Chapter 199: Chapter 189: Why Haven’t You Come Out Yet? (2)
After Selena left, Georgia’s phone started ringing in her pocket just a few minutes later.
This time, it was a call from Elliot.
"Come here."
"Huh? What!"
"I’m home. Come to my room."
"But Selena..." Georgia said, but even as she protested, her body was already getting up, disobeying her mind.
"I sent Selena away. She won’t be back for a while."
Georgia was about to ask why he hadn’t gone to the dining room, but the line was already dead.
Georgia nervously slipped out of Selena’s room. She glanced around, and only after making sure no one was there did she dare to peek toward Elliot’s doorway.
The door wasn’t fully shut, leaving a thin crack. ’He must have left it open for me on purpose.’
Holding her breath, Georgia quietly closed Selena’s door behind her and scurried to Elliot’s bedroom like a thief.
Just as she closed the door and turned around, a shadow fell over her from above.
Elliot pinned her against his chest. He lowered his head, a teasing smile in his eyes. "You wanted to have dinner with our parents that badly?"
"Of course not!" She had just been too embarrassed to refuse.
Georgia looked up at his handsome face, now so close to hers. When she remembered how he’d just said "our parents," the tips of her ears began to burn.
"Such a contrary little thing."
Elliot cupped Georgia’s face, leaned down, and captured her lips in a deep, forceful kiss.
"Have you lost weight again?" Elliot asked with a dissatisfied pat on her bottom, then carried her over to the sofa and sat down with her in his lap.
"What excuse did you use to send Selena away?" Georgia asked curiously.
"Nothing much."
"Well, I have to get back soon!" Georgia fidgeted, trying to stand up from Elliot’s lap.
Elliot held her down at the waist. "What’s the hurry!"
"But what if Selena comes back and sees I’m not in the room?" She couldn’t afford to screw up now.
"What do you mean, ’what if’? You’re my legal wife. Am I not allowed to see you?" Elliot pinched her side. "Why don’t we use this chance to introduce you to our parents?"
"N-No..." Georgia shook her head frantically, giving him a sheepish smile.
Georgia stayed in Elliot’s room for a while. They sat cuddling on the sofa, and Elliot stroked her long hair. "By the end of this year," he said, "I will definitely introduce you to my parents."
’The end of this year. That’s the final deadline.’
Georgia wanted to ask to wait a little longer, but when she met his unyielding gaze, she lost her nerve and nodded.
Then, Elliot told Georgia that Selena’s parents were divorcing.
Everyone was worried Selena wouldn’t be able to handle it, so they were keeping it from her for the time being.
Georgia didn’t dare to stay in Elliot’s room for too long, and she hurried back.
When Selena came back to the room, she saw Georgia on the sofa. "Ugh, so frustrating!" she exclaimed.
"What’s wrong?"
"My grandma said my uncle had something for me, so I went downstairs and waited for twenty minutes, but he never showed up!"
Georgia...
’So that was his brilliant excuse for getting Selena out of the way?’
That evening, almost the entire Sheridan family had gathered.
Even Carter Sheridan had returned.
Just like old times, everyone sat together, eating, drinking, and enjoying themselves.
But it was a shame. The people at the table had changed so much.
Still, Carter had come back for Selena, which showed how important his daughter was to him.
As always, Selena was the life of the party. She raised her glass, stood up to toast everyone, and downed her drink in one go.
After sitting down, she grumbled, "It’s such a shame. On a great night like this, my mom is out with her friends!"
Her voice wasn’t soft, and everyone heard her. A strange mood flickered across everyone’s faces—everyone except for Elliot.
After a moment of dead silence, someone broke the tension with a comment, and the lively atmosphere returned.
Before the meal was over, Georgia received a text from Elliot: "Wait for me by the gate when you leave."
Georgia lifted her head to look at Elliot, who was sitting diagonally across from her. He was chatting with James Sheridan, but his gaze swept over to her in a seemingly casual glance.
She put her phone in her pocket. After the dinner party broke up, Georgia prepared to leave.
Selena walked her to the main door. As they passed the garden, Georgia saw two tall men standing in front of a car, talking.
Their expressions were serious. Elliot was smoking.
Selena walked her to the gate. "Get home safe!"
"Okay. You should head back."
Georgia waved at her and continued walking forward.
She walked very slowly, as if she were taking a stroll.
About ten minutes later, a pair of bright headlights lit her up from behind. She turned, squinting into the dazzling high beams as the car slowed.
It stopped in front of her. The window rolled down, revealing Elliot’s face. "Get in."
She thought Elliot would need more time to talk with his brother. She didn’t expect him to be done so quickly.
"I want to go home," Georgia said, looking at him.
Elliot didn’t say anything. He just pursed his lips and drove.
He looked upset and smelled strongly of smoke. ’The conversation with his brother probably hadn’t gone well.’
They drove in silence.
The car stopped in front of her apartment building. Georgia unbuckled her seatbelt. "Drive carefully!"
