I Chose To Disappear From Their Lives Chapter 06

I Chose To Disappear From Their Lives Chapter 06

In an instant,

it felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the space around him. Ethan couldn’t breathe. There was

nothing left in his chest but suffocation.

“Claire…”

Marcus and Noah stood frozen too.

They had never imagined that someone who had been perfectly fine the day before could simply be gone the

next.

If something had really happened to Claire, how were they supposed to answer for it?

How were they supposed to live with themselves for the rest of their lives?

Ethan’s eyes reddened. He lunged forward and pulled back the white sheet with trembling hands.

When he saw a stranger’s face,

relief rushed through him.

His legs nearly gave out, but Marcus and Noah caught him.

“Thank God. It isn’t Claire.”

Marcus suddenly thought of something. “What if Claire went home by herself after we left?”

Ethan shook his head. He didn’t know.

But now, he prayed with everything in him that it was true.

The search ended.

Until the very end, they never found Claire.

In a way, that proved Marcus right.

The three of them exchanged a look.

Once they were in the car, they sped toward the Bennett estate.

Ethan drove with his foot pressed to the floor. He ran countless red lights and didn’t care.

There was only one thought in his head: he had to see her as soon as possible.

In the back seat, Lily watched the speedometer and went pale with fear.

“Ethan, can you slow down? Please. I’m scared.”

No one answered her.

When she tried again, the man in front suddenly exploded.

“If you’re scared, get out!”

She flinched all over.

Her eyes immediately filled with tears. She sniffled and fell silent.

Her heart filled with hurt and resentment.

Why?

How could they yell at her like this over Claire Bennett?

She bit her lip hard.

The hatred flashing in her eyes grew more intense.

Marcus and Noah glanced back at Lily and saw the expression on her face.

They quickly exchanged a look, shock written in both their eyes.

Ethan cut the hour–long drive down to twenty minutes.

When the car screeched to a stop in front of the Bennett estate,

Lily finally let out a breath.

But when they tried to go inside,

the security guard who had always opened the gates for them stopped them this time.

Ethan lowered the window, his face dark. “Do you know who we are?”

The guard’s expression didn’t change.

“I’m sorry. Mrs. Bennett gave strict instructions. None of you are allowed on the property anymore.”

All three men cried out in shock.

“That can’t be right!”

Ethan refused to believe it. “I’m Claire Bennett’s fiancé!”

While the standoff dragged on,

Claire’s mother came outside.

Ethan grabbed onto her like she was a lifeline and hurriedly asked in a hoarse voice,

“Mrs. Bennett, is Claire home? Did she make it back last night?”

Mrs. Bennett was silent for a long moment.

Then, while the three men waited in terror, she answered slowly. “She’s safe.”

Ethan sagged with relief.

He was about to speak

when Mrs. Bennett cut him off. “But she will not see any of you. As for the engagement between our families,

I have already formally informed Ethan’s grandfather that it is canceled.”

Ethan jerked his head up, unable to believe what he had heard.

“Why…?”

Mrs. Bennett said nothing else. She only handed him a letter Claire had left for him before she departed.

He opened it with shaking hands.

There were only two words: It’s over.

Mrs. Bennett’s eyes settled on Lily. The authority in her gaze made Lily’s heart jolt.

Lily instinctively stepped behind Ethan.

Mrs. Bennett gave a cold laugh.

“Hide behind him for the rest of your life, then.”

She turned and walked away.

At the gate, the three men stared at the piece of paper. Marcus and Noah suddenly realized that Claire hadn’t mentioned either of them.

And Ethan…

He stared blankly at those two words. His heart felt crushed in a vise, and the pain made it impossible to

breathe.

It’s over.

He had never imagined Claire would break up with him.

He got into his car and drove away without waiting for the others.

Marcus and Noah each called their own drivers.

They left in a daze.

No one paid any attention to Lily.

Once the gate was empty, Lily watched the three men leave without hesitation and screamed in fury.

“Why? Why?!”

She clenched her hands.

Her fingernails dug into her palms.

Why hadn’t Claire died? Why had their attitude toward Lily changed like this?

Years of effort had gone up in smoke in an instant!

She gritted her teeth.

She refused to accept it.

On the other side of town, Ethan had no idea how he was driving.

His mind was a blur, and he ended up in a car accident.

He had a long dream.

In it, he left Claire alone in the mountains and abandoned her in a foreign country.

She cried loudly.

Meanwhile, he traveled the world with Lily.

When he woke up,

Marcus and Noah were standing beside him. He turned his head, but the girl he had thought about day and

night was nowhere to be seen.

Claire was gone.

She had broken up with him.

When Ethan understood that, his eyes turned red. He had never been this afraid.

“Where do you think she went?”

Marcus shook his head. “I don’t know. I just realized I don’t even know what she dreamed of.”

They knew even less about where she was.

Noah spoke quietly from the side. “I think we were wrong. I think we’ve been ignoring Claire all these years.”

Ethan remembered his dream.

His heart clenched so tightly that he couldn’t breathe.

For the first time, he understood how terribly wrong he had been.

“You two should go.”

His voice was hoarse.

After the hospital room fell quiet, he stared at the ceiling and at the ring on his right hand.

It was one of a pair he and Claire had made for each other when they first got together.

Now,

both rings had already turned yellow.

Just like their relationship, they could never return to the beginning.

He squeezed his eyes shut.

His trembling breaths carried sobs and regret.