[She shakes her head. If she were in a better mood, she might chuckle at the assumption, but... Instead all Erika does is sigh.]

My best interests were never a concern for her. I'm under no illusion about that. She never lied about it. Which puts her above most humans in the world. She rewarded me greatly when I succeeded, punished me severely when I failed. It's a simple dynamic.

[Never mind all the thousands of ways she was rigged to fail. Never mind that her rewards were dangled in front of her like a carrot on a stick to keep her chasing. She's... aware of that. That she was being used. Manipulated. Toyed with. But she won't say it out loud.]

But yes. She gave me purpose. Something to live for, and the power to enact her will. It's a lot more than I've ever gotten from anyone who ever claimed to love me.