Chapter 146: Chapter 142: I’m Willing to Marry, I’m Just Afraid She Isn’t
A wave of awkwardness hung in the air around them.
Her unusual mood prompted Byron Shaw’s concern. "Georgia, do you want me to go with you?"
"No, it’s fine. I can go by myself."
Clutching the damp part of her skirt, she hurried out.
After asking a waiter for directions, she headed to the restroom.
She was wearing a long, cream-colored dress. The spilled tea had dried quickly, so the stain wasn’t too obvious.
She rinsed it with some water, and once it looked better, she turned off the faucet.
Her reflection in the mirror looked awful, even with makeup on.
Georgia Thorne took her phone out of her pocket and sent a text to Byron Shaw. "Attorney Shaw, I hope this is the last time I have to pretend to be your girlfriend!"
Byron Shaw replied quickly. "Are you mad?"
Georgia glanced at it. Before she could reply, another message came in from Byron.
"If you don’t agree, I can just be honest with my friends. I’m sure Nathan Rhodes wouldn’t mind."
"No, it’s fine. I’ll consider this favor repayment for you helping my sister with her lawsuit for free, Attorney Shaw."
Putting her phone away, Georgia glanced at her reflection in the mirror and took a deep breath.
’Running into my ex is no big deal,’ she thought, giving herself a silent pep talk. ’At worst, I’ll just pretend I don’t see him.’
When she returned to the private room, Nathan Rhodes’s laughter had eased the atmosphere somewhat.
The two other men sat to one side, sipping tea and not saying a word.
"You’re back!" Nathan Rhodes waved at her happily.
Throughout the meal, Georgia Thorne barely said a word.
Byron Shaw was very attentive, periodically placing food in her bowl until it was piled high.
Georgia had a small appetite and ate very little. "No more, please. I’m full."
She looked apologetically at the chopsticks Byron Shaw extended toward her again.
His expression didn’t stiffen. Instead, he sighed softly. "You’re a grown woman now, but you still eat as little as you used to."
The words sounded like an intimate whisper between lovers. Anyone who heard it would never suspect they were faking it.
Georgia gave a dry laugh and lowered her head. ’I have to admit,’ she thought, ’Byron Shaw’s acting is flawless.’
’I wonder how he’s reacting.’
She snuck a peek at Elliot Sheridan out of the corner of her eye. At some point, he had ordered alcohol and was now sitting alone.
He wasn’t talking to Nathan Rhodes, just drinking sullenly, slamming his glass down on the table.
Every THUD felt like a blow to Georgia’s own heart, making it beat wildly.
She lowered her gaze. It felt like a ball of cotton was stuffed in her chest, a suffocating pressure she couldn’t breathe in or out.
Nathan Rhodes was classmates with both Elliot Sheridan and Byron Shaw.
He’d known one in college and the other while studying abroad.
Listening to Nathan talk about their past, she found she couldn’t get a word in and could only listen quietly.
Georgia had never heard Elliot talk about his past. She was much younger than him.
When Elliot was in college, what was she doing? ’Playing in the mud, probably?’
She suddenly remembered Selena once mentioning Elliot’s first love. ’Could it be Nathan Rhodes?’
Nathan was in the middle of a story when he turned to Georgia beside him. "By the way, when you were in college, did you have a campus celebrity like Elliot?"
The topic suddenly shifted to Georgia. Three men, six eyes, all fixed on her face.
Georgia gave an unnatural smile. She had never paid attention to that sort of thing in college.
"There were two or three. The most famous was probably Zane Lennox."
He was the only campus celebrity she could think of off the top of her head.
"He’s the guy who brought you to Joanne Donovan’s birthday party, right?"
Georgia nodded. "He’s my senior."
Nathan Rhodes smiled. To be honest, when he first heard Byron Shaw introduce Georgia as his girlfriend, his first reaction was that she was two-timing him.
When he saw her attend a conference with Zane Lennox last time, he’d assumed they were a couple.
Nathan Rhodes studied Georgia for a moment. Seeing her open expression, with nothing to hide, he didn’t dwell on it.
"Our Attorney Shaw is a good man. A young talent, successful, earns millions a year. If you marry him, you’ll be set for life!"
Georgia just smiled without replying. It was Byron Shaw, sitting opposite them, who joked, "I’d love to marry her, but I’m afraid she’s not willing!"
"No way! You’re the great Attorney Shaw. How many men in all of Portmire are as outstanding as you? Elliot, right?" Nathan Rhodes winked at Elliot Sheridan.
Elliot gulped down the harsh liquor, his icy gaze cutting into Georgia like a knife.
He gave no answer.
The dinner ended around eight o’clock. Elliot and Nathan left first.
With only the two of them left in the private room, the atmosphere was quiet.
After a moment, Byron Shaw spoke gently. "Thanks for your help today."
"Attorney Shaw, you’re too kind. If anything, I should be thanking you. Your fee for a single case is in the millions. Thanks to you, we were spared that expense."
