Secret Marriage: The CEO's Pampered Wife

Georgia Thorne, "..."

’I’m going to lose my mind!’

She was just trying to sneak a peek at her own husband, and her little niece had to catch her in the act.

"Shh, don’t tell anyone!"

"So, Auntie, you admit you were sneaking a look at that uncle," Leah Sutton’s eyes sparkled again.

Afraid she would be too loud, Georgia Thorne nodded repeatedly. "Leah, can we just make this our little secret and not tell anyone else?"

"Why not?"

"..." ’Why?’ She didn’t know why either. "Leah, if you don’t say anything, Auntie will buy you a great big present later, okay?"

"Auntie, are you trying to bribe me?"

She had to admit, kids these days were so precocious. This one even knew the word "bribe."

"I guess you could say that!"

Leah Sutton put on a serious face again. "But Mommy says people who take bribes can get arrested and go to jail really easily."

"..." ’And your point is?’

Leah’s eyes darted slyly toward Georgia Thorne. "But it’s okay for me, because I’m not an official. I won’t go to jail for taking a present from Auntie. If Auntie is willing to buy me a Transformer, Leah will help you keep your secret."

Now she understood. The little kid was blackmailing her.

"Fine, Auntie will buy it for you later!"

"Really? I want the newest Transformer, the super cool one."

The moment she heard this, Leah Sutton started dancing with joy. She was finally getting a new toy.

Kids were so easy to please. A new toy was all it took to make them happy.

Leah Sutton, afraid Georgia Thorne would go back on her word, insisted they make a pinky promise. Whoever broke it was a puppy.

When the banquet ended, Georgia Thorne headed back with Jared Thorne and the others.

On the way, Georgia Thorne sent a message to Elliot Sheridan. "I don’t think I can make it back tonight. You should just go home."

The person on the other end replied quickly. "Don’t let other men drink for you in the future."

"Okay!"

Georgia Thorne replied cheerfully and put her phone away.

Hayley Sullivan and Jared Thorne rode in a separate car, while Georgia Thorne was in the same car as Amanda Thorne.

Amanda Thorne was on the phone with a close friend, complaining about the news that Elliot Sheridan was already married.

"Wait, are you serious?" Amanda Thorne grew excited. "Where did you get the photo? Send it to me, let me see!"

Amanda Thorne immediately hung up. A moment later, her friend sent her a photo.

Georgia Thorne only took a curious glance, but her heart skipped a beat.

You never mistake a photo of yourself.

The photo was from the day she had gone to find Elliot Sheridan in his underground parking garage.

’I can’t believe someone secretly took a picture.’

Georgia Thorne’s heart pounded nervously. She had known Amanda Thorne for at least ten years, but she had no idea if Amanda would recognize her.

In the picture, she was wearing a face mask that covered most of her face. That, combined with the dark environment, made the resulting photo incredibly blurry.

Plus, Elliot Sheridan’s body was blocking most of her. ’She probably can’t tell it’s me, right?’

Amanda Thorne stared at the photo, her brow furrowing tighter and tighter. It seemed like she recognized her, yet at the same time, she didn’t.

Georgia Thorne was in a state of panic, her heart beating so fast it felt like it would leap out of her throat.

This lasted until Amanda Thorne called her friend back. "The photo is so dark, who can tell what that woman looks like!"

"Are you sure that woman is Joanne Donovan? I can’t see it at all!" Amanda Thorne paused for a moment, then added, "It can’t be Joanne Donovan. If it were really her, why would Elliot Sheridan have gotten married so quietly?"

Amanda Thorne didn’t know Joanne Donovan well, but she knew all women shared a common trait.

When your man is the most powerful and influential person in all of Portmire, how could you not publicize the marriage?

Joanne Donovan was proud and arrogant; if she were marrying Elliot Sheridan, she would definitely demand a lavish wedding. It was impossible for her to be this low-key, so it couldn’t be her.

If it wasn’t her, then who was this other woman?

Someone who just appeared out of nowhere, with no prior news?

Listening to Amanda Thorne and her friend analyze the situation, Georgia Thorne truly felt that women were born detectives, dissecting things so logically.

She subconsciously tightened her grip on the ring on her finger. ’If Amanda knew the person she was looking for was me, she would definitely go crazy with rage.’

Upon returning to the Thorne Family home, Georgia Thorne wanted to hurry upstairs but was called into the study by Jared Thorne.

She subconsciously had a bad feeling.

Georgia Thorne sat primly at the desk, looking at Jared Thorne before her. "Dad, is there something you need?"

"You’re not young anymore. It’s time you got married. Do you have anyone suitable in mind? If not, I’ll have your stepmother find a few men for you to meet."

Georgia Thorne hadn’t expected it to be about her marriage again.

’Jared Thorne is so shameless,’ she thought, ’to be scheming about me again.’

How many decent men could Hayley Sullivan possibly find for her? They were either widowers or idle, lecherous womanizers—all complete duds.

Georgia Thorne refused. "I don’t want to go on blind dates. I’m still young, I just graduated. I want to work first!"

"Work on what!" Seeing her resist, Jared Thorne slammed his hand on the table. "A woman’s duty is to stay at home, support her husband, and raise children! Your stepmother has found a few decent men for you. You will go meet them tomorrow!"

