Secret Marriage: The CEO's Pampered Wife

James Sheridan loved Ethan Fletcher’s family’s secret brew, especially the seven-year-old vintage. His face flushed with joy as he laughed heartily. "Excellent!"

James Sheridan didn’t have a specific gift for Georgia Thorne, so he just gave her a red envelope on the spot.

During the New Year, everyone was relaxing. Sharon Ennis suggested that Elliot Sheridan take Georgia out for a trip to unwind.

The winter was particularly cold this year, with daytime high temperatures of only three degrees. Elliot Sheridan took Georgia Thorne on a trip to Simara. Of course, the shameless third wheel, Selena Sheridan, insisted on tagging along.

Selena Sheridan used to be a bit afraid of Elliot Sheridan, but now with Georgia Thorne around, it was like she had a trump card.

Anything she wanted to do, Elliot would refuse. But as soon as she brought Georgia into it, Elliot would agree.

Such favoritism!

The temperature in Simara could even be described as hot. It was like a completely different season compared to Portmire.

As soon as Georgia and the others arrived in Simara, they shed their heavy down jackets and changed into summer clothes.

The day before they left for the trip, Selena Sheridan had specifically dragged Georgia Thorne to the mall to buy a few dresses.

Georgia was wearing a long dress. The moment she stepped out of the hotel, she was blinded by the harsh sun. Elliot, who was beside her, placed a pair of sunglasses on her nose. "Let’s go!"

Since they were in Simara, they were naturally going to have a good time. They were traveling independently, and Georgia was envious listening to Elliot converse fluently with the locals.

They stayed in Simara for five days, wandering around and taking in the sights.

What was Simara most famous for? The ladyboys.

Georgia Thorne and Selena Sheridan had wanted to see Simara’s ladyboys for a long, long time. They had even talked about them back when they were in high school.

Selena Sheridan had always wanted to see the ladyboys, and that was a big reason why she had shamelessly tagged along on this trip.

Selena excitedly brought up the ladyboys, wanting to take Georgia with her to see a show.

This time, even when she used Georgia as leverage, Elliot still refused.

"We’re not going!"

’Ladyboys. Even though they looked like women on the outside, they were still essentially men.’

’What’s so interesting about watching a group of men dressed up as women?’

Selena whined, "Come on, Uncle Elliot, just let us go see them once! It would be such a shame to come all the way to Simara and not even get a glimpse of the ladyboys!"

No matter how much Selena begged and pleaded, Elliot wouldn’t budge.

Selena tried to be a nuisance, staying in Elliot and Georgia’s room and refusing to leave. Of course, Elliot eventually just kicked her out.

Georgia scratched her head. "Actually, I really do want to see them. Lots of people do."

She was talking about the ladyboys of Simara.

"Selena is single, but you’re a married woman. You’re not allowed to look at other men!"

Actually, getting Elliot to give in was a very simple matter.

The next day, a sullen Selena was so happy when she heard Georgia say they were going to see the ladyboys that night that she nearly rolled off the bed. "Georgia! How did you convince my uncle? You’re amazing!"

Georgia gave a wry laugh. ’It wasn’t through persuasion,’ she thought. ’I had to please him with my body.’

Having taken advantage of the situation and received Georgia’s promise, Elliot finally agreed to take the two of them.

In reality, once they saw the actual ladyboys, their eyes were practically glued to them. Who had time to remember any promise made to Elliot?

The whole "not even a single glance" thing was a total lie.

Elliot was disgusted by the ladyboys, mainly because he’d been hit on by one during a business dinner on a previous trip to Simara.

His tastes weren’t as "heavy" as some people’s, and he wasn’t into that kind of thing, so he’d had the person thrown out immediately.

That night, Selena hugged Georgia. "This is great! I’ve finally fulfilled one of my dreams!"

The music in the bar was loud, and Georgia couldn’t hear her. "What did you say?"

Selena leaned in and shouted in her ear. Georgia burst out laughing. "Your dream was to see the ladyboys?!"

It had to be said, Selena Sheridan was a woman of great ambition.

The vacation came to an end. It was already nine o’clock when their flight landed back in Portmire.

The moment they stepped off the plane, they were hit by a blast of cold air. The biting wind stung their faces.

"Wow, it’s actually snowing!" Selena breathed out a puff of warm air and held out her hand, catching a snowflake on her fingertip that immediately melted into water.

It rarely snowed in Portmire, and this was a heavy one. When they woke up the next morning, they found the ground covered in a layer of white.

Poor Georgia, having gone from hot to cold, had caught a cold. And to make matters worse, she also got her period.

The menstrual cramps were severe, so painful that her face turned pale. Elliot called the family doctor to see Georgia.

"If the pain is really this bad, you should go to the hospital for a check-up," the family doctor said. He only handled things like colds; gynecology wasn’t his specialty.

Georgia gave a weak "mhm," biting her pale lip. "Thank you, Doctor."

’Maybe I caught a chill, that’s why the cramps are so bad.’

Sharon Ennis was experienced in these matters. She used to have painful periods just like Georgia, but it got better after she had a child and slowly nursed her body back to health.

