Twin Flames, Shattered Fates

Chapter Four: The Rift

By the time Gabe made it to the park, Akari was there waiting. She sat stiffly on the swings, her hands gripping the chains, eyes shining with unshed tears. The quiet creak of the swing filled the space between them.

“Why did you run off?” she asked, her voice trembling. “Why do you keep pushing me away?”

Gabe shoved his hands into his pockets, jaw tight. He couldn’t stand the way she looked at him—like he was everything she needed. Like she couldn’t breathe without him.

“Akari…” He exhaled sharply, pacing in front of her. “You don’t get it. You never get it.”

Her brow furrowed. “Then explain it to me. Please. I’ve been with you through everything. I deserve to know what’s going on.”

He stopped pacing, turning to face her. The words spilled out sharper than he intended, but once they started, he didn’t stop.

“I don’t love you, Akari.”

Her breath caught. “…What?”

“I don’t.” His voice was blunt, unflinching. “I never did. You’ve been following me around like a shadow, acting like I’m the center of your world, and I let you because it was easy. But I don’t feel the same way. I never have.”

Akari’s grip tightened on the swing chains until her knuckles turned white. “You don’t mean that. You—you’re just angry—”

“I mean it.” His eyes burned, but not with regret—with frustration. “The truth is… it’s your sister. Aris. She’s the one who gets under my skin. She’s the one I can’t stop thinking about. She’s everything you’re not—loud, fearless, impossible to ignore. And no matter how much you care about me, it doesn’t change the fact that I only feel something for her.”

The silence that followed was brutal.

Akari’s lips parted, trembling, but no sound came out. Her chest rose and fell too quickly, her whole body shaking as though his words had ripped through her skin and bone.

“…My sister,” she whispered at last.

“Yes.” Gabe’s tone was flat, merciless. “Your sister. Not you.”

Akari finally stood, her eyes blazing through the tears that streaked down her face. “Do you even realize what you’ve done to me? I believed in you. I defended you against everyone, even when people said you’d break me. And you never cared. Not once.”

He flinched but didn’t take the words back. He couldn’t. They were already out.

“Stay away from me, Gabe,” she choked, her voice shattering. “Don’t you ever come near me or my sister again.”

"She was right about you, YOU of all people don't know how she truly feels about you. She thinks you're a narcissist who only chases after his goal until he's fulfilled it. Good luck if you think you stand a chance with her, she feels NOTHING TOWARDS YOU!"

She shoved past him, running down the street with tears blurring her vision, leaving him standing alone in the park.

Gabe reached out instinctively, but his hand dropped. He had no right. Not anymore.

Akari didn’t look back.

Akari burst through the front door, her boots thudding against the wooden floorboards. She didn’t bother kicking them off, storming straight past the kitchen where one of their uncles was chopping vegetables for dinner.

“Akari?” he called, startled by her tear-streaked face.

But she didn’t stop. Her body trembled with rage and heartbreak as she stormed down the hall. She shoved open the bedroom door so hard it slammed against the wall.

Aris was sprawled across her bed, earbuds in, one leg kicked up against the wall as she scrolled through her phone. She glanced up lazily—then froze when she saw her twin’s red eyes.

“What the hell happened?” Aris asked, sitting up.

Akari slammed the door shut, the sound rattling the frame. “You happened.”

Aris blinked, pulling out her earbuds. “…Me?”

“You and Gabe,” Akari spat, her voice trembling. “He told me. He told me everything.”

Aris narrowed her eyes. “Told you what?”

“That he doesn’t love me.” Akari’s voice cracked on the word love. “That he never did. That he only—only feels something for you.”

The air in the room thickened. Aris’s stomach dropped, though she tried to keep her face unreadable. “Akari…” she began carefully.

But her sister cut her off, words spilling like venom. “Don’t you dare pity me. Don’t act like you didn’t know! The way he looks at you, the way you tease him—it’s obvious. You’ve been stealing him from me this whole time!”

Aris shot to her feet. “Stealing? Are you kidding me right now? I never asked for Gabe’s attention. I never wanted it. If he’s too stupid to see you, that’s on him, not me!”

Akari’s fists clenched, shoulders shaking. “You could’ve stopped it. You could’ve told him to stay away. But instead you joke with him, you let him stare at you like you’re the only one in the room. You’re supposed to be my sister. My twin. How could you do this to me?”

Aris’s chest heaved with fury and guilt tangled together. “I didn’t do anything! I’ve spent years watching you chase after him, ignoring every sign that he wasn’t interested. I told you to stop. I told you to find someone who deserved you—but you wouldn’t listen. And now you want to blame me because he’s an i***t who can’t control his feelings?”

Tears spilled down Akari’s cheeks, fast and relentless. Her voice dropped to a whisper, broken and raw. “You don’t get it… I loved him. Since that rainy day when he shared his umbrella with me, I’ve loved him. And he chose you.”

The words hit Aris like a blade twisting in her chest.

“…Akari,” she tried again, softer this time.

But her sister’s anger flared hotter. She laughed bitterly, laughter like shattered glass. “Do you know what it means, Aris? It means I was never enough. I defended him, believed in him, chased after him no matter how many times he ignored me. And all along, he was looking at you. You, with your loud mouth and your stupid crude jokes, impossible to ignore.”

Aris opened her mouth, but no words came.

Akari pointed a trembling finger at her. “Congratulations, Aris. You win.”

She grabbed her pillow from the bed and hugged it to her chest, her whole body trembling. “I can’t even look at you right now.”

Before Aris could respond, Akari shoved past her, storming out of the room and slamming the door behind her.

The walls rattled with the impact.

Aris stood frozen, fists clenched, staring at the empty space her twin had left behind. Her throat burned, but she swallowed it down. She wanted to scream. To punch a wall. To chase after Akari and shake her until she understood.

But all she could do was whisper to herself, voice shaking:

“I didn’t take him from you.”

The words tasted hollow, like ash in her mouth.

And in the silence that followed, with the echo of Akari’s bitter laughter still ringing in her ears, Aris realized something far more dangerous—

Her own heart had betrayed her.