Secret Marriage: The CEO's Pampered Wife

Time flew by, and with all the commotion from Iris Warner, the exhibition was about to begin.

Georgia Thorne checked the time. There was still a while before the runway show started.

When Georgia received the call from Iris Warner’s assistant, she heard the person crying on the other end and had a bad feeling. She hurried back to the dressing room.

Crossing the main hall, she glanced around.

The guests had mostly arrived by now. ’If something goes wrong at this critical moment, Team Leader Shields will definitely lose his temper.’

And with that glance, Georgia spotted Elliot Sheridan shimmering in the crowd.

He was a luminous presence, impossible to overlook no matter where he was.

Elliot was always aloof and rarely smiled. He held a champagne flute, exchanging lukewarm words with people.

Mostly, it was others fawning over him while he listened expressionlessly.

He was in a terrible mood. When he grew impatient, he had a habit of knitting his brows slightly, a gesture masked by his dark hair.

Before she entered the dressing room, Elliot, who was standing in the crowd, suddenly turned his head and looked at Georgia, his dark eyes unfathomably deep.

When she came to her senses, she was already inside the dressing room. Iris Warner was berating her assistant.

The assistant was sobbing, insisting she hadn’t taken anything. She even emptied out her purse, which was completely empty; the item Iris Warner was looking for wasn’t there.

Georgia listened for a moment and pieced it together.

The necklace Iris Warner had been wearing earlier was gone. She had taken it off and left it in the dressing room. No one else had been in here besides the people who were supposed to be.

And that list of people included her.

Iris Warner wanted to blow the matter up. She called for Seth Shields and Erin Irving.

After all, Iris Warner was a star Erin Irving had personally launched. When something went wrong, she naturally went looking for him.

When Seth Shields went to inform Erin Irving, he was talking with Elliot Sheridan.

The two were business rivals; what could they possibly have to talk about?

However, to provoke Elliot and also to gauge how important Georgia was to him, Erin had been deliberately bringing her up.

Elliot didn’t get annoyed. He just exchanged perfunctory words with him. It was crystal clear to Elliot that Erin had probably figured out there was some connection between him and Georgia.

But he likely hadn’t uncovered the specifics yet.

Elliot had protected Georgia very well, hiding her away. Those who had seen her back then were either people he trusted completely, or people he’d already made sure would keep their mouths shut.

Erin didn’t know how much Georgia meant to him, otherwise he wouldn’t be here testing the waters.

Both were master actors, and neither called the other’s bluff.

That is, until Seth Shields rushed over and anxiously explained the situation. Seeing the perfect opportunity, Erin turned to Elliot with an apologetic smile. "Mr. Sheridan, why don’t you come with me and take a look? You could be a witness."

Behind them, Owen Sawyer had already been on edge just listening to their conversation. Erin wasn’t stupid. If he didn’t have some suspicion, he would never have kept bringing up Georgia in front of Elliot.

He wanted to warn Elliot that this was a trap set by Erin and that he shouldn’t fall for it...

But before Owen could say a word, Elliot had already readily agreed.

Of course Elliot knew it was a trap. But the thought of Georgia being there was enough for him to walk right into it.

The dressing room was suddenly packed with people. Georgia was comforting the assistant, telling her to stop crying.

If she really didn’t take it, then she didn’t take it.

Iris Warner grabbed Erin Irving’s arm, sobbing. "That was the necklace you gave me! It’s my favorite, and now it’s just gone..."

Before she could finish, Iris burst into more dramatic sobs, ignoring the fact that there were other people in the room.

"It’s just a necklace. I’ll have someone buy you a new one later!" Erin said magnanimously.

But Iris refused, insisting they had to find the thief.

Her assistant had already emptied her bag, and the contents were still on the coffee table. There was no necklace. That left only one other person.

Georgia had never stolen anything in her life. She was naturally unwilling to let someone rifle through her purse for no reason.

"I’m sorry, I didn’t take your necklace, and I won’t be emptying my bag for you to see."

The innocent have nothing to hide. She hadn’t taken it, and that was that.

But to the others listening, her words took on a different meaning.

Especially Laura Chase, who was enjoying the show and didn’t mind stirring the pot. She muttered, "She won’t let them search her bag. She must be hiding something!"

Once that was said, others began to agree with Laura, putting Georgia in a difficult position.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t empty her bag to prove her innocence. It just felt more like an insult to her character.

Georgia stood her ground. Iris started wailing again. "It must have been her! Why else would she refuse to open her bag for us?"

Erin said nothing, quietly looking over at Elliot to gauge his expression.

Elliot’s expression was neither good nor bad.

He clenched his fists, the veins on his forehead faintly throbbing. He wanted to just take Georgia and leave.

But he couldn’t.

