Free Web NovelChapter 95: Chapter 95: I Can Hold Onto Elliot Sheridan for a Lifetime
When she was upset, she liked to draw.
The neatly intersecting lines helped to calm her down.
The ruggedly handsome silhouette she sketched with the pen in her hand grew clearer, but the line art was a complete mess.
After drawing for a few more minutes, the man’s deep-set eyes materialized on the white paper. Georgia Thorne irritably tossed her pen down, placing it and the drawing on the table.
’I really must be going crazy!’
Early the next morning, at the crack of dawn, Nancy Hughes was woken up by the noise Georgia Thorne was making.
"Georgia, what are you doing?"
"Just getting rid of some things. Sorry for waking you!" Georgia Thorne said as she walked out the door, carrying two black shopping bags.
The bags looked quite heavy.
During breakfast, Nancy Hughes casually asked her what she had thrown away that morning.
Georgia Thorne’s hand froze for a moment before she began stirring her spoon rapidly. "Nothing important, just some stuff I don’t need anymore."
Nancy Hughes shot her a strange look, sensing something was off.
Before heading to work, Georgia Thorne made a trip to a phone store.
She bought a new phone, inserted the SIM card, and turned it on.
Two text messages popped up in quick succession. They were from Zane Lennox.
Why isn’t your phone going through?
I’m heading out of the country on a business trip today. To Valois. Is there any gift you’d like?
Georgia Thorne was holding her phone, about to reply, when a call from Zane Lennox came through.
"Did you see my texts?"
"Mhm, I was just about to text back when you called."
"Is there anything you want as a gift?" Zane Lennox’s low voice drifted through the phone.
"Zane..." Georgia Thorne heard an announcement in the background on his end and paused. "Zane, we aren’t a real couple. You don’t have to buy me a gift. Besides, there’s nothing I really need."
"Georgia!"
He murmured her name, but Georgia Thorne quickly cut him off. "Just be careful, and have a safe trip back!"
After a long pause, a single word came through the speaker: "Okay."
After hanging up, Georgia Thorne rushed to her office.
Today’s entertainment news was even more sensational than yesterday’s.
Joanne Donovan, the woman claiming to be Elliot Sheridan’s fiancée, had personally held a press conference to announce that she and Elliot had been engaged for eight years.
The reporters’ minds raced, connecting the dots. An engagement that had been kept secret for eight years was only now being revealed.
And with the mayoral election coming up, could Quincy Rhodes be leveraging Elliot Sheridan’s influence to secure her re-election?
Joanne Donovan just smiled, stating that the engagement was an old arrangement between their families and had nothing to do with her mother’s campaign.
Joanne Donovan was beautiful. Facing a pack of ravenous reporters, she remained poised and elegant, speaking with a clear voice as she explicitly stated that she and Elliot Sheridan would be getting married.
Marriage was a step far beyond a mere engagement; it was a major life event for two people.
A reporter also asked why, if they were getting married, Elliot Sheridan hadn’t stepped forward to confirm it himself.
Joanne Donovan simply smiled and deflected the question with a clever little quip, effortlessly changing the subject.
Watching the whole video, which was basically just Joanne Donovan flaunting their relationship, Georgia Thorne felt like she was just torturing herself.
’If it hurts so much, why do I have to be so stubborn and watch the whole thing?’
That afternoon, while on her way to meet a client, she was surprised to see her boss talking with a man.
Georgia Thorne had never seen the man before, yet he called out her name with unnerving accuracy.
Even the way Nicole Kane looked at her was filled with surprise.
Georgia Thorne had no choice but to brace herself and walk over.
Georgia Thorne greeted Nicole Kane and took a seat beside her.
Across from them sat a man in his forties or fifties. He was reasonably handsome and impeccably dressed in a suit, with a luxury watch on his wrist that spoke of considerable wealth and status.
Georgia Thorne wracked her brain, but she was certain she had never seen this man before.
Not until the man introduced himself. "Miss Thorne, my name is Mason Morgan. It’s a great honor to meet you!"
