Echoes of forbidden love

Chapter 20: The Rift

The night was heavy with tension, a darkness that seemed to press in from all sides as the revelations of the evening hung thick in the air. Harry—now revealed as both Viktor and the boy from Isabella's past—stood in the dimly lit room, his heart pounding with the weight of the truth he had finally shared. But the relief he had hoped for didn't come. Instead, a rift seemed to open between him and Isabella, one that felt as deep and impossible to bridge as the years they had spent apart.

Isabella's expression was unreadable, a mask of conflicting emotions. Her eyes, once filled with affection and trust, now held a storm of betrayal, confusion, and pain. She had just learned that the man she had known as Viktor was also Harry—the boy she had longed for, searched for, and mourned. Yet, in finding him, she had also discovered that he had been living a lie, hiding his true identity from her for reasons she couldn't fully understand.

Harry tried to explain, his voice thick with emotion. "Isabella, I never wanted to hurt you. I did what I thought was best to protect you, to protect us both."

Isabella remained silent, her arms crossed tightly over her chest as if trying to shield herself from the truth he had laid bare. Harry's gaze flicked to Arnold, who stood nearby, his face pale and strained. The revelation had shaken him to his core as well, leaving him grappling with the knowledge that his closest friend, the man he had trusted implicitly, had been hiding such a significant part of his life.

Arnold cleared his throat, his voice rough as he spoke. "Harry... Viktor... I don't even know what to call you anymore."

Harry turned to Arnold, his eyes reflecting the deep regret that gnawed at him. "Arnold, you have to understand... I did it to protect you too. The fewer people who knew the truth, the safer we all were. I didn't want to put you in danger, or put you in a position where you'd have to lie for me."

Arnold shook his head, the confusion and hurt evident in his eyes. "I've always had your back, Harry. You didn't have to protect me from anything. We could've faced it together."

Harry's shoulders slumped under the weight of Arnold's words. He had thought he was doing the right thing, keeping his dual identity a secret to shield those he cared about. But now, standing in the wreckage of their trust, he realized that he had only succeeded in pushing them away.

Isabella's voice cut through the tension, sharp and laced with anger. "So you just decided that lying to us was the best option? That keeping us in the dark was somehow protecting us?" She shook her head, her frustration spilling over. "You've been living two lives, Harry. Two lives! And now you expect us to just accept that?"

Harry's heart ached at the bitterness in her tone. "No, Isabella, I don't expect that. I just... I didn't want you to fall in love with the man I had to become to survive. I didn't want you to get hurt."

"Well, too late for that," Isabella snapped, her voice trembling with the weight of her emotions. "I trusted you, Viktor—Harry—whoever you are. I trusted you, and you lied to me. How can I ever trust you again?"

The silence that followed was thick with tension, a chasm that seemed to grow wider with every passing second. Harry opened his mouth to speak, to say something—anything—that might bridge the gap between them, but no words came. He could see the pain in Isabella's eyes, the hurt he had caused, and it tore at him in ways he hadn't anticipated.

Arnold, sensing the growing rift between the two, stepped forward, his voice steady but filled with an undercurrent of desperation. "Isabella, listen to me. I know Harry... Viktor... whatever name he goes by, I know him. And I know he never meant to hurt you. He's always been like a brother to me, and I've seen firsthand the lengths he'll go to protect the people he cares about."