Georgia’s face flushed red as she tried to stifle a laugh. She pushed his large hand away, holding her breath in terror, afraid the person on the other end of the line would hear.

If Amanda Thorne could have called Elliot Sheridan herself, she would have done it long ago. There was no need to call Georgia Thorne.

Without saying anything else, she hung up.

She was certain there was a woman in Elliot Sheridan’s life, but he kept her so well hidden that Amanda had no idea who she was.

Amanda Thorne had only found out by chance, spotting a stray strand of a woman’s hair on the otherwise immaculate Elliot Sheridan.

A woman’s intuition is rarely wrong, and she refused to overlook any woman who had been in contact with Elliot Sheridan.

The line went dead. A sense of crisis washed over Georgia Thorne, and she quickly turned to the man before her to beg for forgiveness. "I was wrong!"

"Where were you wrong?"

"I shouldn’t have let Amanda Thorne call you."

"And?"

"What else?"

Georgia’s eyes widened. ’That’s all there was, wasn’t it?’

「The next morning」

Elliot Sheridan, who loved to sleep in, was uncharacteristically up early.

He had forcefully woken Georgia Thorne. Still groggy, she mumbled a few words.

"Get up. Make me breakfast."

Georgia was speechless.

’She really didn’t get it. They clearly had a part-time housekeeper, so why did he need *her* to cook?’

Exhausted, she placed the hot porridge on the table. "This is all there is for breakfast."

Elliot Sheridan, however, wasn’t picky and started eating.

Amanda Thorne was a suspicious person. Even after calling Georgia Thorne, she was still uneasy.

She insisted that Georgia come home.

After Elliot Sheridan finished breakfast, he left for work.

She remembered she was supposed to go shopping for household supplies with Nancy Hughes today.

Amanda Thorne called while Georgia Thorne was out shopping.

Looking displeased, she agreed. After finishing her shopping with Nancy Hughes, she went back to her rented apartment, put everything away, and then hurried over to the Thorne family home.

By the time she reached the Thorne residence, an hour had passed.

Jared Thorne wasn’t home today, only Hayley Sullivan was there.

When Hayley Sullivan saw her, she acted as if she hadn’t seen her at all.

Even so, Georgia Thorne still greeted her.

She went upstairs and back to her own room.

During dinner, a maid accidentally spilled tea on Amanda Thorne.

"What is wrong with you? You can’t even hold a cup steady!"

"I’m so sorry, Miss Amanda! I’m so sorry!" the maid apologized profusely.

"What good is an apology? This is a brand-new dress! I’ve only worn it once, and now it’s ruined!" Amanda Thorne scowled. The maid’s miserable expression only made her head throb more.

She stood up and went straight upstairs to shower and change.

As she went upstairs, she called out to Georgia Thorne.

Georgia was bewildered. ’This has nothing to do with me. Why is she calling me?’

’Don’t tell me she’s looking for trouble just because I got a ride in Elliot Sheridan’s car!’

That was highly likely.

To her surprise, when they entered the room, Amanda Thorne stripped off her clothes and went straight into the bathroom.

Standing in the room, Georgia Thorne felt incredibly awkward. ’What does she want me in here for?’

The sound of running water trickled from the bathroom. After a moment, she heard Amanda’s voice.

"Georgia, grab me a nightgown. It’s in the closet on the right."

Georgia Thorne pouted. ’Is she treating me like a maid?’

Amanda Thorne had a dedicated walk-in closet. Which one was the "closet on the right" she was talking about?

With no other choice, she had to start searching through them one by one.

The dazzling array of clothes was dizzying. The sheer quantity was absurd.

After rummaging through several closets without finding the nightgown, she couldn’t help but raise her voice. "What does your nightgown look like?!"

"The purple one, with the lace."

...

There were many purple ones in the closet, and they all had lace.

’Which one is it?!’

’Forget it. They all look pretty much the same anyway.’ Georgia Thorne grabbed one at random.

