Queen of Wild Cards novel Chapter 29

Stella paused, calculating the odds for about ten seconds before shaking her head. "I'm still getting a raw deal. Your family paid that wedding fund for Chloe, not me. I told you the truth on day one. I can just leave and swap Chloe back in to play the loving bride for your grandmother. I'll get my mother's things back on my own. If I marry you, I'll be a divorcée in a year, and I'd have to split my assets with you. Hard pass."

Julius was genuinely sweating now. He hadn't been this panicked during life-or-death corporate takeovers. To be handed a lifeline out of the darkness, only to watch it slip away, was pure torture.

"Think about it logically," he urged. "Frederick threw you into this marriage to bleed me dry. If you pressure him without ultimate leverage, he'll destroy your mother's ashes just to spite you. He doesn't see you as a daughter; you're a bargaining chip. You need my backing to force his hand safely."

He was right. Her mother's remains were the only things she truly cared about, and Frederick was a desperate snake.

"And as for the divorce," Julius added quickly, "I'll write it into the contract right now: I leave the marriage with nothing. You keep everything. You take zero financial risk."

He knew how she operated now. She hated losing out on a deal. He had to lay all his cards on the table before she could formulate an argument against him. To him, money was replaceable; his legs were not. She wanted wealth, he wanted survival, and his grandmother needed peace of mind. As for a loveless marriage? It was just paperwork. He was impotent anyway, so what did it matter?

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