The words struck hard.
"That is the only use you have," she said without hesitation. "Behind bedroom doors. In the dark. In silence."
Valerie felt her chest tighten. Heat rose to her throat, a mix of anger, humiliation, and something deeper something dangerously close to grief.
"When morning comes," Ivanka continued, "and he puts on his noble mantle again, you will be left behind."
She looked Valerie up and down, as though assessing something that had never truly been worthy.
"You will not stand beside him before the nobility," she said. "You will not sit upon his throne. You will not bear his name."
Valerie swallowed.
"Whatever you are feeling right now," Ivanka said quietly, "remember this it is only one-sided."
Silence filled the room once more.
Valerie lowered her head for a brief moment, then lifted her face again. Her eyes did not glisten. There were no tears. Only a calmness that was almost unnervingly still.
"Are you finished?" she finally asked.
