2

Leon's POV

The sudden knock on the door broke my train of thought. I lifted my head from the tedious pile of paperwork, hoping it was just a colleague coming in on business. However, when the door opened, and I saw who was standing in the doorway, the entire world seemed to stop spinning. Isabella, my long-lost first love, stood there with a small smile on her lips. The smile that used to always make my heart flutter.

She was still as beautiful as ever, maybe even more so. Her jet-black hair was loose, her deep eyes still radiating the charm that used to captivate me. I swallowed, trying to find words, but all that came out was a name I hadn't mentioned with any emotion in a long time.

"Isabella?" My voice sounded hoarse, surprised, and full of doubt. How could she be here? After three years of disappearing without a trace, she just appeared, as if nothing had happened. The pain and confusion that I once experienced when she left filled my mind again.

She stepped inside, closing the door behind her, as if not wanting to disturb anyone.

"Leon. I know you must be surprised to see me here." Her voice was still as soft as ever, like the music I once loved.

"Three years, Isabella. Three years you disappeared without a word." I heard my voice filled with regret and suppressed anger. "Why now? Why only appear now?"

She looked down, her eyes glazed over, as if trying to hold back tears. There was a heavy silence between us before she spoke again.

"I have no choice, Leon. I have to go, and I can't tell you why. But I never wanted to leave. I... I’ve always loved you."

Her words hit me like a punch. Love? After everything that happened, after all the time that had passed, she was still talking about love? But before I could say anything, she continued, this time in a firmer voice, despite the obvious hurt in her eyes.

"I disappeared because of Ariane. She threatened me, Leon. She didn't want me to be around you, because she knew our feelings. Ariane... she did something dark to make sure you were with her, not me."

I stared at her, unable to believe what I had just heard. Ariane, her half-brother, my wife for the past three years, used dark means to make sure I married her? It made little sense, but the expression on Isabella's face was so sincere and filled with pent-up sorrow. The fear that had never crossed my mind crept in, ruining all the memories I had built with Ariane.

"Isabella, what do you mean?" I asked, my voice almost a whisper. "What do you know?"

Isabella looked at me, and I could see the pain in her eyes.

"Before you got married, I saw it, Leon. I saw Ariane meet a black mage. I don't know exactly what happened, but after that meeting, you started to move away from me. You suddenly seemed more interested in her. I know you never really loved her. It was all manipulation. She wanted to make sure that you chose her, not me. That's why I left. I couldn"t bear to see you fall into her trap."

Those words hit me like a thunderbolt in broad daylight. I felt sick, as if the world I had believed in had collapsed in an instant. These three years, everything I did with Ariane, all the struggles, love, and sorrow we shared-was it all a lie? Was our marriage just the result of dark magic tricking my feelings?

I shook my head, trying to push the thought away, but suspicions began to grow, like seeds taking root in my mind. Suddenly, it all started to make sense-why did I feel like I never fully connected with Ariane, despite my best efforts? Why, in the depths of my heart, I always felt like something was missing.

Unconsciously, I grabbed Isabella's hand, looking at her with deep pain.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? Why did you let me live this lie for three years?"

She looked down, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I was scared, Leon. I didn't want you to get hurt, and I didn't know what to do. But now, I can no longer keep quiet. I have to tell you the truth, even if it means ruining your life."

Silently, I stroked her hair, trying to find comfort in this confusion. All this time, I felt Ariane was everything to me, but now it all felt like a false shadow, a deceptive mirage in the desert of despair. I don't know what to do. Was all of this true, or was it just a ruse by Isabella to reclaim what I"d once lost to her?

However, the more I thought about it, the more nauseous I felt. I couldn't look at Ariane the same way anymore. Her every smile, every loving look, now felt like a knife piercing my heart. Isabella was here, standing in front of me, reminding me of the love I once had before all this started.

Time seemed to slow down as I moved away from Ariane, spending more time in the office, trying to find answers in the silence and routine of my work. However, the answers never came. Instead, my feelings for Isabella grew again, like a wilted flower revived by sunlight. In my office, Isabella became my solace, the only one who could make sense of the chaos in my mind.

Days passed, and the nights grew longer. Isabella started coming to my office more often, to talk, share old stories, reminisce about the past. But over time, our meetings became more than just sharing stories. The touch that was once been so natural now returned with greater intensity. I found myself unable to resist. She was a part of my past, a part I should never have let go of.

One night, after hours spent in the office, Isabella looked at me with longing eyes.

"Leon, I can't go on like this. I love you. I want us to be together again, like we used to be."

I looked at her, feeling caught between two worlds-the past and the present. On the one hand, there was Ariane, the wife whose love I now doubted, and on the other, there was Isabella, the first love who came back with old feelings that hadn't disappeared.

"I don't know what to do either, Isabella," I replied in an almost hoarse voice. "But I know one thing-I can"t keep living this lie."

Isabella nodded, and in that silence, we both knew that this relationship could no longer be called a casual friendship. It was the start of something new, although I didn't know what would happen after that.

However, one thing I knew for sure-this relationship would change everything, for me, for Ariane, and for the future that I had thought was clear. Now, that future is full of uncertainty, and I don't know if I'm ready for it.