"I won't accept this!!" Max shouted, slamming the table hard enough to rattle the cutlery. His eyes blazed with frustration. "Mom!! Tell her! Tell Valerie I love her!! Tell her I want her!!"
The King exhaled long and slow, rubbing her temples as if she'd heard this tantrum a hundred times before. Her son was hopelessly spoiled, a boy who'd never once been denied anything in his life—and now that he was being denied this, he was unraveling.
Hands folded elegantly beneath her chin, the Queen turned her gaze to Valerie with composed grace, her voice deceptively calm. "Forgive my son's outburst, dear. But I must ask—this man you claim to love... what rank is he? You do understand it's forbidden for a woman of your caliber to consort with someone of inferior rank, don't you?"