Just as she was about to close the closet door, she happened to glance at a metal box placed in the corner.

Georgia Thorne wouldn’t normally be interested in a box, but right now, she couldn’t look away.

A corner of a piece of paper was sticking out of the box. The handwriting on it made her vision blur.

It was a script so familiar she would never forget it in her lifetime.

She unconsciously dropped the nightgown in her hands, took out the box, and opened it.

When she opened the lid, more papers spilled out, piled high.

It was a mess. Every single page was densely covered in the same person’s handwriting.

She randomly picked up a letter. The greeting at the top, "Georgia," immediately made her eyes well up with tears.

A mocking laugh reached her ears. "Well, look at that. You found them after all!"

For six years, Georgia Thorne had thought Justin Sullivan had completely cast her out of his world.

Not a single phone call, not a single point of contact between them.

Georgia Thorne had even started to think that she should give up on Justin Sullivan. After waiting for six years, her heart had slowly started to wither.

But now, seeing this box full of letters that Justin Sullivan had written to her, she finally understood. He hadn’t abandoned her.

Every so often, Justin Sullivan would write to her—several densely-packed pages filled with his concern and his longing for her.

She had loved someone so earnestly, yet had never received a single word in return. She thought her one-sided crush was destined to simply fade away.

She never knew that a woman named Amanda Thorne had cruelly severed the connection between them, costing them six years.

Clutching the letters, her eyes red, Georgia Thorne listened to Amanda Thorne’s taunts. "Georgia, you’re so shameless. You’re actually in love with your own uncle!"

"So, you deliberately hid all these letters? You intentionally kept them from me, didn’t you?!"

"That’s right, I did. I couldn’t have the Thorne family involved in some kind of shocking scandal!"

Amanda Thorne crossed her arms over her chest. "Since you found them, just take them. They’re just a bunch of old trash from years ago, anyway. They were cluttering up my room, and I was just trying to figure out where to toss them!"

She shot Georgia Thorne a cold look, wrapped the bath towel around herself, and walked out.

"Stop right there!"

"What, is there something else?" Amanda Thorne turned around, glancing at her indifferently.

Furious, Georgia Thorne strode over, raised her hand, and slapped her across the face.

Georgia Thorne had only ever hit two people in her life: one was Zane Lennox, and the other was Amanda Thorne.

Hitting Zane Lennox had been an act of impulse, but hitting Amanda Thorne was one of pure reason.

When Justin Sullivan left, he didn’t say a single word to her. She’d stood in the pouring rain until she caught a cold.

She waited day after day, and the only thing that changed was the passage of time. There was still nothing from Justin Sullivan.

And Amanda Thorne? She knew everything, yet she just stood by and watched her struggle in agony.

She deserved that slap.

Amanda Thorne had never been hit in her entire life. Georgia Thorne’s slap left her completely stunned.

Clutching her stinging cheek, she stared in disbelief. "Georgia Thorne, you actually dared to hit me!"

"You little bitch, how dare you hit me!"

Amanda Thorne had been the apple of the Thorne family’s eye since she was a child. Even Jared Thorne wouldn’t dare lay a finger on her.

And now, she had just been slapped by an illegitimate daughter!

"So what if I hit you? By what right did you hide the letters Justin Sullivan sent to me?!"

Georgia Thorne shot back, completely unafraid and filled with righteous anger.

The one in the wrong was clearly Amanda Thorne.

Having been slapped, Amanda Thorne naturally tried to return the favor, but Georgia Thorne easily dodged her raised hand.

Not to be outdone, Georgia shoved her back. Amanda Thorne, towel and all, tumbled to the floor.

"Georgia Thorne, you dare push me!"

Amanda Thorne let out a series of unbearable shrieks, which had already brought the people from downstairs rushing up.

Hayley Sullivan pushed the door open to see Amanda Thorne fallen on the floor with Georgia Thorne standing over her.

’It must have been Georgia’s fault.’ Hayley Sullivan rushed over and slapped Georgia Thorne across the face.