Mason Morgan’s voice was dripping with a sycophantic tone. Georgia Thorne’s eyes widened in disbelief.
’Mason Morgan... Wasn’t that the man Hayley Sullivan had tried to give her to?!’
She had been drugged that night, completely unaware of what was happening.
When she woke up, she was lying next to Elliot Sheridan.
’Elliot Sheridan had rescued her from Mason Morgan’s clutches. So, does that mean Mason Morgan knows about her and Elliot?’
Her eyelid twitched violently. She could only manage a strained laugh in response to Mason Morgan’s fawning.
Georgia Thorne fidgeted, terrified that Mason Morgan was about to ask about her connection to Elliot Sheridan.
Her throat felt like it was on fire. She strained her ears, hanging on his every word.
Thankfully, Mason Morgan never mentioned Elliot Sheridan’s name. After some small talk, he was called away by a phone call.
Only Georgia Thorne and Nicole Kane remained at the table.
"You were very tense when you were talking to Mason Morgan, weren’t you?" Nicole Kane asked, taking a sip of her black coffee.
"Was I?" Georgia Thorne blinked, feigning innocence, but the high pitch of her voice gave her away.
Georgia Thorne certainly hadn’t expected to run into Mason Morgan so coincidentally.
Afterward, Nicole Kane drove her home.
Before she got out of the car, Nicole Kane said, "Mason Morgan... It’s best if you stay away from him."
Georgia Thorne nodded. It didn’t matter if Nicole Kane’s words were a warning or just a friendly reminder.
Georgia Thorne asked Nicole Kane to drop her at the entrance to the complex. The roads inside were a winding maze, and she was worried Nicole might have trouble finding her way out later.
She politely said her goodbyes to Nicole Kane, then got out of the car and started walking into the complex.
After she had walked a short distance, the phone in her pocket began to ring.
"Georgia, are you free right now?" Selena Sheridan’s tearful voice came through the phone.
"Selena, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?"
"Georgia, Justin Sullivan broke up with me!"
As Selena’s sobs echoed in her ear, Georgia Thorne stopped in her tracks.
Staring at the man standing in front of her, a sudden, buzzing ache pulsed through her head.
"Georgia, you’re my only true friend. Can you come have a drink with me?"
"Of course. Tell me the address. I’ll head over right now!"
Selena Sheridan rattled off an address and then hung up.
Her eyes remained fixed on the man slowly approaching her.
A gentle smile graced Justin Sullivan’s face, making him look as handsome as ever.
"Georgia, I’m free!"
"And?" Georgia Thorne replied calmly.
"Georgia, that night at the Thorne Family estate, Zane Lennox said something to me. He said I had to choose between power and love, and that I’d chosen the former. I went home and thought about it, and I realized he was right. Part of the reason I was with Selena was because of the Sheridan Family’s influence. If I wanted to take control of all the Sullivan Family’s assets, I needed the power she represented. My original plan was to secure the Sullivan Family inheritance and then marry you. But I overlooked one crucial thing in all of this: you."
"You said you wouldn’t wait for me, that you would turn and throw yourself into another man’s arms. That made me panic. I can’t stand seeing you with another man. I especially can’t stand the thought of you falling for someone else."
Georgia Thorne listened quietly, her slender neck tilted up as she gazed at the man she had once admired for so many years.
Only after he finished did she speak. "Justin Sullivan, are you done?"
"Georgia, let’s start over. I’m willing to give up the Sullivan Family fortune for you. Do you remember our dreams? You said you wanted to open a studio, that you would be my assistant... Georgia, let’s start over!"
Justin Sullivan’s face was animated, his expression full of smiles as he spoke of their past, but to Georgia Thorne, it all sounded like utter nonsense.
"Justin Sullivan, you’ve had your say. Now it’s my turn," Georgia Thorne said softly, lowering her head and blinking hard.
The man’s deep eyes watched her, waiting for her to continue.
SLAP— The sound echoed as red welts rose on Justin Sullivan’s cheek.
