A/N: Hello, everyone! Aren't you proud of me for updating so quickly? Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed – I'm so glad to see that people are excited about this story. Enjoy the chapter!

Christine's POV

It wasn't long before Erik and I parted – I knew that Meg would be watching for me, and even though Erik would never have admitted it, he needed to rest and save his strength. Before I left, though, I promised him I would return the next day. The idea of resuming lessons was made even more appealing by knowing that this would likely be our only time together for a while, and it made being away from him more bearable. There was some comfort in knowing that our lessons would be like they were before when things were at least safe, even if they weren't always simple.

I was jolted from my thoughts when I heard Raoul's voice around the corner, low and furious. I stopped in my tracks and cautiously peered around the corner before ducking back so I could listen without being seen. Raoul was talking on his cell phone, and though he was trying to hide it, I could tell he was seething.

"What do you mean you can't find him?" he hissed. "He's near death! How hard can he be to find? Just follow the damn trail of blood or something! Have you been keeping an eye on Christine?" There was a long pause, and I held my breath. "Well I don't care what you think. Keep watching her. If he makes contact with anyone, it will be Christine."

"Who's contacting me, Raoul?" I asked innocently, coming around the corner.

Raoul immediately snapped his phone shut. "You shouldn't eavesdrop," he said warningly.

I shrugged. "I was just walking. So, who's contacting me?"

Raoul briefly looked relieved, thinking that I hadn't overheard the rest of the conversation. "I was going to have someone call to check in on you," he lied smoothly. "But it looks like you're doing much better, so now I don't have to have anyone call."

"How nice of you to push me down the stairs and then have someone else call to make sure I'm ok," I drawled.

"Christine, don't be like that," Raoul said, reaching out to me.

I quickly pulled away from his touch. "You don't even try to deny it," I said incredulously. "How else should I be? You've taken everything from me, Raoul!" I didn't have to fake the pain that filled my voice as I thought of everything he had done, both to me and to Erik.

Raoul sighed. "When will you understand that I have only ever done what's best for you?"

I shook my head. "You've never cared about what's best for me, Raoul. If you did, you wouldn't have killed Erik." I walked away quickly, hoping that rehearsals would be ending and Meg would be ready to leave soon. Raoul followed me.

"The man was a murderer and a psychopath, Christine," he said. "Did you forget that he kidnapped you? Killing that monster was what was best for you."

I very nearly turned and slapped Raoul, clenching my fists and walking faster to restrain myself. "Don't you dare call him that. Erik was a better man than you'll ever be."

"You've let everyone believe that your fall was just an accident, haven't you?" Raoul asked.

"I'll tell them when I'm ready to talk about it – it's just too painful right now. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Don't you think that maybe you haven't told anyone the whole story because part of you believes what I'm saying now? Part of you is glad to be rid of that monster. Part of you is glad that I did what I did, and you agree that it was right. Part of you is thankful – that's why you don't want people to know the whole truth. You don't want what you believe is right to seem wrong."

"Go to hell."

"Christine, what has gotten into you?" Raoul asked, his voice so sweet and gentle that I wanted to hit him even more. "How can you say things like that? Remember before he kidnapped you? Don't you remember how happy we were? Tell me you don't want things to be like that again."

I stopped walking and turned to face Raoul. "I wasn't happy then, Raoul – not really. I tried. I wanted to be happy with you, but I only really wanted Erik. I was just too scared to admit it to myself. But when I was with him all those months, I overcame that fear. You knew that I wasn't in danger, and you killed him anyway. I don't know if you ever actually had feelings for me, but I know that you certainly don't now. So don't act like you care – you're not fooling me. Just stay away from me, Raoul. You've already done enough damage."

Without a moment of hesitation, I turned and walked away. Raoul said nothing and didn't try to follow me, but I knew that this wasn't over – he wouldn't just give up and go away. There was nothing that I could say to him that would make him give up now. He had gone mad with power and jealousy; he was determined to win me from Erik, even though I was supposed to think Erik was dead. I shuddered, knowing that Raoul would stop at nothing, but took comfort in the fact that Erik was alive and, currently, safe. And now, we had our chance to stop Raoul, to expose him for the spoiled, lying bastard that he was.

I was going to enjoy that immensely.

Meg's POV

Christine looked livid when she came and found me backstage, but I could tell she was trying to hide it, so I made no comment.

"Give me a minute to change and I'll be ready to go," I told her. "Mother said not to wait for her but she'd be home soon after us."

I changed quickly while Christine waited, and we stepped out into the cool evening and walked back to the apartment. Christine was silent as we walked.

"Christine, are you ok?" I asked after a minute. "You seem really… stressed."

"I ran into Raoul a little earlier," she admitted. "I was just thinking about everything he's done, and it makes me angry that I haven't been able to do anything about it."

I sighed, feeling sorry for her. "I can't imagine how hard all of this has been for you, Christine," I told her. "You've been through so much. But sometimes things happen and there's nothing we can do. It's hard, but sometimes you just have to try to move on."

"You don't understand," Christine said softly, her voice sad.

"You're right," I said. "I don't understand. I just want you to feel ok again."

"I know," she said. "And I'm sorry for being like this. I think things will be better soon."

"Christine, you have every right to be frustrated," I told her gently. "Mother and I understand that you're grieving for Erik… and for the baby. But I'm glad you think that things are going to get better. I just want you to be happy."

We walked the rest of the way home in silence, and not long after we got home, Mother arrived with carryout and we sat down for dinner.

"Christine, I almost forgot," I said. "Did you talk to the managers today?"

Christine nodded. "They wanted to know if I would do a solo performance in a couple of months," she said.

"What did you tell them?" Mother asked.

"I told them I would think about it," Christine said. "I've decided that I would like to do it, though, so I'll go back and talk to them about it more tomorrow."

Mother and I exchanged a brief glance, and I could see the concern in her eyes. "Are you sure you feel ready?" Mother asked. "It would be a lot of work and a lot of stress."

"It's not like I'm dying and need to save my strength," Christine reasoned. "I know what I've been through, but physically I feel fine now. It will be tiring, but no more tiring than it's ever been."

"Have you thought about the publicity that you'll get?" Mother asked. "We've been lucky that things have been this quiet. Once it comes out that you're performing again, reporters will want to know all about your disappearance. They will pitilessly try to dig into your personal life. Are you sure you're ready to handle that?"

Christine was silent for a moment as she considered Mother's words. "I'll think of something to tell everyone," she said with calm decision. "I'll make it seem like I just went away for a while and that the kidnapping was a misunderstanding. The press is just something that I'll have to deal with. I'm sure that there will be plenty of rumors, but… but I'll be able to handle it. I want to do this," she said determinedly. "I need to do this – for Erik."

The emotion in her voice as she said this broke my heart. We were silent for a moment before Mother spoke again. "If you're sure, Christine, then we'll happily support you," she said.

"I am sure," Christine said. "It will be a sort of closure, I guess. I just need to sing for Erik again."

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