Before she could push the door open, Elliot grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. "Just like that?"
Elliot had looked upset the entire ride. Georgia leaned over and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "I don’t know what you and your brother talked about, but he’s the only brother you have. If you can talk things out peacefully, you shouldn’t stay angry."
"Are you worried about my relationship with my brother?" Elliot asked, a smile touching his lips.
’I guess so. It’s always better when a family is in harmony.’
"If your brother really likes that woman, then you, as his little brother, should support him!" Georgia said, planting a kiss on the corner of his tense mouth.
"How do you know that’s not what I think?"
Georgia blinked, confused.
’If that’s how he really feels, then why is he so angry? He’s been wearing a sour face all night, like someone owes him a fortune.’
Elliot grabbed her wrist. "I’ll take you to have a meal with my brother and them another day."
"Okay!"
The next morning, Georgia hadn’t even gotten out of bed when she received a call from Elliot.
"Still not up?" his smiling voice came through the phone.
"Nope," she answered softly.
Georgia rubbed her eyes and glanced at the alarm clock. It was just after seven.
’After spending so much time with him, she, who had never been one to sleep in, had picked up his bad habit.’
"I’m going on a business trip for a week. You be good and stay home. No running around with Selena, you hear me?" His tone was light, but there was a hint of a warning.
’All last night, Selena had been pestering Georgia about places to go. That little brat had some nerve, trying to steal his girl right from under his nose.’
Georgia was incredibly drowsy and just mumbled an assent. She vaguely heard him say a few more things before the call ended.
She burrowed back under the covers and went back to sleep.
She slept until past nine before waking up.
She fumbled for her phone and checked her call history. Seeing Elliot’s name there, she realized this morning’s call hadn’t been a dream after all.
She casually gathered her messy hair into a ponytail and went into the bathroom.
After grabbing a bite to eat, she went back to working on her designs for the competition.
For the next few days, Georgia holed up in her room, busy with the competition.
Occasionally she would receive calls from Elliot, usually in the early morning.
Elliot would occasionally mention his business trip in Solara, but he mostly listened to what Georgia had to say.
He wanted to know what she did on the days he was gone, and whether she missed him.
Georgia would ask jealously, "Have any foreign beauties tried to seduce you?"
"Of course."
Hearing Elliot’s confident answer, Georgia huffed, ready to hang up.
Then she heard his hearty laugh. "You think I’ll take just anyone who throws themselves at me?"
"Hmph! Who knows!"
’After all, hadn’t she been the one to throw herself at him back then?’
"Don’t worry. The women here are too wild. Your husband still prefers someone like you—someone I have to coax in bed before she’ll let loose."
"..."
’This conversation was getting more and more inappropriate, devolving into nothing but dirty talk.’
After Georgia hung up, she tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.
Her mind was filled with Elliot’s explicit words. She buried her head under the covers, face flushed as she stared at her phone.
Just before the deadline, Georgia went to submit her entry for the competition.
In the first-floor lobby of Archetype Company, Georgia had just submitted her work when she ran into Michelle Shields coming out of the elevator.
"Georgia, long time no see!"
Georgia had expected Michelle to pretend not to recognize her and just walk past, so she was a little surprised, but smiled and greeted her back. "Hi there."
"Do you have time? We could go to a café for a bit?"
"Sorry, I can’t. I have something to do," Georgia replied with a polite smile.
’She and Michelle weren’t close. They had only been friendly for a few days at most. Georgia didn’t like Michelle, and the feeling was mutual. They had nothing to talk about.’
Michelle hadn’t expected to be rejected. The smile fell from her made-up face. "Georgia, who do you think you are? You’re just someone’s cast-off trash!"
Michelle’s voice wasn’t quiet. Her shout echoed through the lobby, and everyone turned to look.
All eyes were on Georgia. Some people recognized her and started whispering amongst themselves.
Michelle laughed, smug and triumphant. ’She’s just damaged goods that nobody wants, yet she still puts on such a pure act in front of me.’
Faced with the crowd’s whispers, Georgia only became more composed. She put on a brilliant smile. "Michelle, we were colleagues once. Why do you have to be so hurtful?"
’Georgia didn’t care what other people thought of her. She’d known something like this might happen ever since that night.’
"Georgia, I just hate how you pretend to be so pure!" Michelle hissed, leaning close to her ear.
Michelle was jealous of Georgia. Jealous that a man in a luxury car had picked her up the moment she returned to the country, and even more envious that she’d had relationships with men like Zane Lennox and Justin Sullivan.
Her jealousy had festered into disgust, and she loved to kick people when they were down.
"Michelle, you should know where to draw the line," Georgia said with a light laugh, acting as if Michelle’s words didn’t bother her in the slightest.
’Being called a phony hurt, of course, but she didn’t need to stoop to her level. She barely knew Michelle. They weren’t even casual acquaintances.’
Georgia clutched her bag and walked out of the lobby as if no one else was there.
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