Valentina's POV
Silence said everything, filled every corner of the Grandhall, stretching like oil across a fire. No one laughed nor gasped. No one defended me. The insult floated above the table, suspended and heavy, waiting to fall.
I didn’t lift my head because I couldn’t. My hands stayed on my lap, my fingers coiled into one another like knots I couldn’t untangle. My eyes fixed on the silver fork beside my plate, on the delicate way the light glimmered along its polished edge. A single bite of food sat untouched on a dish I hadn’t chosen.
They served duck. I hated duck.
The voice that spoke, that woman she hadn’t raised it. She didn’t need to, her tone had been conversational, like she was noting the weather or remarking on a poorly chosen necklace. I didn’t know her name, but I di
