The Killer Queen by Noella Briony

Chapter 188

There they were, the last Gemstone Gambling King and Queen of Film, TV, Music, huddled beneath a small table, their mouths filled with creamy cheesecake, and each hand securely grasping a slice.

Yasbel chuckled. “Boss, you two just carry on. Don’t mind us.”

Noella pressed a hand to her temple. “What are you doing down there?”

Yasbel was quick with a defense. “I went to pick up Master, didn’t I? After hours on a plane, he was famished. But, you know, being a public figure, I can’t just pig out without it. hitting the gossip columns!”

She still seethed at the memory of a headline: [Heartbroken Starlet Devours Cheesecake. in Midnight Binge]. As if! Her cravings had nothing to do with a broken heart.

Master Hector and Yasbel shared a love for cheesecake that bordered on the religious.

With a stretch of his arm, Master Hector called out, “Noella, help me up, would you? My legs are numb from squatting.”

Noella helped them up, a smile tugging at her lips despite herself.

Master Hector shook out the pins–and–needles from his legs and glanced at Palmer. “Not bad. Where did you con this one from?”

Noella replied with dry humor, “Picked him up off the street.”

“Well done. He’s a gem. Better than the last one, for sure. I’m off to grab something else to

eat. Carry on, you two.”

Master Hector had a penchant for describing people with terms borrowed from his days of stone gambling. Noella was used to it by now.

To be described as a ‘gem‘ by him meant you were a cut above the rest, flawless and of the finest grade.

As Master Hector and Yasbel scurried off to the next table, Noella sighed softly.

Palmer leaned closer, his breath warm against her ear. “The last one?”

The idea that his fiancée might have once ‘picked up‘ another man was a sour note in his heart. The more he got to know Noella, the more she seemed like a treasure trove of surprises, an extraordinary woman whose past he had yet to explore.

“He’s talking about someone unimportant. Just a misunderstanding.”

“Do I count as important?”

a knowing twinkle in her eye. “Master Hector said

gemstone gambling, men would go bankrupt for

a gambler, then Palmer was the prize

Palmer to realize

handed him a sleek men’s watch. “I’ve adjusted it. If

it! Anything from you

Emerald County, a reciprocation of the watch

“Thanks, my fiancée.”

he consistently wore the cufflinks she had given him during their time at Fortress Hospital. To the uninitiated, it

his name.

shining gaze and helped

of nowhere. “Noella, darling, I’ve found us the perfect

friends with me. Is that okay?” Noella gestured toward Hector and Yasbel, now emerging from their

a sight? If they’re friends of my Noella, they’re welcome. Though,

the face of Yasbel, who was a far cry from her larger–than–life screen persona.

gemstone auction was a magnet for guests, most drawn by

rules of the game, any rough stone of interest could be auctioned on the spot. But since this was the Gruber family’s event, any quality jade unearthed would likely end up in the Grubers‘

the best view. If you see a stone you like, Noella, darling,

snorted. “What good can come from the Gruber family’s

in cheesecake, agreed.

merely glanced up. “There are

by the Gruber family,

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eye, and even those were of the sort that wouldn’t fetch

Yasbel spoke with earnest. “Malvina, your cheesecakes

have some packed for

whispered, “You know about gemstone gambling?”

I’ve been

gemstone gambling was a matter of chance, but Noella sat with Master Hector,

slightly. “Yasbel and that person with you

Fortress Hospital, one of

was calm. “Nolan and Yasbel are twins.”

that case, Yasbel must have

stood in his impeccable suit, his smile

night was young, and the