Chapter 2

The heated argument eventually ended without resolution.

Selma remained silent throughout, knowing that none of it would matter much longer. In just a few days, she would be gone, and everything that had tied her to Valerio would finally come to an end.

The next morning, she went straight to the office and handed her resignation letter to the Human Resources department.

"You're resigning?"

"Yes."

"But you've been doing so well in the design department. Besides..." The HR manager hesitated before lowering her voice. "What about your relationship with Mr. Gould?"

"We have no relationship outside of work," Selma replied evenly. "Please process my resignation as soon as possible."

The manager studied her for a moment, then double-checked her decision several times. When Selma remained firm, she finally let out a quiet sigh.

"An executive resignation form requires Mr. Gould's approval. You'll need to take this to his office and get his signature."

Selma accepted the paperwork and headed toward Valerio's office. However, halfway there, she was stopped by several excited colleagues from the design department.

"Selma! The results of the national design competition are out!" one of them exclaimed. "Come on, check the list! You might have won first place!"

Selma stopped in her tracks.

Although she had originally joined the Gould Group because of Valerio, her passion for design had always been genuine, and this competition meant everything to her.

Hoping to see her hard work rewarded, she immediately pulled out her phone and opened the official list of winners on the competition's website.

[First Place: Maureen Dalton.]

Selma searched the list again, but her name was nowhere to be found.

"How is that possible?"

Her colleagues crowded around her screen, baffled. "Your submission was incredible! You came in first place in both the preliminary round and the semifinals!"

"Was there some kind of mistake?" one coworker asked before tapping on Maureen's winning entry. "Let me see what kind of works beat yours..."

The moment the portfolio opened, everyone fell silent because Maureen's entry was identical to Selma's, down to the last draft line.

"What the hell is going on?" another coworker exclaimed, her expression darkening. "Selma, call the organizers right now!"

Selma immediately dialed the competition's hotline.

After listening to her explanation, the person on the other end responded in a cool, detached voice, "We have confirmed that your submission and Ms. Dalton's are indeed identical.

"However, our primary sponsor, Mr. Gould, testified that he witnessed Ms. Dalton draft the entire project herself. Based on his testimony, the committee has formally disqualified you for plagiarism."

The call ended, leaving Selma feeling cold to the bone.

A suffocating silence settled over the office as her coworkers exchanged looks of disbelief, their embarrassment quickly giving way to anger.

"This is outrageous! No matter how much Mr. Gould favors Maureen, he can't just hand Selma's hard work to her on a silver platter!"

"Selma pulled so many all-nighters for this competition, only to have her work stolen right out from under her!"

...

Selma remained silent, unable to find the words to express the bitterness rising in her chest.

Then, a cold, familiar voice rang out from behind them.

"What's all this commotion during business hours?"

Valerio had appeared at the entrance without anyone noticing.

Dressed in a sharply tailored black suit, he stood with his usual cold, aloof expression, radiating an intimidating authority that instantly silenced the room.

Selma turned toward him, her eyes rimmed with red and her heart tightening as though an invisible hand was squeezing it.

This was the man she had loved for so many years, and he had just personally destroyed her career without even bothering to investigate the truth.

A thousand questions crowded her mind.

"Why does he despise me so much? Why has he always treated me like trash? Why does he cherish Maureen so deeply while casting me aside without a second thought?"

Yet, when she finally opened her mouth, only one question emerged.

"Regarding the design competition, were you the one who testified that I cheated?"

Valerio met her gaze with complete indifference.

"I was. Did you not cheat?"

Selma's fingertips trembled.

He hadn't even bothered to investigate what had happened or consider the possibility that she was innocent. He had simply chosen to believe Maureen without question.

"Mr. Gould!" One of her coworkers couldn't bear to stay silent any longer. "It was clearly Selma who designed the entire..."

Selma immediately cut her off with a slight shake of her head. She knew Valerio far too well to believe that any explanation would change his mind.

Even if everyone in the room laid out the evidence before him, he would probably assume they had been bribed to cover up her supposed misconduct.

If her colleagues continued defending her, they would only end up being dragged into the mess themselves. Since she had already decided to leave, there was no reason to pull innocent people down with her.

"What exactly are you all trying to say?" Valerio demanded.

"Nothing," Selma answered calmly, stepping forward and handing him the resignation form. "I just need your signature on this."

Valerio accepted the document, a slight crease forming between his brows.

Selma worked in the design department, not as his personal assistant, so he couldn't understand why she would need his direct approval for anything.

He was just about to glance at the first page when his phone rang. He answered, and Maureen's sweet voice immediately came through the speaker.

"The awards gala for the design competition is about to start. Don't be late. I want you there to watch my big moment."

Valerio's expression softened almost instinctively.

"All right. I'm on my way."

After hanging up, he lost whatever interest he had left in the paperwork. Without reading the contents, he flipped straight to the signature line at the bottom and scrawled down his name.

Over the years, Selma had gone to great lengths to find excuses to see him, so he assumed she had once again badgered his assistant into arranging some irrelevant corporate document as a pathetic pretext to get close to him.

"This is the last time," he warned, shoving the signed form back into her hands with a cold, unfeeling stare. "Don't ever use these pathetic tricks to get my attention again."

He turned and walked away, his tall silhouette remaining as imposing and unyielding as ever. Selma stood rooted to the spot, her fingers tightening around the paperwork until the signed resignation form crumpled in her hand.

It really would be the last time.