Erik's POV

"….So, this is it."

I had brought Christine down to the main floor of my home and started the tour. She gazed around the open space, her eyes seeming disappointed.

"Erik's bath tub is over here…" I approached the brass tub and patted the inside of it. "This is where Erik bathes himself."

"Where do you get the water from?"

"Over there…"

I pointed to a faucet that was sticking out of the wooden floor on the other side of the factory.

"Surprisingly, the factory had running water. Erik was lucky about that."

"What do you do to heat up the water for your bath?"

"Heat up?"

Christine nodded. "Well, I can't imagine that you would enjoy taking a cold bath."

"Erik has done it all his life. His mother never allowed him to take a hot bath. Yes, at first it was horrible and in the winter, Erik got sick a lot, but he has come to get used to it. The chill doesn't even bother him anymore."

There was a long pause of silence, before Christine spoke again.

"Erik, just because someone told you that you were never good enough for something doesn't mean that you have to keep thinking it. You're in America now…You can bathe in hot water if you wanted."

"Erik knows…He is just used to having cold water is all. Plus, it would be a lot of work to heat up the water before putting it in the tub."

"If you insist…"

"Come, Erik has to show Christine where he works."

I led Christine to my desk that was piled in paper work.

"And what about your piano? Where do you keep that?"

"Erik does not own a piano, Christine. He hasn't been able to afford one yet. Someday, hopefully soon. He almost has enough money stored away for one."

"No piano? I can't believe you moved into a warehouse and it doesn't even have a piano."

"Erik has done what he thought was right. He couldn't stay with Nadir any longer, not after the horrible things that Marisha had said to him. Though, Erik should have expected it, for no one can ever appreciate what Erik does."

"I always appreciated what you did for me, Erik…"

"If Christine appreciated Erik, she wouldn't have left him to die."

"What?" Christine gasped. "What are you talking about? Left you to die? I did no such thing."

Anger was building up from within me, the same anger I had held for the girl after all these years. How dare she stand before me and deny what she did! Oh, I would kill her for this.

"Christine has a lot of nerve denying such a thing. Erik nearly died that day…If not for Nadir…"

"Erik, I don't understand. You left me out there all alone."

"Did he?" I spun around to face her, my blood boiling. "Erik did no such thing! Erik saw Christine…He was lying in the snow, gasping and calling out for Christine with all the strength that he could muster, and yet, Christine ran to her boy and hugged him."

Christine seemed so confused…Why did she seem confused? She had left me to die, and yet, she was standing before me now seeming as if she had no idea what I was talking about.

"Erik, on that morning all those years ago, I woke and was ready to tell you that I loved you. You were gone and two minutes later Raoul appeared and said that you told him that you were utterly disgusted by me. He told me that you left and that you never wanted to see me again. What was I to think? What was I to do?"

"Is that the truth?"

Christine had tears in her eyes as she nodded.

"That is a lie! Yes, Erik did get up before Christine that morning, and yes, he was afraid…He was afraid that Christine would wake and feel disgusted when she realized what had taken place. Oh, it would have killed Erik to see pain on her face. So, Erik loaded up his horse and trotted off…But he stopped when he was up on the hill and looked back. He couldn't leave his Christine…It was wrong, and so, Erik was about to come back when he was shot."

Christine gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

"Erik fell off his horse and Raoul was there…He wanted Erik dead and when he left, he ordered his men to end Erik's life. Erik crawled, oh, how he crawled in that burning snow. It hurt Erik's body terribly. When Erik reached the river, he pretended to be dead. He was shot in the back by Raoul's men. Erik watched Christine run into Raoul's arms and storm off. Nadir found Erik and brought him back to life."

"Raoul ordered his men to shoot you?"

"And they did. Once in the back…Does Christine ever wonder why Erik needs a staff to get around? He cannot stand on his own, Christine. Without Erik's staff, he would not be able to walk, or stand."

"Raoul…he…he lied to me. He told me that you were disgusted and never wanted to see me again. He…he tricked me."

My shirt had been neatly tucked into my trousers, but I pulled it out and lifted the fabric just enough for Christine to gaze at the scar I had stretched across my side. More tears slid down her cheeks the moment she saw the hideous lump of flesh her husband had caused. But Christine didn't say another word, no, she covered her mouth with her hand and went running out of my home. She was repulsed by me…I fell to my knees and sobbed into my hands, for I knew that this woman would never love me. She claimed to have love me that morning when she awoke alone, but how could I believe her? No, she did not feel love, she felt pity, and I looked down upon those who pitied me.

