Bittersweet Chapter 7: Music was my first love

A/N: Thank you for the comments Phantommistress, Jane and Brooke I really appreciate it.

Celia's PoV

The following weeks were busy but uneventful. I had found my new routine in life quickly, taking care of the opera, spending time with my friends Angelique and Rosalinde who live both near the opera with their husbands, finding a new friend in Meg Giry and having the occasional talk with Erik Destler. I haven't seen him lately, though. He's probably wrapped up in composing the opera. My suspicions were right about him: as long as we were willing to cooperate and/or work together, no one would receive any complaints from the opera ghost.

I still love and miss Stefano and the rare moments we do meet are bittersweet. I know it's better for me to not see him too often, or else I will never accept his heart belongs to Dominique but our friendship still means a lot to me and it hurts when I can't see him as much as I would have liked.

I'm currently in the room I've moved into the day after I had officially became the patron, playing my violin. I've always loved playing the instrument, it's my greatest passion. I'm so wrapped up in my music I forget my surroundings and jump when I hear someone applaud. When I see no one standing there I roll my eyes.

"Mosieur Destler, I thank you for your sign of appreciation but I would like it if you would actually show yourself. If I didn't know better I would start to doubt my sanity by hearing applauding yet seeing no one who's doing the said action."

A moment later he's standing in front of me, looking curious.

"I didn't know you were a musician and a very skilled one as well."

I blush. "I'm not that good."

"You are. You might be insecure about it but that doesn't mean you're not a talented violinist. Why did you never audition as a musician here?"

I sigh sadly. "I never auditioned because it's inappropriate for a lady of high society to be a musician."

"Since when do you care so much about what's appropriate for a lady? I don't mean to be offensive but you did take the, for a lady very unusual, job as patron."

"I do not care as much about appropriate behavior as others with a comparable heritage may do, that much is true. It's just….My father is the owner of the Banque (bank)of Paris and his most important customers are really strict when it comes to following the rules of society and if I would do such a shocking thing that's so highly inappropriate for a lady like playing a violin in the biggest opera of Paris, they would blame my father for this 'disgrace'. Since my father and mother always have been more tolerant than most and allowed me to do something as passionate, emotional and therefore improper as playing a musical instrument, would result in making my father lose his clients because of it. It would be a poor way to repay them."

"Tell me mademoiselle, did you took this job so that you could be as close as society would allow you, to your dream of working here as a musician?"

I nod. "look, I know it's foolish but…"

"On the contrary mademoiselle, it isn't foolish. And if anyone here can understand the passion one can have for music, the feeling of needing it to live, being unable to breathe without it….. That would be me."

"I wish people could look past social rules sometimes."

"Me too," Erik agrees, a hint of bitterness in his voice.

I excuse myself and get up to go to the bathroom. The moment I open the door, Meg walks past me only to stop and stare. She has spotted the opera ghost in my room.