Secret Marriage: The CEO's Pampered Wife

Chapter 180: Chapter 170: Wedding Photo Shoot 1

The wedding photoshoot officially began, and Georgia Thorne offered the camera a perfect smile.

It was a perfect smile, yet it wasn’t a natural one that came from the heart. It was more like she was just completing a task.

It had to be said, Georgia Thorne and Zane Lennox looked good together—a handsome man and a beautiful woman, a match made in heaven.

Nancy Hughes secretly snapped several photos of the couple and posted them to her social media feed, hoping Elliot Sheridan would see them.

The third outfit for the photoshoot was a traditional historical costume.

She wore a bright red, traditional bridal gown, complete with an ornate phoenix coronet.

With her fair skin, beautiful features, red lips, and pearly teeth, she was so stunning it was hard to look away.

After changing, Georgia Thorne felt a wave of exhaustion. She sat on the sofa and took a deep breath.

She rested for about ten minutes. When she went out for the next set of photos, Zane Lennox was nowhere to be found.

His secretary had been left in his place. "Something came up at the office, so the president had to go back and take care of it!"

"What the hell! You’ve got to be kidding me. He left to handle business during his own wedding photoshoot? What’s more important, his wedding or his work?!" Nancy Hughes roared, utterly furious. "Who just ditches their bride in the middle of a photoshoot?"

"His work is more important," Georgia Thorne said, gently pulling on Nancy Hughes’s hand to calm her down.

She then turned to the secretary. "Did he say when he’d be back?"

The secretary shook his head. "It was very sudden. The president left without saying a word."

"I see."

Georgia Thorne wanted to call Zane Lennox, but her calls went unanswered.

She sent him a text: "Let’s take a break. We’ve been shooting all morning, and I’m getting a little hungry anyway!"

While everyone was having lunch, Nancy Hughes opened her social media app. Seeing no new comments, she grew anxious.

’I wonder if Elliot Sheridan saw the photos I posted!’

Elsewhere, Elliot Sheridan stared at the photos Nancy had posted, his gaze darkening with each passing moment.

Georgia Thorne looked beautiful in her wedding dress, especially in the last few photos where she wore the traditional bridal gown. It was as if she had stepped out of another time.

His long fingers slowly traced the image of Georgia Thorne’s face on the screen. ’Is she really that determined to marry Zane Lennox?’

A knock sounded at the office door. Owen Sawyer entered. "President Sheridan, the car is ready."

Elliot Sheridan pocketed his phone, shot to his feet, and straightened his clothes.

His face was taut and his expression grim, a dark shadow lurking in his narrowed eyes.

It had been a long time since anyone had seen such a ruthless expression on Elliot Sheridan’s face.

Georgia Thorne waited at the bridal shop all afternoon.

Zane Lennox never came back, nor did he reply to her text.

"We’ve been waiting for four or five hours. It’ll be dark soon if we keep this up. I don’t think Zane Lennox is coming back. Let’s just go home!" Nancy Hughes said, exasperated.

’This is the perfect chance to talk some sense into Georgia,’ Nancy thought.

It wasn’t just Georgia Thorne who couldn’t reach Zane Lennox; even his secretary couldn’t get ahold of him.

Georgia Thorne changed back into her clothes, and Zane Lennox’s secretary drove them home.

Nancy Hughes complained nonstop in the car, but when she saw that Georgia Thorne wasn’t saying a word, she eventually fell silent.

It was a classic case of the onlookers being more anxious than the person involved.

The car stopped in front of her apartment building. Before getting out, Georgia Thorne said to the secretary, "Thank you for your trouble."

The secretary quickly shook his head. "N-No trouble at all!"

"Drive safely."

Georgia Thorne and Nancy Hughes got out of the car and headed into the building.

The secretary watched Georgia Thorne’s retreating figure. ’After spending the day with her, the president’s fiancée seems pretty easy to get along with,’ he thought.

It seemed something very difficult had come up at Zane Lennox’s company. He didn’t even call her by midnight.

Clutching her pillow, she drifted into a groggy sleep.

In her dreams, she felt a familiar presence beside her, one that felt so much like *his*.

Even though she knew it couldn’t be him, Georgia Thorne still cried her heart out in her dream.

When she woke, her eyes were red and swollen from crying.

When Nancy Hughes asked what was wrong, Georgia Thorne just said she hadn’t slept well.

Nancy Hughes, worried about her friend, hugged a throw pillow and said, "Georgia, let’s go out for drinks tonight!"

Georgia Thorne didn’t want to go. Even though she’d done nothing all day but laze around the apartment, she felt sluggish and had no desire to go anywhere.

"Come on, come on! We can treat it as your bachelorette party!" Nancy Hughes pestered her all day. Finally, as a last resort, she said, "Didn’t you say you wanted to meet my boyfriend? I’ll get him to come out, how about that?"

As evening fell, Georgia Thorne finally relented.

She changed into a simple, fresh outfit and headed out with Nancy Hughes.

Gazing at the luxurious venue before them, Nancy Hughes waved her hand dismissively and said with a smile, "He said it’s a bit classier here."

The "he" in question was, of course, her boyfriend.

Nancy Hughes had been very secretive ever since she started dating.

She was especially tight-lipped about her boyfriend, and since Georgia Thorne wasn’t one to gossip, she never pressed for details.

Remembering the luxury car Nancy had picked her up in when she first returned to the country, it all made sense.

’He must be pretty rich,’ Georgia thought.

Nancy Hughes seemed to know the place well, pulling Georgia Thorne along until they stopped in front of a private room.

The room was quiet, brightly lit, with three men sitting on a sofa, drinking and chatting.

It wasn’t the smoky, rowdy scene she had expected.

