I Chose To Disappear From Their Lives Chapter 02

I Chose To Disappear From Their Lives Chapter 02

When I got home, Mom immediately noticed that something was wrong with my face.

“You’re burning up!” She jumped.

“Weren’t you out celebrating with Ethan and the others?”

“We broke up.”

My throat burned, and every word felt like a blade scraping it raw.

Mom was silent for a moment. “It’s okay. Then go abroad.”

I nodded.

I went back to my room. I had barely lain down when Ethan texted me.

[Where are you? Didn’t we tell you to wait for us? You left without saying a word.]

He didn’t ask why I’d left early.

There was only blame.

In our five-person group chat, Lily was the first to apologize.

[Sorry, Claire. I was the one who booked the wrong table.]

Ethan replied immediately.

[This has nothing to do with you. If she had a problem, why didn’t she say so then? Why is she throwing a fit now?]

Marcus and Noah chimed in.

[Exactly, Lily. This has nothing to do with you. It was just one meal. She’s the one being dramatic.]

I stared at the screen in silence.

The group chat was called The Princess and Her Three Knights. I had been added later.

So Ethan had added the tag

the princess’s maid.

My head was throbbing so badly that I left the chat without another thought, finally giving myself some peace and quiet.

That night, I had a dream.

I dreamed that when we were children, Ethan and the other two had promised to protect me as if I were their little sister for the rest of our lives.

Whenever someone bullied me, they got even angrier than I did.

But later, the real princess appeared.

Lily Parker, a delicate-looking girl with a spine of steel, transferred in from a poor rural town.

I had brought her into my social circle. In doing so, I had planted the seeds of my own exclusion.

After she appeared…

All three of them began unscrewing Lily’s bottles, fetching her hot water,

tutoring her,

carrying her backpack,

and walking her home every day without even discussing it.

Everything that had once been mine seemed to belong to her now.

The scene shifted.

Ethan wore a knight’s costume and thrust a sword at me. “No one is allowed to hurt her!”

I jolted awake and realized my pillow was soaked with tears.

It took a long time for my breathing to settle.

Then I picked up my phone.

I bought a ticket to the United States. I would leave tomorrow morning.

In the group chat, they added me back again.

The three of them took turns messaging me privately, criticizing me and calling me immature.

[What is wrong with you? Are you throwing another little princess tantrum?]

[Claire, you shouldn’t act like this. You really don’t care about our friendship at all.]

Ethan said,

[Lily cried last night. The three of us spent the whole night comforting her. You owe her an apology.]

I didn’t answer any of them.

I muted every notification.

I went to the company to complete the paperwork for my transfer.

When I came out, I ran into Lily.

Only then did I remember that after graduation, I had pulled strings to get her a job at my family’s company.

“Claire.”

She caught my arm and lowered her eyes. “Are you upset?”

“No.”

I answered coolly.

But Lily burst into tears as if I had bullied her.

“Lily!”

Three different voices rang out from a distance. Ethan shoved me aside and frowned at her.

“Did she hurt you?”

Lily shook her head without speaking, but that alone was enough to make all three of them feel sorry for her.

Marcus and Noah scolded me together.

“Claire Bennett, you’ve gone too far.”

I was exhausted.

I didn’t want to argue with them, so I turned to leave.

Ethan grabbed me at once. His eyes narrowed, the warning sign that he was angry.

“Apologize.”

The pain in my wrist was nothing compared with the suffocating pressure in my chest.

I had backed down too many times over the years to keep him from getting angry.

I wasn’t going to back down anymore.

So I took a deep breath.

“What exactly am I apologizing for? Did any of you even ask what happened before ordering me to apologize?”

Their expressions froze for only a second.

Then they chose Lily’s side.

“Lily never cries for no reason. Claire, she’s our friend. Stop acting like you’re above everyone.”

Marcus and Noah turned to Lily.

“Leave Bennett Group and come work for us.”

Lily gave me an uneasy look.

Finally, Ethan made the decision.

“That’s enough. Lily can work as my assistant. I’ll train her myself.”

He glanced sideways at me.

“What do you think?”

I let out a short laugh and pulled my wrist free.

“As long as you’re happy.”