Secret Marriage: The CEO's Pampered Wife

He had been working in Vesperia until just over a month ago, when the comatose Aidan Sheridan showed signs of waking, and he’d boarded the first flight he could get.

Aidan Sheridan was awake, but his failing organs couldn’t keep up. Every part of him was deteriorating, especially his kidneys.

If they couldn’t find a suitable kidney donor, Aidan Sheridan waking up would be tantamount to his death.

Aidan Sheridan’s kidneys had been failing even before his car accident, and a suitable donor had been impossible to find. That was until not long ago, when Elliot found information about Georgia Thorne on his desk.

Upon this realization, Elliot Sheridan’s face paled. For the first time in his life, he felt a sense of panic.

He finally understood the reason for Georgia Thorne’s change in attitude.

Elliot Sheridan had been sitting in the corridor outside, a place that could now be considered his office.

Hearing a noise from the hospital room’s entrance, Elliot Sheridan didn’t even look up, his ten fingers flying across the keyboard.

Byron Shaw sat down beside him. "She wants to see you."

As his words fell, the fingers flying across the keyboard froze for a moment before continuing to finish the current line of text.

He then closed the laptop, set it aside, and stood up to walk into the hospital room.

Elliot Sheridan hadn’t seen Georgia Thorne in over a week. A single door had separated them.

The moment he walked in, his eyes met Georgia Thorne’s.

His mind was a chaotic mess. He suddenly felt self-conscious about his appearance.

’I’ve been at the hospital for days. Do I look terrible? Will this make a bad impression on her?’

Then again, he felt he was overthinking it. ’In Georgia Thorne’s eyes, my image has probably already plummeted to hell.’

The two of them sat in silence, neither speaking a word.

A quiet atmosphere enveloped them. For the first time, Elliot Sheridan felt uncomfortable under Georgia Thorne’s gaze.

In the end, it was Elliot Sheridan who spoke first, breaking the silence. "Are you feeling any better?"

He was incredibly nervous as he asked, not even daring to look at Georgia Thorne.

"Elliot Sheridan, I only have three questions. Please, just this once, don’t lie to me again."

Hearing Georgia Thorne plead with him, Elliot Sheridan’s brow furrowed. His voice was low. "Go on."

"First, when did you meet my mother? Second, what does Aidan Sheridan have to do with me? And third, what was your real reason for marrying me?"

Georgia Thorne fired off the three questions in one breath. Elliot Sheridan’s brow furrowed even tighter.

Among those three questions, she hadn’t asked a single one about the pregnancy or the baby.

Elliot Sheridan studied Georgia Thorne closely. Her expression was devoid of joy or sorrow, her calm features revealing a sickly frailty.

He began to speak slowly. "Meeting your mother was an accident. Do you remember being in a car crash back in middle school? After that accident, I discovered your blood type was the same as Aidan’s. On a long shot, I took your blood sample for compatibility testing with Aidan, and unexpectedly, you were a perfect match. I went to see your mother, Yara Joyce. She flatly refused me. At the time, I didn’t even know you were Selena’s classmate."

"Aidan’s kidneys have been bad since he was a child. I spent years searching for a suitable donor without success. You were the only one. Later, your mother got cancer—a type that was originally treatable. I approached her and proposed a deal: I would pay to cure her illness, and in return, you would give Aidan a kidney. But no matter what, your mother wouldn’t accept my terms. Her condition grew worse and worse, and eventually, I gave up hope."

"Later, you slowly entered my life. I truly had no idea you were that same little girl from all those years ago. It wasn’t until I saw the photo of you and your mother on your desk that I realized who you were."

"After I found out, I hesitated. I thought, ’If you stay in Akashima your whole life and never come back, I’ll give up on the idea.’ But not only did you come back, you kept appearing right in front of me. The fact that you went to beg Zane Lennox for help made me furious, and I changed my mind again. I wanted to marry you. Not because of Aidan, and not because of Naomi Shaw. I wanted to marry you because I genuinely wanted to be with you. I really did!"

Elliot Sheridan had never used so many words to explain himself. He had always preferred to prove himself through actions.

Explaining himself to Georgia Thorne was, simply put, because he was afraid. Afraid that she would leave him.

"Elliot Sheridan, for all of that... I forgive you!"

’Whatever his motives were in the past, he ultimately never did anything to hurt me.’

Elliot Sheridan’s eyes lit up instantly, his gaze filled with surprised delight. "Really?"

But Georgia Thorne’s next words plunged him back into despair.

"Elliot Sheridan, let’s take some time apart."

"Why?!" Elliot Sheridan stepped forward and grabbed Georgia Thorne’s hand. "Didn’t you just say you forgive me?!"

Georgia Thorne gave a bitter laugh. "I forgive you. But what about our child?"

"I may be naive, but I’m not stupid!" Georgia Thorne coldly pulled her hand away. "I was consistently using birth control. How could I have gotten pregnant? Can you honestly say you didn’t tamper with something?"

’She had been thinking about it for so long, over and over. The only thing it could be was the pills.’

"..." Elliot Sheridan was speechless. He had indeed switched the pills.

"I thought you didn’t want children, since you were always taking the pills..."

"You thought? You’re not me, so how would you know if I wanted a child or not? You only think about yourself! You never ask for anyone else’s opinion! Did you ever once consider my feelings?!" For the first time in days, Georgia Thorne finally broke down and cried.

Tears streamed down her face as she roared, "Elliot Sheridan, do you have any idea? Our baby is gone!"