Georgia was angry that he’d made her pretend to be his girlfriend without her consent, so her tone was naturally sharp.
After Selena Sheridan was discharged from the hospital, she didn’t go anywhere. Her rotten Second Uncle sent her straight to Miss Sheridan’s house.
She was there for a whole week.
Miss Sheridan’s life was very regimented. She got up at six in the morning and was in bed by eight at night.
How could Selena Sheridan endure such torture? Those days were pure agony for her.
Finally, after a week, she couldn’t take it anymore.
She quickly called her Second Uncle to beg for mercy.
Elliot had given her permission to go home that morning, and by noon, she had her bags packed.
"Great-Grandma, I’ll come visit you often!" Selena Sheridan said with a coquettish smile.
"You little rascal, don’t think I don’t know you. You can’t wait to get away from me, and you’re talking about visiting often!" The old woman turned from a pot of orchids and shot her a glare.
Selena stuck out her tongue. "That’s not true! I love you the most, Great-Grandma!"
The old woman huffed twice. "Next time you come, remember to bring that good friend of yours so I can have a look."
"Okay, okay, I will! I’m heading out, Great-Grandma!"
Selena was just focused on leaving as quickly as possible. She gave a hurried wave to Miss Sheridan and ducked into the car.
It didn’t even occur to her to wonder why her great-grandmother wanted to meet her good friend.
The person who came to pick her up was Elliot’s driver.
Today was a Sheridan family dinner, so the driver took her directly to the family home.
Selena hadn’t been back to the Sheridan estate in a while. During the time after her car accident, Elliot had covered for her, saying she’d gone on a trip with friends. Then she’d been summoned by the old matriarch.
Hillary had been waiting at the door for a long time. When she saw her daughter get out of the car, she exclaimed, "My dear girl, I haven’t seen you in half a month. How did you get so thin!"
In the first few days after being hospitalized, symptoms from the car crash had caused her to lose her appetite. Eating less, she had naturally lost weight.
She gave her mother a mischievous wink. "Following Great-Grandma around, all we did was eat vegetarian food and chant sutras. There was no meat! How could I not lose weight?"
"You little rascal! If your great-grandmother heard you say that, you’d get another spanking!"
"It’s windy out here, Mom. Don’t catch a cold. Let’s go inside and talk." Selena put her arm around Hillary and led her in.
"You said you were traveling for the past few days, but you didn’t call or even text me. Do you have any idea how worried I was?"
"Oh, Mom, I’m an adult now. What’s there to worry about? Besides, I didn’t go alone. I went with my friend."
"You silly girl. Mom was worried, and now you won’t even let me say a few words about it!"
"Of course not! You’re the best mom in the whole world!" Selena obediently linked her arm with Hillary’s and looked around.
Before Hillary could say anything else, she changed the subject. "Where’s Dad?"
"Your dad and your Second Uncle are talking in the study."
Selena said, "Oh," then happily rushed over to Sharon Ennis. "Grandma, I haven’t seen you in so long! I missed you to death!"
"You little scamp, how was your trip?"
"It was so much fun!"
"As long as you had fun."
The Sheridans almost never doubted Elliot’s word.
Everyone thought Selena had gone away to get over a broken heart. The girl was truly in love with that Justin Sullivan, even causing a scene about jumping off a building for him. Following Elliot’s advice, no one dared to call and add to her stress.
Just as Selena was happily chatting with Sharon and Hillary, a loud CRASH from upstairs startled everyone.
A few seconds later, Elliot came down the stairs, his face dark and grim.
Carter Sheridan followed close behind. "Elliot, do you have to be like this?"
Elliot turned his head, staring at him with a vicious glare, his whole body radiating a cold aura.
His dark eyes were bloodshot as he spoke harshly, "If you can’t do it, I don’t mind doing it for you!"
With that, the man turned decisively and strode toward the exit.
"Elliot? Elliot!" Carter called after him, but he didn’t turn back.
"Elliot, where are you going? Aren’t you staying for dinner?"
Sharon Ennis stood up from the sofa and hurried to the door, blocking Elliot’s path. "What’s wrong with you now?"
"It’s nothing. I have a business dinner tonight. I’m leaving."
His stern profile and rugged jawline were tense. He glanced at Sharon and walked out.
Sharon was stunned. She turned back to her eldest son. "Did you two have a fight?"
In her memory, Elliot rarely argued with anyone, mainly because he disdained to.
"What’s going on with you two? What were you fighting about?"
"It’s nothing, just a disagreement at work." Carter’s face was clearly weary. He grabbed his suit jacket from the sofa. "I also have a dinner engagement tonight, so I won’t be staying."
"Sigh, you’re leaving too?"
Sharon sighed, watching them both leave one after the other. ’It was supposed to be a nice day,’ she thought. ’What is happening?’
"Why did Second Uncle fight with my dad? Aren’t they usually the closest?" Selena muttered.
