Chapter 7

Florian and Lynn stared at Selma in shock, clearly unprepared for her decision.

"Selma, you can't be serious! This is out of the question. We owe our lives to your parents, and you're all alone in this world. If you call off the engagement and have no one to look after you, how could we ever feel at ease?"

Selma had anticipated their reaction, so she reached out and gently took both their hands, hoping to ease their worries. "I won't be alone. My aunt contacted me recently and asked me to move in with her.

"You know she's never married and doesn't have any children, and I'm worried about her living by herself. That's why I want to go stay with her and keep her company."

She paused before continuing, her voice gentle but firm. "When my parents saved your lives back then, I don't believe they did it expecting anything in return.

"So, don't carry that burden of guilt on my account. Valerio may not care for me, but I believe I'll find someone who genuinely loves me. And even if I don't, I'm an adult now. I can still build a good life for myself."

Florian and Lynn stared at her in stunned silence, struggling to accept how resolute she had become. Seeing that she had truly made up her mind, Lynn could only sigh.

"It just breaks our hearts. You've been in love with Valerio for so many years. How can you simply let go of all those feelings at once?"

Selma's eyes glistened with tears.

She knew better than anyone that letting go wasn't nearly as easy as it sounded. That was precisely why she had booked the love-eradication procedure.

Once her feelings were erased, she would no longer have to endure the pain of loving someone who would never love her back.

However, she kept that secret to herself and offered only a gentle promise.

"I'll make it happen."

With no way to change her mind, Florian and Lynn eventually accepted that they had to respect her wishes.

"If you've made up your mind, when are you planning to leave? Will you ever come back?"

"I'm leaving in three days. And I probably won't be coming back."

Before the last word had fully faded, the front door clicked open, and Valerio walked in.

"Who's not coming back?"

An eerie silence fell over the foyer, but no one answered him.

Florian and Lynn had no desire to explain anything to their son, so they simply patted Selma gently on the shoulder before heading upstairs.

Left alone with Valerio, Selma met the icy glare he directed at her and remained perfectly composed.

"It's nothing. Florian and Lynn were just worried that I wouldn't make it back from Arirunhill."

Valerio raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced.

"I needed to look after Maureen, and you were unconscious. Even if I'd taken you on the plane with me, I wouldn't have had the time or energy to look after you.

"You were perfectly safe in the hospital, and you made it back in one piece. Why do you have to make such a big deal out of everything?"

Selma listened to his harsh, dismissive explanation without bothering to argue. Instead, she answered him silently in her heart, "I won't make a big deal out of anything ever again. Soon, I'll cut all ties with you."

Over the next two days, Selma quietly settled the estate her parents had left behind.

She entrusted the family home to Florian and Lynn to manage, then converted the rest of her assets and equity into cash and transferred the proceeds into her bank account.

On the night before her departure, she invited a few close friends to a farewell dinner.

They shared drinks, reminisced, and raised their glasses to her future, exchanging heartfelt goodbyes tinged with the sadness of knowing they might not see one another again for a long time.

After the gathering ended, Selma went to settle the bill. As she passed the VIP lounge next door, however, several familiar voices drifted through the partially open doorway.

"Valerio, we haven't seen your little shadow around lately. Didn't she used to follow you everywhere? Do you ever regret playing the violin in the courtyard back in the day and making her fall in love with you?" someone said.

"Honestly, if she hadn't been clinging to you all these years, you and Maureen would probably have kids running around by now," another chimed in.

"Seriously!" a third guy sighed. "She uses her parents' sacrifice to guilt-trip you, and your parents are just as bad. What century are we living in? They still insist on an arranged marriage just to repay a debt. You've rejected her so blatantly, yet they still refuse to let you go. Do they really want to ruin your life?"

The men in Valerio's inner circle showed no restraint as they hurled insult after insult at Selma, reducing years of her devotion to an embarrassing joke.

Valerio sat silently in the middle of the booth, never once speaking up to defend her. His silence only made his friends more anxious, and they began throwing out increasingly outrageous suggestions to help him escape the engagement.

"Valerio, you racked your brain just to push the wedding back five years, but what are you going to do when those five years are up?" one said. "Are you actually going to marry Selma? If you do, you'll never be with Maureen, and the rest of your life will be ruined."

"Exactly!" another echoed. "You need a real solution. Why not stage a car accident where you play the hero and save her? That way, you'll repay the debt you owe her parents once and for all. And if she gets a concussion and develops amnesia, forgetting you completely, that would be the perfect outcome!"

"What kind of ridiculous idea is that?" a third guy said. "It'd be much easier to hire a few guys who look like Valerio to hit on her! As long as one of them manages to win her over, Valerio will finally be off the hook!"