Chapter 121: Chapter 121: She Calls You Uncle (2)
Elliot Sheridan was woken by her movements. He grabbed her shoulders and rolled over to press down on her, but Georgia Thorne hastily stopped him. "Don’t. I have to go to work today."
Besides, she was truly exhausted from last night. He had said three times, and it was exactly three times. There was no room for negotiation at all!
’What an unrestrained man!’
Elliot finally let her go, but not because of her pleading.
Georgia emerged from the bathroom after her shower, already dressed.
’This man must be up to something,’ she thought. ’Why else would he have a change of clothes ready for her?’
Elliot was standing by the window, still on the phone.
A cigarette was pinched between his fingers, the line of his handsome profile taut. He was a mature, steady man.
Georgia found her phone and saw several messages, all from Nancy Hughes.
Nancy had sent her an image on WeChat, followed by three huge exclamation points.
Is this you?!
No matter how I look at it, the woman in this picture looks just like you!
No wonder you didn’t come home again last night. You actually went and got a room with our CEO!
Nancy had sent a flurry of messages, but she must have given up after not getting a reply.
Georgia enlarged the image. It was a photo of Elliot carrying her, right at the hotel entrance.
’So someone really is taking secret photos of Elliot.’
Georgia asked Nancy where she had seen the photo.
Nancy replied instantly: This morning, the two of you were all over Weibo!
Georgia had a Weibo account herself. She opened the app to take a look but didn’t see any news about Elliot.
It was only after she clicked on the trending topics and saw the two words "Elliot Sheridan" that she tapped in for a look.
The headline read: "Elliot Sheridan Gets a Hotel Room with a Woman Late at Night, Suspected to be the Top Beauty of the Socialite Circle."
Below it were several photos of her and Elliot—some from the restaurant entrance, and others of him carrying her at the hotel entrance.
Georgia clutched her chest. No wonder Elliot had wanted her to be completely covered up yesterday.
’Thankfully, I was so thoroughly disguised that even I couldn’t recognize myself.’
In this age of advanced internet technology, that single news item had already been retweeted forty to fifty thousand times, and the view count had already surpassed ten million.
Countless people had even left comments under the post.
A quick scan revealed that most of them were from Elliot Sheridan’s "harem wives" fan club.
"What are you looking at?"
Georgia was so engrossed that she didn’t notice when Elliot had walked up beside her.
"I think we were secretly photographed!" Georgia handed her phone to Elliot, who glanced at it. "Don’t worry about it."
Georgia looked at the comments. Many were shedding tears over losing a "great husband" like Elliot, and many more were cursing out Amanda Thorne.
The power of public opinion nowadays was terrifying. All sorts of insults were being thrown around, and it made Georgia uncomfortable just reading them.
’Everyone... thinks I’m Amanda Thorne?’
Little did she know, this group of particularly vicious commenters were all paid trolls hired by Joanne Donovan.
They were slinging the nastiest insults they could think of at Amanda Thorne.
As soon as the story broke, reporters began staking out the hotel entrance, hoping to be the first to interview Elliot Sheridan.
After Georgia finished her breakfast, the man had already changed into a sharp suit.
He glanced at his watch. "In a bit, Owen Sawyer will take you to work."
He leaned down and kissed the corner of Georgia’s mouth. Georgia nodded shyly and reached out to adjust his necktie.
"Be good. We might not be able to see each other for a few days. Remember to miss me."
"I know!"
Georgia grabbed her bag and left with Owen Sawyer.
Elliot Sheridan left through the main entrance, drawing the attention of all the reporters, while Georgia followed Owen through a discreet passage to a low-key car and departed.
The car quickly arrived at the building where Georgia’s company was located. Owen said respectfully, "Miss Thorne, goodbye."
"Secretary Sawyer, goodbye." Georgia pushed the door open and hurried into the company building.
Owen Sawyer reversed the car, his mind racing.