"I won’t go!"

"You dare!"

"I said I’m not going!" Georgia Thorne enunciated each word, her face set in a rarely seen expression of severity.

Georgia Thorne had been with Elliot Sheridan for so long that when she got angry, she radiated the same aura as him.

Jared Thorne felt that Georgia Thorne had changed. She was a world away from the puppet she used to be.

Stared at by Georgia Thorne, a chill unexpectedly rose in his heart, and cold sweat trickled up his back.

"Insolent!" Jared Thorne straightened his back. "You don’t have the right to refuse."

Georgia Thorne let out a cold laugh. "It’s my life. Why don’t I have the right to refuse? Or do you want to see me end up like my big sister? Married, her husband cheats, and she ends up divorced with a child?"

Jared Thorne was at a loss for words, mumbling woodenly, "Your big sister was an exception."

"An exception? Ha! Can you guarantee that this ’exception’ won’t happen to me?!"

Georgia Thorne stood up. "Whatever schemes you’re plotting, I won’t agree to any of them."

After dropping that line, Georgia Thorne couldn’t stand to look at Jared Thorne’s hypocritical face any longer and turned to leave the room.

She didn’t look back, even as Jared Thorne shouted loudly for her from behind.

"Stepmother, I’m heading upstairs now!" Georgia Thorne glanced at Hayley Sullivan by the door, her tone neither servile nor overbearing.

This was probably the first time she had ever defied Jared Thorne’s word.

As for the consequences, she could more or less imagine what they would be.

The ways they could threaten her were few and predictable.

Without Elliot Sheridan’s arms around her, it was hard to fall asleep.

She threw back the covers, got out of bed, and went to brush her teeth and wash her face.

However, when she twisted the doorknob, she was surprised to find the door wouldn’t open.

’How could this be?’

Georgia Thorne tried a few more times, but it still wouldn’t budge.

The door wasn’t broken. It had been locked from the outside.

"Open the door! Hurry up and open the door! Is anyone out there!" Georgia Thorne pounded on the door.

The door rattled under her blows, but no one answered from the other side!

Georgia Thorne yelled for a long time, but still no one responded.

’Just because I refused to go on a blind date, they locked me up?’

Georgia Thorne angrily sat back down on the bed, her throat sore from shouting.

’Right, I still have my phone!’

’I refuse to believe they can really keep me locked up!’

She looked for her phone, searching the entire room, but couldn’t find it anywhere.

’That’s strange. I clearly remember putting my phone on the nightstand. How could it be gone?’

Georgia Thorne broke out in a sweat from searching and finally sat down on the bed, exhausted.

They must have snuck into her room after she fell asleep and taken her phone.

Locked in, she had no way to get out.

Around noon, the butler came upstairs to deliver some food.

"Miss, here is your food."

The door opened just a crack. As the butler passed in a tray of food, she could clearly see a chain on the door!

Georgia Thorne rushed over in a fury. "Open the door! You have no right to lock me up!"

She pulled hard on the door, but her strength was nowhere near enough.

The butler said worriedly, "The master said that you’ll be let out whenever you agree to go on the blind dates!"

’Heh, am I living in ancient times?’

Georgia Thorne sneered, "If I don’t go, are you planning to lock me up for the rest of my life?"

The butler looked troubled. That was indeed what the madam meant, but it was difficult to say it to Georgia Thorne’s face.

"Miss, please just agree!"

"You tell them I absolutely refuse to go!"

She wouldn’t go even if she starved to death.

The butler was in a difficult position. "Miss, the madam asked me to give you these photos!"

Georgia Thorne didn’t reach out to take them. He placed the photos on the tray and then closed the door.

Hearing the sound of the lock clicking shut, Georgia Thorne’s heart grew even colder.

She sat on the bed, and that was how she spent the entire afternoon.

As evening fell, Georgia Thorne, who had been dazed all day, suddenly heard voices from outside.

"Well? Did she agree?"

"No, the Third Miss hasn’t made up her mind yet!"

It was the sound of Hayley Sullivan talking with the butler.

A moment later, she heard the rattling of the chain, and Georgia Thorne twisted her stiff neck to look at the door.

Hayley Sullivan had clearly just returned from outside, dressed luxuriously. "Have you thought it over?"

"Not going!" Georgia Thorne spat out the two words resolutely.

The man in the photo was an old man in his forties or fifties. Hayley Sullivan would never pick anyone good for her.

"Not going? Then stay locked up!" Hayley Sullivan looked down at the food by her feet and ordered the butler to take it away.

Hayley Sullivan showed Georgia Thorne no mercy, telling the butler to close the door.

"Since she’s not eating, don’t bother bringing her anything starting tomorrow!"

"Madam, I don’t think that’s a good idea!" the butler said with concern. A person can’t go too long without food.

"What’s not good about it? This is her own choice!" Hayley Sullivan said cruelly. "When she’s so hungry she can’t stand it anymore, she’ll come begging me!"

Inside the room, Georgia Thorne heard Hayley Sullivan’s words and clenched her fists in anger.

Her room was very small, with the door as the only exit. If she wanted to escape, there was only one other way out: the window.