Queen of Wild Cards novel Chapter 173

Stella lay in bed, her mind drifting back over every moment she had spent with Julius since they got married.

He really did treat her exceptionally well, taking care of every little detail in her life and always prioritizing her preferences.

He had defended her against Frederick Hawthorne and gone out of his way to help her retrieve her mother's ashes. Even though they turned out to be fake later, he had truly tried his best.

Everyone in the Blackwood family treated her wonderfully.

As for Jason's situation, she had volunteered to help him of her own free will. Julius hadn't forced her; in fact, when Weber Harper changed the terms, Jason had told her the truth and urged her to walk away.

Nadine had treated her beautifully, giving her heirloom treasures, defending her fiercely in front of the Hawthorne family, and warning Julius never to bully her.

The Blackwood family treated her infinitely better than her own blood ever had.

Was she really as heartless as Julius said?

And when he said he liked her and didn't want a divorce... was that true?

Frustrated, she picked up her phone and played a couple of rounds of a game. But she was completely off her rhythm, and the girl who usually flamed everyone in the lobby was uncharacteristically cursed out by her own teammates.

She logged off, pulled the covers over her head, and tried to sleep, but found herself tossing and turning endlessly.

She sat up in frustration, muttering to herself, "I can't sleep because Julius took my body pillow."

That cunning man had constantly brainwashed her, whispering in her ear, "I'm the best body pillow you could ever have."

Now she was too used to having him as her human body pillow.

She got out of bed and started searching for her plush pillow everywhere.

Not in the bedroom. Not in the living room!

"Julius must have sneakily taken it to the guest room. I'm going to get it back."

Desperate for sleep, she decided to march over to the guest room and retrieve it.

"Stella, what are you looking for? I'm not hiding anyone in here." He hadn't stepped foot out of the Imperial Gardens since they returned. Did his wife think he was hiding another woman in the guest room?

Ignoring him, Stella stared intently at his bed.

He must have hidden it under the covers. He probably wanted a human body pillow to cuddle with, too. The blanket did look suspiciously bulky.

She marched over and ripped the blanket back. Nothing?

Julius completely misunderstood. Reaching for her hand, he said softly, "If you want to sleep with me, just say so. You don't need all this foreplay. Come to bed."

He assumed her rummaging through the closets, flipping the sofa cushions, and checking behind the curtains was her version of playing hard to get.

Stella swatted his hand away. "Who wants to sleep with you? I came to find my body pillow. Where is it?"

Oh. So she just couldn't sleep without her plush toy and came looking for it.

But he had covertly 'destroyed the evidence' of that pillow ages ago. How was he supposed to produce it now?