Seeing the news this morning, he suddenly understood why Elliot Sheridan had maintained a connection with Amanda Thorne for the past three years.
Last night’s paparazzi photos must have been Joanne Donovan’s doing.
Joanne thought the person who had dinner and got a hotel room with Elliot was Amanda Thorne, so she deliberately orchestrated this scene to brand Amanda as a homewrecker for good.
By single-mindedly targeting Amanda Thorne, Joanne had inadvertently ensured Georgia Thorne’s safety.
’The CEO’s move... truly brilliant,’ he thought.
The moment Georgia got back to the company, Nancy Hughes sent several voice messages in a row.
She put on her headphones and listened. "Georgia," Nancy’s voice said, "has your man hidden you away or something? How could they possibly think you’re Amanda Thorne? Well, this is just great. Last time, Joanne Donovan already called her a homewrecker and made it so she couldn’t show her face in public. Now that they’ve supposedly gotten a hotel room, who knows what Joanne will do to her!"
Georgia didn’t dare to speculate, since she had never met this Joanne Donovan woman.
Perhaps someone else had leaked the information.
In her voice message, Nancy was utterly convinced that Joanne was behind all these recent incidents, her goal being none other than to clear out the women around Elliot Sheridan.
’Who would be willing to see a flock of women surrounding their fiancé!’
In the afternoon, just as Georgia returned from meeting a client, Nancy urged her to check the news, saying that Joanne Donovan had cried during an interview.
Curious, Georgia glanced at the interview content, which included a few photos of Joanne shedding tears.
That morning, Elliot had answered a few questions at the hotel entrance.
He had clearly stated to the reporters that the engagement was merely a verbal agreement between their elders and that he himself was not aware of it—which was tantamount to publicly denying the engagement. He also specifically emphasized that Miss Thorne was a good woman, worthy of any man’s pursuit.
Georgia watched the video of Elliot’s interview and thought the man was a bit cunning.
’He only said "Miss Thorne," deliberately blurring the reporters’ focus.’
There were plenty of women with the surname Thorne in this world.
No one, not even Joanne Donovan, made the connection to Georgia Thorne. In fact, they didn’t even know such a person existed.
Georgia didn’t watch Joanne Donovan’s subsequent interview.
Even though she knew he had no real relationship with Joanne, hearing the things Joanne said, as if they were true, would still make her feel uncomfortable.
’If I don’t watch it, I won’t get upset.’
In the evening, Georgia went to the supermarket to buy ingredients, planning to make a nice meal.
When she returned to her apartment, she was greeted by the lively and energetic Blue.
Blue wasn’t shy. Georgia bent down to pick it up, and it settled obediently in her arms.
It was probably hungry, as it kept rubbing its head against the back of Georgia’s hand.
"There, there. I’ll get you something to eat right away." Georgia smoothed its fur, and Blue meowed comfortably.
Georgia set it down on the floor and went to get the cat food.
Blue was very smart. It meowed—MEOW, MEOW—and stood up, pawing at Georgia’s pant leg.
It gazed up with its blue eyes and let out another meow, so cute that Georgia’s heart melted.
She placed the bowl filled with cat food on the floor, and Blue immediately began to eat.
Once it had eaten and drunk its fill, Blue stopped bothering Georgia and went to sleep on the sofa.
Nancy came home relatively early tonight, arriving before Georgia had even finished cooking.
"Quick, let me see! Let me see how radiant a woman who’s been well-loved by her man looks." Nancy sat at the dining table, resting her chin on one hand.
She watched with a mischievous grin as Georgia brought out a dish. "Whoa, look at that rosy complexion. Even I can’t resist, and I’m a woman! Elliot Sheridan must have absolutely devoured you last night!"
"What are you talking about!" Georgia shot her a glare. The crude, unfiltered words made her ears burn.
She turned and went back into the kitchen as Nancy shouted after her, "Don’t be shy!"
That night, as Georgia was playing with Blue, she wondered if she should take the initiative and call Elliot Sheridan.
