A/n: Hello! This is my first Phantom of the Opera fanfiction, so please forgive me if Christine and Raul aren't completely in character. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to read and, if you want, review my story.
"Do you love me?"
Tension filled the air as soon as the question fell from his lips. He'd been thinking about it for years. Every time she spaced out, or listened to music, or worst of all, sang, he knew who she was thinking of. Her voice was as sweet as honey, but what it signified was bitter poison to Raul.
He didn't want to make her feel guilty. She had been entirely faithful to him since the day they signed the marriage certificate. She never spoke of Erik, not once, but she thought of him daily. Raul knew it, and hated him for it. He had this magic about him that enchanted Christine in a way that Raul never could. He thought that giving her safety and security would be the key to her heart, and it was at first. She was so young then…She melted whenever he came home with colorful flowers and sweet nothings, but at the end of the day they couldn't find anything to honestly say to each other. They would exchange soft kisses and physical love, but they just couldn't speak to one another.
Erik was insane. He ticked her, deceived her, frightened her, but yet captured her heart in an iron grip. That mad man had a temper like blazing fire, and eyes like freezing ice, but Christine still wanted him. Christine and Raul were two of a kind. They both were kind, naive, and unafraid of the world, but that's how they fell. They lacked the magnetic force that held two opposites together. The couple lacked the passion that Erik had for Christine from the very start.
"What do you want to hear?"
Christine always fidgeted when she was nervous, but this time she was jittery because of guilt and shame, and Raul knew it. She had done that ever since small talk had run out, and the awkward silences at dinner began. Her pale, slim fingers would twist her chocolate locks when she was attempting to rack her brain of something that would start a conversation. In the end, she would just tap her foot as she ate to pass the time.
"The truth."
The topic that was always avoided in their home was finally surfacing. Honesty was never a strong point in their relationship. Never had they lied to harm each other, it was quite the opposite. She avoided the truth to let her husband live in ignorance, and he whispered white lies to give her peace of mind. Now, the deception had torn them down and sent them to places they shouldn't have dared to go.
"That's all I ask of you."