Queen of Wild Cards novel Chapter 565

Julius pulled her into a fierce, protective embrace, his thumb gently wiping the tears from her cheeks. "Don't cry, Stella. Your mother loved you more than anything. She wouldn't want to see you this heartbroken; she'd only want you to be happy."

In all the time he had known her, he had never once seen her cry. She was always so unshakeable, so relentlessly optimistic.

Even when Gideon Kaye's mercenaries had her backed into a corner, when Wade held her at gunpoint, or when she was trapped in the hellscape of North Myanor, she had faced every lethal threat head-on, completely unafraid.

Seeing her shed tears now shattered his heart.

He would do absolutely anything to bring her smile back. He would gladly lay down his own life if it meant she would never have to cry again.

Across the room, Errol's eyes were bloodshot. The beautiful girl he loved with his entire being had given birth to their child, and he had spent over a decade completely ignorant of it.

How utterly devastated she must have been when she walked away from him all those years ago!

Facing a terminal illness with a cold, absent husband, struggling to raise a child while her body failed her—the sheer despair and helplessness she must have felt was unimaginable.

And then, that wretched Hawthorne family had mistreated their daughter. Stella glossed over the details, but he knew she had endured profound suffering.

His voice broke as he choked out, "I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I failed you, and I failed your mother."

Stella sniffled, reigning in her emotions as she wiped her eyes. "You don't need to apologize. I have a wonderful life now, and I know Mom's spirit is always watching over me."

When she was little, she could never understand why her mother would stare at her so intensely, lost in thought. She used to assume it was because Frederick was never home.

Now, she finally understood. It had nothing to do with Frederick.

Her mother had been looking at her and seeing Errol.

Her mother truly had loved this man. After all, they had found each other during the most vibrant, beautiful years of their lives.

Errol roughly rubbed his face. "Stella, what kind of illness did your mother pass away from?"

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