Secret Marriage: The CEO's Pampered Wife

She leaned to the side. "Should we buy a gift to bring to your grandfather?"

"No need!" Elliot Sheridan glanced at the woman beside him, then paused. "For an old man like him, you’re the best gift of all."

Elliot Sheridan’s family was desperate for him to get married soon.

Over the years, there was no shortage of women who wanted to marry Elliot Sheridan, and plenty had made their move. But not a single one had managed to pique his interest.

So to the Sheridan Family, Georgia Thorne’s appearance made her a savior.

She had saved his marital prospects and saved him as a man.

Elliot Sheridan whispered a few sweet nothings in Georgia Thorne’s ear, and her earlobes gradually turned a rosy red.

Glancing up at him shyly from the corner of her eye, she said with a playful pout, "You’re just a smooth talker!"

"We’ll find out tonight if I’m all talk."

Georgia Thorne huffed and looked away, refusing to meet his gaze.

They arrived at the hospital soon after. Mr. Sheridan was in the middle of a game of Chinese chess.

The room was full of other elderly men his age, all of whom he got along with well.

Most of these old men recognized Elliot Sheridan, knowing he was Master Sheridan’s grandson.

They weren’t curious about him, but they were definitely curious about the young woman by his side.

They had never seen Elliot Sheridan bring a young woman to the hospital to visit Mr. Sheridan before. Consequently, several curious old men were staring unabashedly at Georgia Thorne.

Georgia Thorne grew flustered under their gazes and shyly ducked behind Elliot Sheridan, peeking at him. "Who are they?"

"My grandfather’s friends." Elliot Sheridan took her hand and led her a couple of steps forward.

Raising his voice, he addressed Mr. Sheridan, who was sitting at the chessboard. "Grandfather, I’ve brought your granddaughter-in-law to see you!"

Mr. Sheridan was a proud man. The last time they’d met, Elliot had talked back to him, causing him to lose face as an elder. This time, he was determined to establish his dignified, authoritative image in front of his grandson—especially in front of this gang of old geezers.

Mr. Sheridan put on a stern face, glaring with disdain. "What are you doing here, interrupting my game?"

Elliot Sheridan’s introduction only made all the old men even more curious about Georgia Thorne.

"Sharon, when did you get married? This young lady is so fair and delicate. Not bad at all!"

"That’s right! How could you get married and not tell any of us?"

"Showing up so suddenly... we old geezers didn’t prepare any gifts for a first meeting."

The old men chattered away, one after another, creating a lively scene.

Elliot Sheridan gave a single reply to all of them. "Her name is Georgia Thorne. We just got married. The wedding will be held after the New Year!"

"After the New Year? That’s soon! Only a few months away!" one of the old men muttered, then said with a laugh, "Don’t worry, we’ll be sure to get you a huge gift for the wedding."

Georgia Thorne was also taken aback. ’I’ve never heard anything about a wedding after the New Year.’

Mr. Sheridan had only wanted to put on a show of authority, but who would have thought that brat Elliot Sheridan would start chatting with everyone else, leaving him completely ignored.

His expression soured. He wanted to cut in, but he was too proud to do so.

’This little granddaughter-in-law of mine is certainly popular.’

Georgia Thorne was indeed undeniably charming, and the more Mr. Sheridan looked at her, the more pleased he felt.

Elliot Sheridan was getting on in years; he needed a young woman like Georgia Thorne to liven things up. Besides, young women have an easier time with childbirth.

When he saw the group of old men peppering Georgia Thorne with questions, and her answering every one with grace and politeness, he felt a surge of pride.

When this group of old men praised Georgia Thorne, it was as good as them praising him.

After a while, Mr. Sheridan found himself completely ignored.

He grew indignant. ’She’s my granddaughter-in-law! What are all these old geezers doing crowding around my granddaughter-in-law?!’

He slammed his hand on the table and bellowed, "Are we going to play this game or not!"

His roar instantly chilled the boisterous atmosphere.

Everyone turned to look at Mr. Sheridan. After a few seconds of silence, the other men grew indignant.

"If you’re not going to be enthusiastic about your own granddaughter-in-law, can’t you at least let us be curious about her?"

’Who says I’m not enthusiastic?!’

Mr. Sheridan’s eyes bulged with anger. "She is my granddaughter-in-law! If you want to be curious, go home and be curious about your own granddaughters-in-law!"

It was infuriating!

With a stony face, Mr. Sheridan shooed the entire group away.

Standing to the side, Georgia Thorne found the whole scene hilarious but didn’t dare laugh out loud.

’Mr. Sheridan is just like a child,’ she thought. ’He says one thing but means the complete opposite.’

The old man then turned his gaze to Georgia Thorne. "You, come here. Play chess with me!"

"Huh? Me?"

Called out, Georgia Thorne froze for a moment. Wiping the smile from her eyes, she turned to look at Elliot Sheridan behind her.

He nodded at her and said, "Don’t worry, Grandfather is terrible at chess!"

’Terrible at chess? But I don’t know how to play at all!’

Georgia Thorne gloomily sat down across from the old man. "Hello, Grandfather."

The old man squinted, sizing her up. The young woman’s demure and agreeable appearance was truly endearing.

He grunted. "Do you know how to play?"

Georgia Thorne shook her head and said frankly, "No."

She could count on one hand the number of times she’d ever touched a chess piece in her life.

The old man’s eyes lit up. He began setting up the pieces on the board and said with a smile, "No problem. I’ll teach you."