Besides Erin, Joanne Donovan and Quincy Rhodes were also here. He really couldn’t.

Georgia remained motionless for a long time, her fingers turning white as she gripped her bag’s strap, though she didn’t notice.

The murmurs from all around reached her ears, making her heart sink.

She spoke up. "If your necklace isn’t in my bag, then what? If it’s not in my bag, Miss Warner, will you apologize to me?"

She didn’t have a mild temper. The years she spent living alone in the Thorne family household had taught her to use a sharp tongue to protect herself.

Once, Amanda Thorne had stolen something from Hayley Sullivan and framed her for it. She had stubbornly denied it and told the truth. But Hayley hadn’t believed her at all and punished her so severely that she nearly died.

Georgia wouldn’t be foolish enough to make the same mistake twice.

Iris Warner’s eyes widened. "Impossible!"

"Miss Warner, do you agree or not?" Georgia took a deep breath, determined to get an answer from her.

With so many people watching, Iris wouldn’t be able to back out later even if she wanted to.

A confident expression suddenly flashed across Iris’s face. She wiped away her tears and readily agreed. "Fine!"

"If my necklace isn’t in your bag, I’ll apologize. But if it *is* in your bag, what will you do?"

"I’ll resign from Archetype Company!" Georgia replied crisply.

"Deal!"

The truth was, these high-society types had seen their fair share of catfights.

Iris was insisting it was Georgia. Even if she hadn’t taken it, her bag had probably been tampered with. Everyone saw through it but didn’t say anything, just waiting for the drama to unfold. After all, it was just about some irrelevant person.

How could Georgia not see through Iris’s intentions? Her target hadn’t been the assistant from the start; it had always been her.

In the cramped room, a crowd gathered to watch the show.

Georgia stood in the center, then suddenly broke into a brilliant smile. Unhurriedly, she opened her bag and dumped all its contents onto the floor.

Everything inside the bag fell out, scattering piece by piece, all clearly visible.

It was filled with a random assortment of things, but definitely not Iris Warner’s necklace.

"Miss Warner, have you seen clearly?" Georgia tossed her empty bag onto the floor as well, the smile on her lips slowly widening. "Is your necklace in here?"

Iris’s eyes flew open in shock. She stared at the items on the floor, but she couldn’t see her necklace.

’How is this possible? I put it in there myself!’

"This..." Iris obviously wasn’t stupid enough to say, ’I put it in there myself, so you must have taken it out again.’ She could only swallow her anger. "I guess I was mistaken!"

"Making a mistake is only human. I just hope you won’t make the same one again, Miss Warner." Georgia knelt, picked up her bag, and began putting her things back inside, one by one.

Then she stood up. "Miss Warner, you can apologize now!"

"What!"

"Did you forget what you promised me in front of everyone?" Georgia’s smile was radiant.

Under the bright lights, Iris’s face paled, then flushed, but she bit her lip and refused to speak.

She had intended to humiliate Georgia, but she ended up being the one humiliated.

’The necklace wasn’t in her bag. She must have hidden it somewhere else,’ Iris fumed silently.

Georgia just smiled. "If you can’t bring yourself to do it, Miss Warner, then let’s just forget it!"

Georgia glanced at the onlookers who were enjoying the spectacle, and her expression instantly turned cold.

The atmosphere was awkward. No one had expected such an unexpected turn of events, and it caught everyone off guard.

Erin Irving couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. He had wanted to back Georgia into a corner to see if Elliot would step in to help her.

But it seemed Georgia was more than capable of getting herself out of trouble.

A moment later, a waiter was brought to the scene. "Miss Warner, is this your necklace?"

Iris looked at the necklace in the security guard’s hand, stunned. "Yes, that’s mine!"

The security guard was actually a manager. "We’ve investigated. This waiter stole your necklace."

Iris listened to the manager’s explanation. Apparently, the waiter had snuck into the dressing room, seen the necklace lying there, and gotten a greedy idea. He stole it when no one was around.

Iris had orchestrated the whole necklace affair. She had personally put it in Georgia’s bag. As for how it ended up in the waiter’s hands, she had no idea.

But since she was being given a way out, she certainly wasn’t going to press the issue.

Erin, being one of the central figures here, stepped forward to speak. "Since it’s been found, let’s all disperse. The exhibition is about to start!"

Having failed to achieve her goal, Iris naturally let out a disgruntled huff and shot Georgia an even more hateful look.

At the same time, she wondered who had secretly helped Georgia.

Iris wasn’t willing to let Georgia off so easily, but with so many people around, she had no choice but to drop it.

The necklace was found, the thief was caught, and the drama was over. The crowd scattered in all directions.

「Seven o’clock. The exhibition officially began.」

Georgia sat with Nathan Rhodes, a world away from where he was sitting. She sat quietly, her gaze fixed on him.