Secret Marriage: The CEO's Pampered Wife

The moment Sharon Ennis mentioned William, Elliot Sheridan’s expression soured. He shook off Sharon’s hand. "Georgia is still waiting for me downstairs. I’m heading back."

"Alright, you two go on back," Sharon said, waving at him helplessly. She had to stay and keep vigil tonight.

Georgia Thorne practically flew down the stairs to the main entrance. She breathed a sigh of relief when she didn’t see Elliot.

Standing behind the glass doors, she saw an ambulance parked at the entrance. Paramedics wheeled a patient in, and a gust of cold air swept over Georgia, a bone-chilling wind.

The weather was getting colder and colder. Still sick with a cold, Georgia sneezed from the chill.

Elliot stepped out of the elevator and saw Georgia standing at the entrance with her back to him. He strode over, took her hand, and cradled it in his palm. "Are you cold?"

Georgia nodded. The tip of her nose was bright red, and you could even see the tiny blood vessels.

"Let’s go home."

"Okay!"

Georgia’s hands were cold. She took the initiative to slip her hand into his coat pocket for warmth, gripping Elliot’s hand tightly. A wave of warmth instantly washed over her.

On the way back, it suddenly started to snow. Georgia pressed her face against the window, watching the crystal-clear snowflakes drift onto the glass. "It’s so beautiful!"

"I’ve never seen Portmire covered in snow before!" Georgia turned to look at him, pointing at the heavy snow outside. "Do you think there will be any accumulation by morning?"

"No."

Portmire was a southern city; a heavy snowfall like this only happened once every decade or so.

This winter was colder than usual. A cold front had swept the entire country, which was why Portmire had suddenly started to snow.

At a red light, he reached out and gently pinched Georgia’s disappointed face. "When we have time, I’ll take you to the north."

"To the north, to see the snow?" Georgia asked. "Won’t it be really cold?"

"We’ll just have to bundle up."

Georgia stuck her tongue out playfully and went back to watching the falling snow from the window.

After they got home, Georgia took her medicine and went to bed early.

In the middle of the night, her fever spiked. Elliot sensed something was wrong and woke her up.

Georgia just wanted to sleep, so groggy she could barely open her eyes. "What’s wrong?"

"You have a fever. Get dressed. I’m taking you to the hospital."

Georgia was speechless. "..."

The number of patients who came for IV drips in the middle of the night was surprisingly high. The infusion room was packed, likely because of the cold weather.

Georgia leaned on Elliot’s shoulder, exhausted and wanting to sleep, but Elliot kept talking to her to keep her awake.

"Honey, I’m so sleepy!" Georgia let out a huge yawn. Elliot touched her forehead. "You’re still burning up."

They had to wait half an hour just to register. Finally, it was Georgia’s turn.

The doctor asked about her condition, took her temperature—102.2°F—and said she needed an IV.

The two of them had completely different reactions to hearing she had a fever of 102.2°F.

Elliot frowned; her temperature had only been a little over 100°F when he checked at home. Georgia, on the other hand, was just confused. ’How can my fever be that high when I don’t feel it at all?’

She needed an IV. As Georgia sat in the overcrowded room, a nurse came to insert the needle.

To be honest, Georgia was afraid of sharp, thin objects like needles. The very thought of a cold metal tube piercing her vein sent a chill down her spine.

Georgia fearfully pulled her hand back. The nurse couldn’t get a good grip and, holding the needle, looked at her. "Are you afraid of needles?"

Georgia nodded sheepishly. "Is there any way I can avoid the shot? Can I take pills instead?"

"Your fever is too high. An IV is necessary." The nurse confidently grabbed Georgia’s hand. "Don’t worry, I’m very good at this. It won’t hurt."

Georgia had a bad history with IVs. She remembered the last time she’d gotten one alone at the hospital; the nurse had been terrible, poking her hand several times before finally getting the needle in.

"Miss, please relax. Don’t make a fist." The nurse tapped the back of her hand to make the vein pop up.

"Wait!" Georgia stopped her urgently, swallowing hard. "Just... a little longer."

"Miss, I have a lot of other patients waiting. Please don’t waste my time. Little kids are braver than you."

"..." Georgia was speechless.

Suddenly, a large hand covered her eyes. The warmth of the palm spread through her eyelids as she heard his voice say to the nurse, "You can do it now."

Georgia had a complex about it. When someone was giving her a shot, she had to watch, but then seeing it made her too scared to go through with it.

But now, with her vision blocked by Elliot, and with him by her side, her anxious heart inexplicably calmed down.

The nurse blushed the moment she saw such a handsome man. She couldn’t help but stare at Elliot for a few extra seconds, her eyes filled with adoration.

Elliot said in a gentle voice, "Miss, could you please hurry? My wife is waiting."

"Oh, oh, of course." The nurse coughed repeatedly, lowering her head, not knowing where to look as she held the needle.

