Queen of Wild Cards novel Chapter 564

His little wife was an absolute powerhouse, but when it came to public displays of affection, she was remarkably shy.

Wasn't walking with their arms around each other completely normal for a married couple?

It was hilarious considering this was the same woman who shamelessly enjoyed looking at photos of shirtless, muscular men.

Stella glanced up and down the bustling street. Sure enough, several couples were kissing openly, with one pair pinned against a streetlight, entirely lost in their own world.

"See? I wasn't lying. Want to give it a try?"

"No way. Hurry up, you talk too much!" Stella urged, quickening her pace to drag him along.

Julius let out a low, rumbling chuckle.

She was so damn cute.

...

When Errol joined them for dinner the next day, he made good on his promise to bring gifts. His team hauled in six massive trunks.

One box was filled with exquisite wooden carvings, another with solid gold bars, the third with raw, glittering diamonds, the fourth with premium Rooibos tea, the fifth with imported luxury caviar, and the final one with vintage wine.

As the bodyguards stacked the heavy trunks in their hotel suite, Stella was genuinely speechless.

She had assumed his "specialties" would be a few charming local souvenirs. She never expected him to drop six literal treasure chests into her lap.

How were they supposed to get this past airport security?

Customs would probably detain them on suspicion of running an international smuggling ring.

"Dad, you should really take some of this back. It's way too much for us to travel with."

Seriously, why didn't he just throw in a barrel of crude oil while he was at it?

The gifts were phenomenal—the trunk of diamonds alone was priceless. It was packed with rare colored gems; just one of those stones was enough to set an average person up for life.

"Too much to take back? Don't worry, your husband has the logistics handled. This is just a small token from me. You have to accept it."

He still ached for the woman who had permanently branded herself onto his soul, desperate to hear anything about the life she had lived after they were torn apart.

Seeing the raw emotion in his eyes, Stella took a moment to gather her thoughts.

"Mom was incredibly gentle and stunningly beautiful. She loved me fiercely and always put me first, but... she spent a lot of time just staring off into space.

"My adoptive father was rarely home, so it was almost always just the two of us. She'd walk me to kindergarten every day and never missed a single parent-teacher event.

"But when I was seven, she got sick. We saw countless doctors and she took so much medication, but nothing worked. It just kept getting worse.

"When I was ten, her body finally gave out, and she went to heaven. Less than a month after she died, Frederick remarried.

"He brought home a daughter who was only a year younger than me. With a new stepmother came a new, indifferent father. That household made my life miserable. Six months later, my grandpa came and took me away. It's been ten years since she passed, and I still miss her so much."

As she finished speaking, Stella lowered her head, the heavy grief finally breaking through her stoic exterior as silent tears slipped down her cheeks.

God, she missed her mother.