Nancy Hughes pulled Georgia forward. "Everyone, let me introduce you. This is my best friend, Georgia Thorne."

Georgia Thorne greeted each of the three men. She recognized one of them.

Ethan Fletcher greeted her with a smile. "Well hello, sis-in-law!"

"You two know each other?" Nancy Hughes said, pulling Georgia Thorne down to sit beside her and looking curiously at Ethan Fletcher.

’Of course we do,’ Ethan Fletcher thought. ’Elliot Sheridan brought her to my little diner for a meal not long ago! Back then, they were so lovey-dovey, so sickeningly sweet, that even a grown man like me could barely stand to watch.’

"We’ve met once," Georgia Thorne said calmly, looking at him. "Mr. Fletcher, you can just call me Georgia."

’I have nothing to do with Elliot Sheridan anymore.’

Ethan Fletcher’s eyes crinkled in a grin. "Miss Thorne, you looked absolutely stunning in those wedding photos. I’m just worried a certain someone might get upset!"

All of them had seen the photos Nancy Hughes posted on her feed.

Georgia Thorne was already taking wedding photos with Zane Lennox.

Georgia Thorne had only found out afterward that so many photos had been taken of her without her knowledge.

Knowing there was a hidden meaning in Ethan Fletcher’s words, Georgia Thorne said nothing.

The topic was dropped.

’He wouldn’t get upset.’

She recognized Ethan Fletcher, but the other two men were strangers.

Nancy Hughes continued the introductions. "This is Liam Sheffield."

The man named Liam Sheffield looked younger than the other two; he was likely the youngest of the group.

He was also the most talkative, grinning cheekily at Nancy Hughes. "Ms. Hughes, when are you gonna come home with me?"

"Get lost! Who wants to go home with you?" Nancy Hughes huffed, giving him a look of utter disgust. "Shoo, shoo!"

Liam Sheffield just laughed, not bothered in the slightest. "Well, Ms. Hughes, anytime you get lonely at night, just give me a call. I’ll take you home with me!"

The words had barely left his mouth when Liam Sheffield earned a cold glare from the other man.

"Don, you’re not getting jealous, are you?" Liam Sheffield teased.

Georgia Thorne shifted her gaze to the man called Don. His profile was strikingly similar to the one she’d glimpsed the other night. ’This must be Nancy’s real boyfriend,’ she realized.

The man took a drag from his cigarette, his brow furrowed. "No one’s gonna think you’re a mute if you shut up."

He possessively draped an arm around Nancy Hughes’s waist, his sharp gaze landing on Georgia Thorne. "Hello."

"Hello."

Nancy Hughes leaned close to Georgia Thorne and whispered, "So, um, that’s my boyfriend."

Georgia Thorne hummed in acknowledgment. "Good luck with that."

At her words, Nancy Hughes’s face flushed an even deeper shade of red.

She wanted to say more to Georgia Thorne, but her boyfriend beckoned her over, and she went to sit beside him.

Left alone on the sofa, Georgia Thorne picked up a bottle of beer and took a couple of sips.

Liam Sheffield, having been rebuffed by Dylan Heston, was bored and turned his attention back to Georgia Thorne.

He sidled up to her and tried to make conversation.

"How long have you and Ms. Hughes known each other?"

"We were college classmates."

They chatted intermittently.

Sitting to one side, Ethan Fletcher surreptitiously snapped a photo of Georgia Thorne’s profile and immediately sent it to Elliot Sheridan.

A few minutes passed with no reply. Ethan Fletcher frowned, then slowly typed out a message: "Oops, my hand slipped!"

A few minutes after the message was sent, his phone rang.

The sudden ringtone shattered the quiet of the room. Georgia Thorne instinctively glanced toward Ethan Fletcher.

The phone was ringing insistently, but Ethan Fletcher leisurely picked it up. "Hello, who’s this?"

He met Georgia Thorne’s clear gaze and smiled.

Georgia Thorne instinctively looked away, a bad feeling suddenly welling up inside her.

’Ethan Fletcher knows Elliot Sheridan, so that means...’

Georgia Thorne strained to listen, but unfortunately, they were too far apart, and Ethan Fletcher seemed to be intentionally keeping his voice down.

She couldn’t hear a thing.

A smile played on Ethan Fletcher’s lips as he spoke languidly into the phone. "I thought you said you weren’t coming."

"Cut the crap. Where are you?" Elliot Sheridan demanded, his voice cold and impatient.

"The usual spot." Ethan Fletcher didn’t drag it out any longer and readily gave him the address.

Out of the corner of her eye, Georgia Thorne saw Ethan Fletcher hang up. He was looking at her with a meaningful smile, and the sense of unease in her heart intensified.

Liam Sheffield was chattering away beside her, a motor-mouth asking about this and that, but Georgia Thorne was too preoccupied to do more than give half-hearted replies.

After just fifteen minutes, Georgia Thorne couldn’t take it anymore.

As she got to her feet, Liam Sheffield craned his neck to look up at her. "Where are you off to?"

"Sorry, I just remembered I have something to do." Georgia Thorne’s eyes instinctively searched for Nancy Hughes, but she and Dylan Heston were no longer where they had been sitting. They had disappeared somewhere.

"Where’s Nancy?"

"Ms. Hughes? Probably left with Don," Liam Sheffield said with a careless shrug after a quick glance around.

"Then please tell her I had to leave early!"

"Hey, you’re leaving already?" Liam Sheffield grabbed her sleeve. He hadn’t even gotten to the real reason he was talking to her.

Ethan Fletcher’s voice suddenly cut in. "Miss Thorne, leaving so abruptly... it wouldn’t be because there’s someone you don’t want to see, would it?"