The nurse’s movements were swift and professional. She held down the back of Georgia’s hand, inserted the needle with ease, and then released the tourniquet.

Feeling the cold liquid enter her vein, Georgia couldn’t help but squeeze Elliot’s hand tightly. "Is it done?"

"Yes." Elliot let go of her eyes. Georgia let out a barely audible sigh of relief. "It’s so cold."

"Let’s get this blanket on you." Elliot covered Georgia’s knees with a blanket. Then, worried she was still cold, he took off his own overcoat and draped it over her.

"No, you wear it. You must be cold, too!"

"I’m fine." Elliot insisted on draping the coat over her shoulders, explaining, "There’s heating in here, and my hands are warmer than yours."

The last part was convincing; his hands were indeed nice and warm.

"How did you get a blanket so fast?" Georgia asked, wrapped in his overcoat. Afraid he would get cold, she shared half of it with him, and they huddled under it together.

"It wasn’t far," Elliot said, gently pressing her head onto his shoulder. "Lean on me and get some sleep. I’ll watch the drip. When it’s finished, I’ll wake you."

Georgia really was too sleepy to keep her eyes open. She leaned most of her body against Elliot and fell asleep not long after.

But it wasn’t easy to sleep soundly in the overcrowded infusion room. Besides the adults, there were also many small children.

The crying of a child woke Georgia up soon after she had dozed off. She groggily asked Elliot how long she had been asleep. "About ten minutes," he replied.

She looked up at the IV bag. Sure enough, only a little of the fluid had gone in.

Another child started crying nearby. Georgia buried her face in his shoulder. "It’s so noisy."

The words had barely left her lips when the same large hand that had covered her eyes now covered her ear, blocking out the jarring sounds. "Is that better?"

"Much better."

The IV drip lasted nearly until dawn. Elliot didn’t close his eyes the entire night.

Just before daybreak, he took Georgia home.

In the morning, he called in sick for her, gave James Sheridan a few instructions, and then left for work.

When Georgia woke up, it was already past eleven in the morning.

She felt weak and limp. She pushed herself up to a sitting position and saw a note from Elliot on the nightstand. It read, "I’ve already called in sick for you. Rest well at home today."

Georgia picked up her phone, saw the concerned text messages from everyone, and set it aside.

It had been so late when they went for the IV drip last night that she had no idea what time they had gotten back this morning.

She was about to go back to sleep when a knock came at the door, followed by James Sheridan’s voice. "Are you awake?"

"I’m awake. You can come in, Dad!" Georgia answered in a hoarse voice. It hurt her throat terribly to speak any louder.

James came in carrying a cup of ginger tea. "Here, drink this. It’s good for you."

"Thank you, Dad!"

"This ginger tea needs to be drunk while it’s hot, or it loses its effect." James was still a bit nervous being alone with his daughter-in-law, afraid his blunt way of speaking would frighten Georgia.

But speaking softly wasn’t his style, so he could only try to slow down his speech as much as possible.

James was nervous, and so was Georgia. She felt that her father-in-law, with his stony face, seemed even more serious than usual.

This time, Elliot wasn’t around to drink the rest of the ginger tea for her, so she had no choice but to pinch her nose and gulp it all down in one go.

The sight reminded James of a time when Selena Sheridan was little and had to be forced to take her medicine.

One time, Selena had been mischievous, running off to play in the water with her friends the day before and coming back soaked. The next day, she caught a cold.

He couldn’t bring himself to scold or punish her. Back then, he was the one who had brought Selena her medicine. She had complained it was too bitter, wrinkling her little face and asking James to pinch her nose so she couldn’t smell it before she would agree to take it.

Not that the medicine did any good, because Selena had thrown it all up on him after drinking half of it.

After finishing the tea, Georgia felt as if her entire body reeked of ginger. It was an awful smell.

James asked with concern, "Are you hungry? If you are, I can bring some food up for you."

"I don’t really feel like eating right now."

Georgia was extremely drowsy. After drinking the ginger tea, she wrapped herself in the blankets and fell asleep, sweating profusely.

The next time she woke, it was afternoon, and she heard someone speaking softly by her ear.

"You’re awake? Your dad said you didn’t eat anything this morning. I brought up some congee for you. Sit up and have a little." Sharon Ennis had seen her wake up.

Georgia mumbled in agreement. Sharon placed the congee aside and helped her sit up. "How did your cold get worse again? I heard from Elliot that you two rushed to the hospital again last night."

Georgia took a sip of the congee and asked out of the blue, "Did you put sugar in it?"

"I did. Elliot said you like sugar in your plain congee. It’s all dissolved by now."

’My cold really must be worse,’ Georgia thought. She couldn’t taste a thing.

The warm congee settled in her stomach, and her body felt much warmer. "You should sleep a little more," Sharon said. "It’s still early."