Chapter 177

Princess Elena’s POV We sat there together in that quiet room, the breakfast laid out before us slowly growing cold. Neither of us cared. Plates and cups were forgotten as tears came in waves; soft sobs that blurred my vision, then shaky giggles that escaped me without warning. I didn’t even try to stop them. My body was still adjusting to the truth that Lady Valentina was real, that she was sitting across from me, and that she was my mother. She spoke gently, as if afraid her voice might break the moment. “I was young then,” she said. “The Queen favored me. I was her prized daughter. She sent me to Europe to study, a paraded me as proof of her greatness.”,I leaned forward, listening, afraid that if I blinked too long, the moment would disappear. “That’s where I met Brown,” she continued. “Handsome. Confident. An entrepreneur who didn’t fear crowns or bloodlines.” A distant smile curved her lips. “He swept me off my feet.” My chest tightened. I already knew where this was going. “When