Secret Marriage: The CEO's Pampered Wife

William seemed frustrated. "Georgia Thorne, you won’t want to know."

After a moment of hesitation, he said, "Aidan Sheridan is Quentin Chase’s brother, and Quentin Chase was Elliot Sheridan’s first love."

In that instant, her whole body went numb, a roar filling her head.

’Heh, no wonder...’

Her body, pressed tightly against his, suddenly went rigid. Georgia Thorne looked up at him, her eyes glistening with tears.

Her pale lips twitched into a slow, deliberate smile. "Or let me ask a different question. Between me and Quentin Chase, who would you choose?"

Finally, she felt Elliot Sheridan’s body give another violent shudder. His pupils trembled, reflecting a shock beyond words.

At last, Elliot Sheridan slowly released her. "How do you know that name?"

He had never mentioned Quentin Chase in front of Georgia Thorne, nor would he ever allow anyone else to.

"You choose her, don’t you? You’ve been lying to me from the very beginning, haven’t you?" Her eyes instantly welled up, and tears finally began to fall. "This is great. You let me fall from heaven into hell, from joy to pain. You let me see you for who you really are, taught me not to trust anyone so easily..."

’This really is great. Now I know the agony of false hope.’

’Thank you for this gift of false hope.’

Tears streamed down Georgia Thorne’s face, the ache in her chest making her voice hoarse. "Elliot Sheridan, let’s get a divorce."

His hesitation shattered Georgia Thorne’s last shred of hope.

The alcohol seemed to instantly leave Elliot Sheridan’s system. He said in a panic, "No, that’s not it! I choose you!"

As he struggled, his hand found hers, and the bareness of her finger made him freeze.

’She actually took off her ring.’

Her simple, pretty face was streaked with tears. "Let’s get a divorce."

She forcefully pushed him away, took out her key, opened the door to the apartment, and shut Elliot Sheridan out.

Elliot Sheridan, who had had too much to drink, was shoved against the wall by Georgia Thorne’s push.

He stood there in a daze, only snapping out of it after a long moment.

He pounded on the door. "Georgia Thorne, open the door! Georgia Thorne!"

Georgia Thorne slid down against the door and collapsed onto the floor, hearing Elliot Sheridan’s voice from outside. "Impossible! I will never agree to a divorce!"

She buried her face in her knees, her sobs muffled as the pounding on the door grew more frantic.

After a while, she heard Owen Sawyer’s voice. "President, let’s go back."

Owen Sawyer felt helpless. He had never seen Elliot Sheridan so disheveled, sitting on the ground with blood dripping from his hand.

Elliot Sheridan looked up, his dark, sharp gaze cutting into Owen Sawyer like a knife, making him break out in a cold sweat.

"Pres—"

He only got one syllable out before the man’s icy glare silenced him.

Elliot Sheridan’s hand was bleeding. The crimson drops fell slowly from the back of his hand, trickling down his fingertips to pool on the floor.

He leaned quietly against the door panel, eyes closed, breathing heavily. He was utterly exhausted, seemingly oblivious to the pain in his hand.

’That must hurt so much!’

Owen Sawyer watched from the side, his heart aching for him.

Georgia Thorne cried for a while before getting up from the floor. She wanted to grab her phone but realized it had fallen outside.

She picked up the landline and called Byron Shaw.

Byron Shaw was in court arguing a case at that moment, so the call was answered by Grace Wagner.

When Grace Wagner saw the call was from Byron Shaw’s home, she silenced it without a second thought.

After the call disconnected automatically, she deleted the missed call notification from the phone.

Then, she went back to watching Byron Shaw in the courtroom.

Georgia Thorne only tried calling once. ’He must be working right now,’ she thought, and went back to her room.

Georgia Thorne didn’t sleep all night, waiting as darkness gradually gave way to dawn.

When it was about time, she changed into a fresh set of clothes. As she grabbed her bag, ready to leave, she heard a voice from outside. "President, let’s just go back. We’ve been waiting here all night!"

Georgia Thorne froze, a fresh mist of tears clouding her eyes. She covered her face with her hand.

That day, Elliot Sheridan did not leave, and Georgia Thorne did not go out.

Georgia Thorne called Nancy Hughes and asked her to request a leave of absence for her. Afterward, she called Byron Shaw again.

"Is something wrong?"

Her curled fingers slowly tightened into fists. She took a deep breath, forcing down the tremor in her voice. "What do you think are the chances of me divorcing Elliot Sheridan?"

Byron Shaw’s heart sank. "I’m coming back tomorrow!"

He realized something was wrong. ’Why would she suddenly bring up divorce?’

He hung up and immediately had Grace Wagner change his flight to return early.

Grace Wagner was baffled but had no choice but to obey his command.

Meanwhile, at the office, Nancy Hughes went to Georgia Thorne’s workplace, unsure who to talk to about the leave request.

She peeked through the door for a moment just as Kai was coming back from the break room with water. "What are you sneaking around for?"

Nancy Hughes had known Kai for a long time. "You’re just the person I was looking for. Georgia Thorne is sick, can you help her request two days off?"

"She’s sick?"

Kai exclaimed, his voice high with alarm, which earned him a surprised look from Nancy Hughes. He quickly lowered his voice and asked with concern, "Is it serious?"

"It’s fine, just a small cold!" Nancy Hughes said dismissively, having just made up a random excuse.

Kai wanted to ask more, but Nancy Hughes was already waving goodbye and leaving.