Georgia Thorne took the white stones and began to learn the game from Mr. Sheridan.

Elliot Sheridan sat beside Georgia Thorne, watching the serious concentration on her face as her brow furrowed. The more he looked at her, the more beautiful she seemed.

After the old man finished teaching Georgia Thorne the rules, they officially began a game.

Georgia Thorne was a beginner and played very slowly, needing a long time to think about each move. The old man grew impatient. "Hurry up! Stop dawdling!"

Georgia Thorne glanced up at his exasperated face and hastily placed a stone. She then watched as the old man’s eyes crinkled into a smile. He happily placed a black stone, completely blocking her move.

’It’s too late for regrets!’

Georgia Thorne looked glumly at the excited old man. ’Oh well,’ she thought, ’as long as he’s happy.’

Elliot Sheridan saw her puffing out her cheeks in thought, so he leaned in close and whispered in her ear, "Place a stone in the middle of that black group."

Having only a rudimentary understanding of the game, Georgia Thorne was wondering where to move next. She followed Elliot Sheridan’s advice and placed her stone.

The old man immediately protested, glaring at Elliot Sheridan. "Don’t you know you’re not supposed to give hints when watching a game?!"

He had been on the verge of winning, but with Elliot Sheridan’s meddling, he would have to rethink his entire strategy.

Elliot Sheridan chuckled lightly. "Grandfather, Georgia is your granddaughter-in-law, after all. Can’t you go a little easy on her?"

The old man huffed, thinking his grandson had a point.

He was an elder, after all. He couldn’t seem too petty in front of the younger generation.

Mr. Sheridan was, of course, a much stronger player than Georgia Thorne. However, with Elliot Sheridan guiding her from the side, the tide of the game began to turn.

Elliot Sheridan didn’t enjoy playing, but he was an expert.

In the end, the old man lost. He was so upset he refused to speak to Elliot.

He did, however, keep chatting with Georgia Thorne.

"What happened to your legs?" Mr. Sheridan took a sip of tea, his eyes narrowing as he finally seemed to notice Georgia Thorne was in a wheelchair.

"I had a bit of an accident a while back."

"Be more careful!" the old man instructed Georgia Thorne gently, before turning to scold Elliot Sheridan. "What kind of husband are you? You can’t even look after her properly!"

Elliot Sheridan murmured an affirmation and took Georgia Thorne’s hand, playing with it in his own.

Seeing the sweet, harmonious couple, the old man’s rising anger subsided. "So you’re really planning on a wedding after the New Year?"

"Yes."

"Are the preparations ready?"

"Almost."

"That’s good!" Mr. Sheridan looked at Georgia Thorne. "A young lady like her is the apple of her parents’ eye. You have to throw a proper wedding; you can’t shortchange her."

"I know what I’m doing."

Georgia Thorne listened to the back-and-forth between grandfather and grandson, her gaze shifting to Elliot Sheridan beside her.

’Actually, we don’t need to hold a wedding.’

Mr. Sheridan didn’t have many hobbies, aside from listening to Beijing opera and playing chess with the other elderly patients in the hospital.

In the evening, as they were saying their goodbyes, Mr. Sheridan discreetly took a red envelope from his pocket when Georgia Thorne wasn’t looking and pressed it into her hand. "Take it!"

"No, I can’t accept this." How could she dare take something from an elder?

"I told you to take it, so take it! Stop with the nonsense!" Mr. Sheridan insisted, forcefully stuffing the red envelope back into Georgia Thorne’s hand and refusing to take it back.

Seeing his stubborn expression, she had no choice but to accept it for now, figuring she would find a way to return it later.

"Goodbye, Grandfather!"

"Yes, head on back."

The old man waved his hand, sending them off.

In the car, Georgia Thorne turned to Elliot Sheridan beside her. "What excuse do you think I should use to give this back to your grandfather?"

She really was embarrassed to take money from an elder.

"Don’t return it. At his age, he’s definitely got a stash of private savings hidden from my grandmother. If you give it back to him, it’ll just end up in her pocket anyway. You might as well save him the heartache and just keep it for yourself."

Georgia Thorne was speechless. "..."

She had thought it would just be the two of them for dinner.

But she hadn’t expected anyone else to be there.

"Attorney Shaw, hello."

Elliot Sheridan carried Georgia Thorne to a chair, and she greeted the man sitting across from them.

Byron Shaw acknowledged her. "Focus on your recovery for now. Don’t worry too much about the competition."

Georgia Thorne murmured in agreement. He must have heard the news from Nathan Rhodes.

As the three of them ate, Georgia Thorne felt a strange atmosphere at the table.

Elliot Sheridan was as gentle and considerate as ever, which was normal. The strange part was Byron Shaw, who kept watching them with a frown.

His brow was heavy, as if weighed down by some intractable worry.

But perhaps she was just imagining things. The next time she looked up, Byron Shaw’s grave expression was gone. He took out a document from his side and handed it to Georgia Thorne.

"Take a look. If there are no issues, just sign here."

Georgia Thorne opened it and glanced at the contents. It was exactly what she expected: the agreement to sever her parental relationship with Jared Thorne.

Georgia Thorne carefully read a few pages, but the dense blocks of text made her head ache, so she closed the document.

"What is it? Is there something you’re not happy with?"

Georgia Thorne wasn’t unhappy with the agreement. Rather, she wanted to ask about something else.

"Um... I heard you’re also demanding ten million from the Thorne Family?"