ve seen Justin Sullivan,’ she thought. ’It looks like he’s lost more weight.’
Justin Sullivan gave an awkward laugh. "Is that so?"
Justin Sullivan was undoubtedly happy to see Georgia, but amidst his happiness, he didn’t know how to talk to her.
She had called him "Uncle," a title that pushed them apart, erasing the intimacy that once existed between them.