He Chose Her, So I Chose to Disappear Forever Chapter 01

He Chose Her, So I Chose to Disappear Forever Chapter 01

Seven days before my wedding, I saw a new post on Instagram from my fiancé’s “best friend.”

[Countdown: 6 days. The boy who built me a treehouse is about to become someone else’s husband. 💔]

The video was shot at Reykjavík Airport. My fiancé, Luca, was pushing her silver suitcase with one hand and holding her hand tightly with the other.

The comments were already a dumpster fire.

“Run. This is not friendship.”

“Isn’t he getting married next week?”

“The bride needs to see this.”

“Throw the whole man away.”

My face was a mask as I liked the video.

They didn’t know I had a countdown of my own.

In seven days, I was supposed to put on the Moretti family ring before its leaders and allies, becoming the publicly recognized wife of its heir. From that day on, I would have their name, their protection, and a seat at their table.

Now, all I wanted was to vanish from their world.

It had taken me months to find someone who could forge a new identity for me, transfer my assets, and plan every step of my disappearance. As a marine navigation systems engineer, I could work from anywhere with a port and an internet connection. I didn’t need the Moretti family, and I didn’t need Luca.

So for every day Luca and Bianca counted down their so-called “farewell tour of friendship,” I was counting down to my freedom.

…

One week before the wedding, Luca went out with his groomsmen to a private club under the Moretti family’s protection.

I had just finished a remote systems test and decided to drive over, wanting to surprise him—and to make sure he got home safely.

The door to the private room upstairs was slightly ajar.

Two men in black suits stood guard outside. They saw me but didn’t move to stop me, simply lowering their heads in a silent greeting. In their eyes, I was already Luca’s wife. All that remained was the ceremony.

Their conversation carried clearly through the opening.

“Of course I’m looking forward to the wedding.”

“Elena and I have been together for five years. Marrying her is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Luca’s voice was laced with liquor, but it held the easy authority of a man used to giving orders. Glasses clinked. No one would question the heir to the Moretti family to his face.

I smiled, my hand rising to push the door open.

Then someone else spoke. “So why are you taking Bianca to Iceland? The wedding’s in seven days. She’s under family protection, sure, but wouldn’t a couple of guards be enough?”

My hand froze in midair.

Luca was silent for a moment.

“She refuses to go with anyone but me. My father approved the trip, but only on the condition that I go with her and bring her back myself. She just wants one last trip before… everything changes.”

“So you just agreed?”

“I can’t let anything happen to her while she’s under our protection.”

Bianca’s father had once been a captain in the Moretti family. After his death, she had remained under their official protection. Those rules were meant to keep her safe, but she used them again and again to trample my boundaries. All she had to do was refuse the standard security detail, and Luca could frame his choice as duty.

One of the men laughed. “She’s that beautiful, and you’re telling me that in all these years, you’ve never felt a thing?”

My heart stuttered.

I’d asked Luca that same question once.

He had frowned, looking at me as if I’d said something absurd.

“Never. She’s like a sister to me.”

Inside the room, the noise died for a few seconds.

Through the crack in the door, I saw Luca lift his glass and take a slow, deliberate sip.

“She isn’t wife material. She’s too wild, and she doesn’t understand what our world demands. To me, she’s… family. That’s different.”

A wave of knowing laughter erupted from the men inside.