Christine's POV

My entire life had been a lie! For the past five years I had been married to a man who lied his way into marriage. He swore to me that Erik left. He wore to me that Erik had said those horrible things right before leaving me. It was all a lie! My heart broke when I heard the truth. I couldn't have possibly stayed beside Erik a moment longer, and so, I left him. I needed to confront Raoul! I needed to let him know that I finally knew the truth. All these years I could have been living with Erik in America, and instead, I was unhappily married and living a lie. Raoul had promised that he loved me, but how could he tell me that after he had lied to me all these years? I burst through the door of our apartment and found him sitting in the kitchen with a bottle of brandy placed beside him. For five years this man has done nothing but gamble and drink. When we were first married he was sweet and loving…What happened to that? What happened to the Raoul I once knew?

"I thought you had work?" he questioned, raising a brow as I strode around the table. "You said that you weren't going to be back until six."

"How could you?" I began.

"How could I what?" he growled.

"How could you lie to me?"

"Lie? I did nothing of the sort. You have a lot of nerve blaming me for lying. You lie all the time. If I ask you why you're late coming home from work, you tell me that you stayed over. I know damn well what you do! I know that you're out window shopping in the city!"

"And do I not have a right to do as I please? I've been faithful to you ever since our wedding day, and yet, if I tell you that I was out shopping, you automatically think that I'm with another man. I asked you to do one thing, Raoul…I asked you to look after our child, and you couldn't even do that. But now to find out that our marriage has been nothing but a lie…"

"What? What in the devil are you talking about?!"

The man shot up from his seat, the force of it nearly turning over the table.

"I know what you did… I know that Erik didn't leave me that morning. I know that he didn't say those things about me. You ordered your men to kill him."

Raoul grabbed me by the neck and slammed me up against the nearest wall. Yes, it was foolish of me to argue with him when he was drunk, but I was mad, and I needed to hear the truth from his own lips.

"Who told you this?" he growled, pressing his palm tighter against my throat. "Who told this to you? It was that Persian man wasn't it? I saw him at the bar a few nights ago…So, he's found his way to Coney Island it seems."

"No, he didn't tell me this…"

"Which, it also makes me wonder about that story you told me last night…The one about how the police found Gustave in the park huddled beneath a bench. I find that a bit strange! Was that a lie too?"

"Raoul, please…"

"Please what?! You tell me who told this to you! I want to know!"

"Erik..."

Raoul tossed me to the floor and slammed his brandy bottle down on the table, causing it to smash. With the bottle top in hand, he pointed the jagged glass at me.

"The demon is alive? I find that hard to believe, for my men promised me that he was dead."

"So it's true?" I cried. "You really did order your men to kill him…"

"I should have done it myself! If I would have done it, I would have been sure that he wasn't breathing before I left his body! Those fools!"

"You've been lying to me for five years…I…I trusted you, Raoul. I trusted you and you lied to me. If Erik was alive, I would have never agreed to go with you. You were what I was running away from."

I was about to pull my wedding ring away from my finger, when Raoul hauled me up by my neck and slammed my face into the nearest wall.

"Take that back! You love me, you told me this yourself. You know you do, Christine. You don't love that hideous demon. You can't even stomach his face."

I was bleeding now from my mouth and nose, but Raoul didn't care. He tossed my body on the kitchen table, my back landing against the broken glass. The commotion must have startled Gustave, for he came running into the kitchen with tears in his eyes.

"Mama!"

Raoul was going for him now, but I wasn't going to let him harm my child. No, I jumped onto his back and began pounding my fists into it. This sidetracked him from Gustave, for his main concern was getting me off of him.

"Mama!..."

The man grabbed me by the hair and threw me to the floor once again. At that point, I was pretty sure that he had sprained my arm. Gustave ran to my side and buried his face into my bloody blouse. The fighting finally stopped, for Raoul fell to his knees and began groaning over his injuries. The man wasn't dead, but I knew I couldn't stay here, not anymore. My left arm and shoulder were killing me, but I couldn't continue to stay where I was. No, I scooped my boy into my arms and made my way to the streets, never knowing what lied ahead for me. I prayed that my father would send me an angel, for I needed one now more than ever. He had once sent me the angel of music, but now, I needed the angel of sanctuary…

DUN DUN DUN! Ok, there is the fight you've all been waiting for! Please review!