With those words, the last lingering shred of hope in Selma's heart was mercilessly extinguished.
A bone-chilling cold swept through her body, leaving her almost frozen in place beneath the snow. Tears slipped from the corners of her eyes and crystallized on her face as her vision gradually blurred.
When Selma regained consciousness, she found herself lying in a hospital room, with no idea how much time had passed.
A nurse standing beside her bed explained that her condition had been precarious and urged her to contact her family so someone could come and assist her.
Selma fell silent, unable to respond at first. Only after the nurse repeatedly encouraged her to make the call did she finally murmur, "My parents passed away. I don't have any family left."
The nurse hadn't expected such a bleak response and froze, unsure of what to say. Just then, she noticed a figure standing in the doorway and seized the opportunity to break the heavy silence.
"Are you the patient's friend? She was caught in an avalanche, and it's a miracle the search-and-rescue team reached her in time. If they'd been even a minute later, she would have frozen to death."
Selma looked up and saw Valerio standing at the doorway, a sheen of sweat glistening on his forehead as though he had run all the way there.
His gaze locked onto hers, his expression grim and his voice colder and more severe than she had ever heard. "Didn't it occur to you to call me for help?"
Selma recalled all those rejected calls and lowered her eyes to hide the storm of emotions raging inside her.
"I did call you. But you said you were on a date and told me not to bother you."
"Then why didn't you leave the slopes earlier? Didn't you notice the weather changing?"
"You told me to wait for you at the third bend."
Valerio froze, realizing that he had completely forgotten making that request. Halfway through changing into his ski gear, he had received word that Maureen had arrived in Arirunhill.
Without a second thought, he had abandoned his plans with Selma and rushed straight to the airport. It had never crossed his mind that Selma would stay there waiting for him.
For a moment, a turbulent mix of emotions swept through him: remorse, self-blame, lingering horror, and relief that she was still alive.
Unable to make sense of why her predicament had affected him so deeply, he attributed his frantic concern to the responsibility he felt toward his parents.
After all, if something terrible had happened to Selma, he would have had to answer to them. Yet when he looked at her pale, exhausted face, a surge of irritation overtook him.
"Are you really that stupid? If I hadn't shown up, were you planning to wait there forever? Did you ever stop to think about what would happen if you died out there?"
Although Valerio had never loved Selma, he had generally treated her with cold indifference rather than openly losing his temper.
This was the first time he had ever berated her so harshly, but Selma was too accustomed to his cruelty to interpret his outburst as concern.
After a moment of surprise, she gave a bitter, self-deprecating smile. "It won't happen again. I'll never wait for you again."
Soon, she would stop loving him altogether.
Valerio frowned, puzzled by her words. He was just about to demand what she meant when his phone vibrated. The moment he saw Maureen's name on the screen, he answered immediately.
Maureen's choked-up sobs came through the line. "I got into a car accident. I'm so scared here in the operating room. Where are you?"
Valerio's expression shifted instantly. Without another word, he rushed out of the room like a madman. Having overheard the conversation, Selma struggled out of bed and stumbled after him.
By the time she caught up, she saw Valerio hurrying alongside the medical staff toward the blood transfusion room. After asking around, she learned that the accident had caused Maureen severe internal hemorrhaging.
With the hospital's blood supply critically low, Valerio couldn't afford to wait for blood to be transferred from other facilities, so he had volunteered to donate his own blood on the spot.
A thick needle pierced his arm, but he seemed oblivious to the pain. His eyes remained fixed on the operating room doors, as though nothing else in the world mattered.
Selma watched in silence, feeling as though an impenetrable barrier surrounded Valerio, shutting out the entire world and leaving room for only Maureen.
Even after the transfusion, Maureen's condition remained critical, and Valerio insisted on continuing to donate blood.
"Keep drawing!"
Left with no choice, the nurse drew another 600 cc of blood. By then, Valerio was on the verge of passing out, yet he gripped the back of his chair with both hands, his fingers bleeding from the sheer force of his grip as he struggled to remain upright.
When the nurse saw his heart rate slowing to the point of nearly flatlining on the monitor, she hurriedly pulled out the needle, her voice trembling with panic.
"The patient still needs another 600 cc, but you genuinely can't give any more! You'll kill yourself!"
Valerio seized the nurse's hand in a vice grip, his eyes burning with desperation.
"Do it!"
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