Georgia Thorne knew she shouldn’t blame Elliot Sheridan for everything. ’The biggest fault lies with me.’

’If I had known I was pregnant earlier, I never would have climbed such a high ladder.’

Elliot Sheridan knew Georgia Thorne was in pain, and his own heart ached.

He sat on the edge of the bed and forcefully pulled her into his embrace. Georgia Thorne struggled, pounding on his chest. Her tears soaked his shirt as she beat against him with all her might, as if she’d finally found an outlet for her grief.

Elliot Sheridan held Georgia Thorne tightly the entire time, letting her vent.

"No one wanted this to happen. It’s all my fault... It’s all my fault..."

Georgia Thorne eventually grew tired of hitting him and had cried her fill. She struggled out of Elliot Sheridan’s arms.

"You should go. I want to be by myself for a while," Georgia Thorne said, her eyes red-rimmed.

’How could he rest easy with her not by his side?’

But Georgia Thorne was stubborn. He watched her in silence. "How long apart?"

’A month? A year?’

"Elliot Sheridan, can you just not ask me? When I’ve figured things out, I’ll come find you on my own."

"Fine! You can stay in our apartment during this time. I’ll move back to the Sheridan family estate," Elliot Sheridan said, standing up and shoving his hands in his pockets.

Georgia Thorne said nothing, her gaze turning away.

Elliot Sheridan gave a bitter smile. ’This was all a mess of his own making.’

At noon, Byron Shaw handled her discharge paperwork.

Byron Shaw drove to their apartment, but Georgia Thorne had no intention of staying. Instead, she packed a suitcase.

"It’ll be hard to find a place on short notice, and it’s dangerous for a young woman to live alone." Byron Shaw took a roundabout approach before getting to his point. "I happen to have a spare room. Why don’t you move in with me?"

"..."

Georgia Thorne looked hesitant. Byron Shaw noticed and said, "She doesn’t live with me. You don’t have to worry."

Georgia Thorne truly had nowhere else to go, so she agreed.

’She hadn’t expected to need his help in the end.’

Byron Shaw’s apartment wasn’t huge, but he had a spare room, which he cleaned up for her to stay in.

"What do you want for dinner?" Byron Shaw asked as he set down her luggage.

Georgia Thorne couldn’t think of anything. "Whatever’s fine."

"Never mind. You can come with me to the supermarket later, and we can pick up some toiletries for you."

"Okay."

Georgia Thorne sped up her unpacking. Before dark, the two of them made a trip to the supermarket.

Byron Shaw was a thoughtful and considerate person, thinking of everything Georgia Thorne might need.

He paid for everything and carried all the bags. Georgia Thorne felt embarrassed. "Let me carry some of that!"

"Don’t worry, I can manage. You’re too thin."

Byron Shaw switched the bags to his other hand. Georgia Thorne missed her chance to grab them and scratched her head awkwardly. "Thanks!"

"You don’t have to be so polite with me!"

"..."

After Byron Shaw spoke, Georgia Thorne froze for a second, then gave him a sheepish smile.

’To be honest, it had been a long time since she’d felt the kindness of a family member. Having one suddenly appear like this... she wasn’t used to it.’

’Even if she didn’t want to admit it, Byron Shaw was her elder. That was an undeniable fact.’

Byron Shaw wasn’t just thoughtful and considerate; he could also cook and do all the housework.

This was a far cry from the ruthlessly efficient lawyer he was rumored to be.

’Everyone was probably different from how they seemed on the outside. Just like Elliot Sheridan.’

After dinner, Byron Shaw also went ahead and did the dishes.

"The bathroom is to the left of your room. I’ve already put towels in there for you. You should take a shower and get to bed early. You have work tomorrow."

"Okay, I got it."

Georgia Thorne nodded repeatedly and went into her bedroom.

「Meanwhile」 Elliot Sheridan had gone straight to the office after leaving the hospital, working overtime late into the night.

Owen Sawyer was suffering in silence. ’He’d heard Mrs. Sheridan had been hospitalized again.’

’He really didn’t know what was going on with those two. It seemed like they were constantly fighting. He just hoped they would make up quickly so that he, the secretary, could finally be free.’

It was nearly midnight when he finally drove back to the apartment.

As his car passed through the main gate, he remembered his promise to Georgia Thorne that they would live separately for a while.

The security guard recognized him and hurried forward to greet him.

"Oh, right, Mr. Sheridan! I saw your wife leave today with a suitcase in a car!" The security guard knew both Elliot and Georgia Thorne, and per Elliot’s instructions, he always kept an eye on Georgia’s comings and goings.

This afternoon, Georgia Thorne had come and gone with a man. He had paid special attention. ’The man was quite handsome,’ he thought, ’and he suspected Mrs. Sheridan was cheating on Mr. Sheridan.’

Elliot Sheridan shot him a cold glance. The dark look was enough to make the security guard shut his mouth immediately.

’Then again,’ he thought, ’it makes sense. With her personality, there was no way she would stay in the apartment.’

He made a call, asking Ethan Fletcher to come out for a drink.

Drinking with just the two of them was no fun, so Ethan Fletcher suggested calling Dylan Heston to join, but Elliot Sheridan refused.

"Just the two of us. Meet me at the usual place."

Ethan Fletcher hung up the phone. ’This guy most likely had another fight with his wife.’

Elliot Sheridan and Ethan Fletcher drank heavily. By the time Elliot was dead drunk, dawn had broken. Ethan Fletcher finally called Owen Sawyer to come and get him.