That morning, he hadn’t seen Georgia Thorne at the entrance to their complex. When he called her, a man had answered.

’He actually wanted to ask Nancy Hughes if Georgia Thorne had a man in her life now.’

’It couldn’t have been someone who wasn’t close to her, picking up her phone like that.’

Thinking about this made Kai feel a little uneasy.

Kai planned to call Georgia Thorne again after work to ask how she was feeling.

Georgia Thorne stayed by the door until nightfall, when she heard a commotion outside.

It was Owen Sawyer’s startled voice. It sounded like Elliot Sheridan had collapsed.

She shot to her feet in a panic, wanting to open the door and check on him, but her hand froze on the doorknob.

’We’re getting a divorce. What’s the point of me doing anything?’

Dejected, she returned to her room and went to bed, tossing and turning until very late before finally falling asleep.

But she woke up early the next morning.

Byron Shaw caught the earliest flight to Portmire. As soon as he landed, he rushed to the apartment.

When he got home, he found Georgia Thorne looking like she hadn’t slept all night, her face as haggard as a patient’s.

He grabbed her firmly. "Georgia Thorne, what on earth is going on with you?!"

"I’m fine, really!"

Furious, Byron Shaw dragged Georgia Thorne in front of a mirror. "Look at your face! You call this being fine? You call this being great? Anyone who didn’t know better would think you’re a patient!"

Forced by Byron Shaw to look at her reflection, she had to admit the person in the mirror did look quite haggard. "I’m really fine!"

"Come with me!" Byron Shaw said, pulling Georgia Thorne away.

Grace Wagner had just driven out of the complex when she got a call from Byron Shaw, telling her to turn around and drive back to the apartment building.

From a distance, she saw Byron Shaw dragging Georgia Thorne out of the building by the wrist and pushing her into the car. "Drive to the hospital!"

Georgia Thorne was stunned. She hadn’t expected Byron Shaw to take her to the hospital.

"I’m fine, I don’t need to go to the hospital!" Georgia Thorne struggled, her delicate brows furrowed. "Open the door!"

"It’s not up to you!"

Byron Shaw shot Grace Wagner an icy glare, and she immediately stepped on the gas.

In the end, Georgia Thorne was forcibly dragged into the hospital by Byron Shaw.

In the doctor’s office, the doctor looked up at Georgia Thorne. "When did your insomnia start?"

"About a month ago, I think."

"And what’s the worst it’s been?"

"Going a whole night without sleep."

"How often do you go a whole night without sleep?"

"I can’t remember," Georgia Thorne answered honestly.

The doctor jotted something on a piece of paper and asked a different question. "So, would you say you have more sleepless nights or fewer?"

"More."

Byron Shaw, standing to the side, clenched his fists. Sometimes, when he worked late in his room, he would often hear Georgia Thorne getting up for a drink of water.

He’d always assumed she was just thirsty, never realizing she wasn’t sleeping at all.

To be precise, her insomnia had been going on for more than a month.

Ever since Zane Lennox’s death, her sleep quality had been poor. At first, she was afraid to sleep, and later, she was unable to.

Sometimes she could only manage two or three hours of sleep a night.

Byron Shaw had Grace Wagner take Georgia Thorne for a walk around the hospital while he stayed behind to talk with the doctor.

"Doctor, how is she?"

"It’s hard to say. The cause of insomnia can be related to one’s environment, or it could be psychological. Has the patient experienced some sort of trauma or does she have something weighing on her mind?" The doctor held up a form. "We don’t have the full picture yet, but we can try hypnosis first."

"Hypnosis? Is that effective?"

"Hypnosis can help a person relax both physically and mentally, allowing them to enter a state of sleep. It’s worth a try."

Georgia Thorne and Grace Wagner wandered around for a bit. When they returned, Georgia Thorne heard the doctor’s suggestion and agreed to try a hypnosis session.

"Don’t be nervous, just relax," the doctor said to Georgia Thorne, who was lying on the bed.

Georgia Thorne nodded and slowly closed her eyes.

She listened to the doctor’s words and tried to regulate her emotions, but she couldn’t enter the state the doctor described.

After the doctor tried for half an hour, Georgia Thorne was still unable to fall asleep.

Byron Shaw, watching from outside, saw everything clearly. He spoke with the doctor alone again afterward.

"Miss Thorne might not trust me enough, or perhaps she doesn’t want to recall past events. I believe she may be suffering from some form of emotional distress. In this situation, it’s best to see a psychologist. If it’s left untreated for too long, it could become serious."

"When someone’s emotional distress persists for too long, it can develop into depression. Miss Thorne may look fine on the surface, but it’s possible she’s already developed mild depression."

The doctor’s words weighed heavily on Byron Shaw’s heart. "I understand," he said gravely.

Georgia Thorne and Grace Wagner were waiting outside. When they saw Byron Shaw come out, Georgia asked, "What did the doctor say?"

"It’s nothing serious. Let’s go home," Byron Shaw said gently.

Georgia Thorne already had a good idea about her own insomnia.

’Byron Shaw was probably just trying to comfort her, or maybe he didn’t want her to know the truth.’

Georgia Thorne smiled. On the way back, she rolled down the car window and watched the scenery pass by.

Kai had just gotten back from the office. He had tried calling Georgia Thorne all day, but no one had answered.

Kai was worried about Georgia Thorne. ’She’s sick and alone at home. What if there’s no one to take care of her?’