He Chose Her, So I Chose to Disappear Forever Chapter 03

He Chose Her, So I Chose to Disappear Forever Chapter 03

Luca stroked my cheek, his voice as gentle as it had been a thousand times before.

“Trust me. I promise I’ll be back before the ceremony. After this, my life is yours. Completely. For these next few days, just… don’t force me to choose between you and a woman under our family’s protection.”

“She only needs guards to be protected,” I said, my voice flat. “She doesn’t need you to take her on vacation.”

His hand stilled.

“She only trusts me.”

“Then it’s still your choice.”

Luca said nothing.

I looked at him, and a bitter smile touched my lips.

He’d already made his choice.

He just wanted me to play along and pretend it wasn’t one.

In that moment, the last sliver of hope I’d been clinging to finally snapped.

Fine.

I was done arguing. And I was done with him.

Something in my expression must have unsettled him, because a flicker of unease crossed his eyes. He pulled me into his arms, a hug so tight I could smell the rain, leather, and the faint scent of gun oil on his coat.

“Elena…”

His phone rang.

Luca let me go and pulled it out.

Bianca’s name glowed on the screen.

He declined the call.

A few seconds later, it rang again.

He glanced at me, then answered.

We were standing so close that even without speakerphone, I could hear Bianca’s bright, cheerful voice.

“Luca, I’m all packed. Can you just come over tonight? It’s a waste of time for you to come all the way out here to get me tomorrow morning.”

Luca lowered his voice. “No. I’m with Elena tonight. I’ll send a car for you in the morning.”

There was a beat of silence.

When Bianca spoke again, her tone was perfectly innocent.

“It’s okay. I can just go wait at the airport by myself. That way you can sleep in and head straight there when you wake up.”

Luca’s expression hardened instantly.

“You’re not spending the night alone at the airport.”

“But I already called a car. Don’t worry, I won’t tell your mother, and I won’t let anyone in the family get in trouble for not doing their job.”

She was holding the rules of protection over his head.

If anything happened to a woman under their official protection, on his watch, the responsibility would fall squarely on Luca. Bianca knew exactly which button to push.