Georgia wasn’t feeling well and had been sleeping ever since she was put on an IV drip.

She woke up for a moment when Elliot removed the IV needle—the sting of it roused her. She groggily opened her eyes, drank a little water, and fell asleep again.

She slept all the way until evening.

Elliot had finished dinner but was still worried about Georgia, afraid she might wake up suddenly. Just as he was about to head upstairs, Sharon Ennis called out to him. "Wait."

Sharon went into the kitchen and came back with a teacup for him. "Take this ginger tea up to Georgia. It’ll be good for her."

"Got it."

Elliot brought the ginger tea in. Georgia was still asleep, and he had to call her name several times before she woke up.

"Does your stomach still hurt?"

Georgia nodded. Elliot helped her sit up, and she took the cup of ginger tea he offered and took a sip.

She immediately grimaced and stuck out her tongue. "So spicy!"

"Drink all of it."

Georgia drank the ginger tea slowly. When there was still a little less than half left in the cup, she decided she really couldn’t drink anymore. "I’m not drinking it!"

"Be good and finish the rest. Mom’s going to check later," Elliot coaxed her gently. Georgia leaned limply against his shoulder.

’She really couldn’t drink any more; the taste of ginger was awful.’

Her voice thick with congestion, she whined coquettishly, "Why don’t you drink it for me? That way, Mom will never find out!"

At Georgia’s pleading, Elliot took the cup and downed the rest of the ginger tea in one gulp.

"Are you hungry? Should I bring you something to eat?"

Georgia shook her head. "Not hungry. I want to sleep!"

’Sleep again? She’s already slept for an entire day.’

After drinking most of the ginger tea, Georgia’s body, which had been cold all day, finally warmed up. Tucked under the covers, she soon broke out in a sweat.

Unconsciously, she kicked off the blanket, leaving her upper body exposed.

When Elliot came out of the shower, he saw Georgia sleeping with half her body out of the covers and couldn’t help but frown. Luckily, the heat was on in the room; otherwise, her cold would have gotten worse.

He bent down, tucked her hands back into the bed, and pulled the blanket over her. A few seconds later, she pushed it away. He covered her again, and she kicked it off again.

After this happened four or five times, Elliot held Georgia’s shoulders down. She whimpered twice and stopped moving.

He held her there for a moment until he heard Sharon Ennis’s voice at the door.

Elliot went to open the door. "Mom."

"How’s Georgia?"

"She was awake for a little while, but she’s asleep again," Elliot said.

"Did she drink the ginger tea?"

"Yes."

"After drinking the ginger tea, she’ll definitely start to sweat. Keep an eye on her tonight while you sleep and don’t let her kick off the blankets. The best way to get over a cold is to sleep it off and sweat it out. She’ll be better right away."

"I’ll watch her. Mom, you should get some sleep."

He heard a soft moan from Georgia inside the room. He didn’t even have to look to know she’d kicked the blanket off again.

"Alright," Sharon Ennis said. "Oh, right. Come with me to the hospital tomorrow. Aidan Sheridan is clamoring to see you."

"..."

"Aidan is a patient. You’re not allowed to give him the cold shoulder when you go tomorrow. You’re his older brother, can’t you just give in to him a little? How old are you?!" Sharon said, a headache coming on.

"I don’t want to go," Elliot refused flatly.

"Quentin Chase is in the past. I’ve explained it all clearly to Aidan, and he said he understands. He just needs some time to accept Georgia," Sharon Ennis said. "Try to see it from his perspective. If you were in Aidan’s shoes, you’d definitely feel the same way."

"We’ll see."

"What do you mean, ’we’ll see’? Give me a straight answer today. Are you going or not?" Before Sharon could finish, Elliot had already pushed her out the door.

The door closed, shutting out Sharon Ennis’s voice. Elliot turned back to look at the sleeping Georgia on the bed.

Outside, afraid of waking Georgia, Sharon called his name a couple of times before heading downstairs.

James Sheridan was reading the newspaper. "Did he agree to go?"

Sharon let out a short sigh. "It would be great if he did, but you know his temper."

"What are we going to do? It took so much for Elliot to finally move on from Quentin, and now Aidan is refusing to accept it." Sharon sat down next to her husband. "Besides, no one even knows where Quentin is now!"

After all these years, Quentin Chase has never once reappeared before them.

What’s more, Elliot Sheridan was already married to Georgia Thorne now. Even if Quentin Chase came back, it would be pointless.

James Sheridan put down his newspaper. "The young people will figure it out themselves. Let’s go to sleep."

Elliot held Georgia all night. It wasn’t just Georgia who was sweating; he was covered in sweat too.

But the good news was that when Georgia woke up the next morning, her cold had improved.

It was the first workday after the New Year, and Georgia had specifically set an alarm to wake up early.

At the breakfast table, Georgia drank a small bowl of white rice porridge with a lot of sugar. Her nose was stuffed up, and she felt miserable.

"Do you still have a fever?" Sharon Ennis asked with concern.

"I just took my temperature. I still have a slight fever, but it shouldn’t be a big deal." Georgia took the medicine Elliot handed her and swallowed it with the water in front of her.

"I’ll take you to work later."