ONE NIGHT STAND WITH HOT DUKE-Chapter 64: Just a mistress

Sera nodded at once. "Very well, Lady. We’ll prepare it."

Once she was properly dressed, Valerie stood and walked back to the window this time stopping without opening the curtain.

Beneath her composed exterior was an awareness she could no longer deny:

Demian was not merely busy. And Ivanka was not merely paying a visit.

Yet, as always, Valerie chose silence.

Not because she did not care but because she was measuring just how much longer she could endure, carrying feelings she kept pressing down on her own.

Valerie had thought it was all over.

When Sera and Lira told her that Demian had left the castle on urgent business, Valerie truly believed that Ivanka had gone with him or at the very least, that she was no longer in the same place. Her chest felt a little lighter, just enough for her to decide to leave her room for a moment, to walk and clear her thoughts.

That calm shattered the moment she stepped into one of the castle’s grand reception rooms.

There, beneath the glittering light of crystal chandeliers, Ivanka Kosler stood before a long table draped in velvet. Jewelry boxes lay open in neat rows diamond necklaces, gold bracelets set with gemstones, earrings whose brilliance was almost blinding.

A renowned designer from the capital stood slightly bowed, explaining every detail with reverent care. And at the side of the room, Sean the castle’s head butler stood upright, overseeing everything with professional composure, as though Ivanka’s presence there was entirely natural.

Valerie stopped short.

Her chest tightened.

So she’s still here, she thought. Choosing jewelry... in Demian’s castle.

Valerie’s first instinct was to turn away. She did not want to be involved. Did not want to add to the exhaustion that had already weighed on her since arriving in the capital.

But before she could leave—

"Lady Valerie."

Ivanka’s voice called out to her, clear and unmistakable.

Valerie halted.

Ivanka turned, a faint smile curving her lips a smile too carefully crafted to be called friendly.

"Why turn away?" Ivanka asked. "Shouldn’t you greet me? Or would you rather be thought discourteous?"

Valerie turned slowly. Her face remained calm, though her jaw tightened slightly.

"I didn’t wish to interrupt," she replied briefly.

Ivanka let out a soft, almost sweet laugh. She made a light gesture with her fingers. At once, the designer and Sean bowed politely and withdrew, their steps quiet as they left the room. The doors closed, leaving only the two of them behind.

"Interrupt?" Ivanka repeated, stepping closer. "Or are you embarrassed because the future lawful wife of Duke Morvex is here, choosing her jewelry?"

Valerie did not answer.

She stood straight, her hands folded before her. Her silence was not surrender it was control, forcibly maintained so she would not crumble.

Ivanka looked her up and down, then smiled again.

"Have you ever chosen jewelry like this yourself?" she asked, as if genuinely curious. "Pieces selected especially... for a wife?"

Valerie remained silent.

She knew that anything she said would be twisted. So she chose to give nothing at all.

Ivanka clicked her tongue softly. "Don’t be so stiff. And don’t look afraid," she said lightly. "If I marry the Duke, you’ll become his concubine."

She spoke as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

"I don’t mind," Ivanka continued casually. "Men, after all, are never satisfied with just one woman."

She stopped directly in front of Valerie, her voice lowering, sharpening.

"It only remains to be seen... whether you’ll be able to endure that position later."

Valerie lifted her gaze.

For the first time, she looked Ivanka straight in the eye.

"You’re not speaking from your heart," she said quietly.

Ivanka smiled this time thinner. "My heart?"

"I’m just being realistic."

Valerie took a deep breath.

"Please continue choosing your jewelry," she said calmly. "I still have other matters to attend to."

She turned to leave.

But Ivanka’s voice stopped her again.

"Why the hurry?" she said coldly. "I haven’t given you permission to leave."

Valerie paused, then turned halfway back.

"You are no one here," she replied flatly. "Just a guest in this castle."

Ivanka raised an eyebrow. "Don’t act like the lady of the house," she snapped.

"A Duke’s castle any of them has no mistress until he has a lawful wife."

Valerie met her gaze, her expression unchanged.

"I live here as well," she said softly, but clearly.

Ivanka laughed, this time without even a trace of warmth.

"But you are not the Duke’s official concubine," she said. "And don’t forget that."

The words hung in the air, heavy and cold.

Valerie did not respond.

She merely lowered her head slightly not in submission, but as a way of closing the conversation then turned and walked away.

Her steps were steady.

Yet inside her chest, something cracked quietly.

Not because of Ivanka’s insult.

But because, for the first time, Valerie truly realized In this capital,she stood aloneon ground that had never truly belonged to her.

Ivanka did not let Valerie walk any farther.

"If you had any sense of shame," she said coldly from behind,"you wouldn’t stay here."

Valerie stopped.

Ivanka’s voice grew clearer, sharper, as if she were deliberately making sure each word struck its mark.

"You’re nothing but a kept woman," she continued without hesitation. "Not a woman elevated to be a concubine let alone a lawful wife."

Ivanka let out a short, scornful laugh.

"That place is clearly not meant for you," she said. "You’re not capable of it. And you’re not fortunate enough either."

Valerie closed her eyes for a brief moment.

For an instant, her chest tightened not because the words hurt, but because she knew that much of the world would always see her that way. No matter how long she endured, no matter how carefully she carried herself.

But when she opened her eyes again, her face was calm.

Valerie turned slowly.

"You’re wrong," she said quietly.

Ivanka lifted an eyebrow, intrigued.

"I’m not staying because I lack shame," Valerie went on, her voice never rising, yet every word landing with clarity. "I’m staying because I choose to stay."

She took a single step forward close enough to make Ivanka unconsciously hold her breath.

"I never asked for your place," Valerie said. "Nor did I ever dream of taking it."

She stopped right in front of Ivanka.

"But don’t mistake my silence for inability," she continued coolly. "And don’t assume that fortune belongs only to those seated at the highest chair."

Ivanka stared at her sharply, the faint smile disappearing from her lips.

Valerie exhaled softly, then turned away once more.

"I know my position," she said without looking back. "And precisely because of that... I don’t need your acknowledgment."