I broke from our kiss in frustration as I tugged at the ring on my finger.

"Satine?" He looked at me confused.

"Christian. I." Unable to finish my sentence I held my hand in front of his face.

"But. Who? When?!" His eyes searched my face for an answer. I looked down not wanting to meet his eyes.

"The Duke. He proposed and I could do nothing but accept. He still has the power over my life." Christian said nothing but seemed to think, I looked dared a look at his face. I felt him take my hand and in one movement he slipped the ring off my finger.

"We'll do what we had originally planned. Let's run away together. Me you and Clare."

"Christian."

"We'll do it tomorrow. Get Clare packed I'll get everything I have out of the bank and we can move anywhere, away from the Duke." I looked in his eyes and in them I found strength and love. This crazy plan seemed at last possible. And the thought of being a family burned so badly in my heart that I would do anything to make it come true.

"Yes. Yes, we'll leave tomorrow." We kissed briefly and then walked together back to the party seeing as it was 30 degrees outside and my arms were bare. We stopped at the doors of the studio.

"Meet me here tomorrow at 8:00 P.M. I'll be waiting with tickets. Where do you want to go?" I smiled up at him. "India." He smiled at the irony.

"Then India it is. But for now I have to go get everything ready. Remember 8:00 tomorrow, goodbye my love." He took me into his arms and kissed me one last time and then departed. I ached for 8 tomorrow and I did not turn in until he was totally out of sight.

Once I was inside I scoped the place for Clare. She was sitting on a chair still crying for me with Marie Next to her. I walked quickly over wanting to leave the party as soon as possible.

"Clare, darling it's time to go. Something has come up and we need to leave now." Marie looked at me questioningly. I only shook my head at her slightly as if to say don't ask.

"But," She sniffed, "I want to stay at the party!" She looked at me with teary eyed, pleading eyes.

"Darling, please cooperate with mummy. We need to talk." I bent down to her level whispering, "Its about Christian and your father." She looked at me very confused and finally relented to take my hand and leave.

"Gwen, what is going on?" Marie stood up looking at me.

"All will be understood by tomorrow. Tell Harold I've gone on home to attend some business at home and to put Clare to bed, because she looks very tired." Clare looked at me disapprovingly to say she wasn't tired in the last bit. "I'll have someone bring the buggy back to pick you and Harold up. It doesn't look like he's ready to leave yet. Do explain my absence." I looked over at Harold's direction to see him laughing and drinking. Marie nodded and, with Clare in hand and coats on, we walked out the door.

"Mummy why did we have to leave?" She asked angrily as we stepped through the door.

"I'll explain in my room. Come on." We walked up the staircase and into my room. I shut and locked the door. Maybe if I hadn't been in such haste and if I hadn't had the curtains drawn on my bed then I would have noticed the person sitting on it. I grabbed a suitcase and a bunch of Clare's clothes and mine, while I explained everything. I explained how her father and I fell in love and that there was a bad man who also fell in love with me. How, to help save her father I had to act like I didn't love him so that he wouldn't get hurt. I told him I lied to him and I moved far from him and lived with the bad man we know as the Duke.

"Then your father moved here. And I wasn't expecting it and I still needed to protect him and I was also afraid that he wouldn't love me anymore. But he found me out.Do you understand so far?" There was a pause and I could almost see her little brain working out all the details. Finally she nodded. "Okay, so when your father found me out we cleared everything and we decided that we were going to move far away from here. Now can you think of who your father is?"

"But mummy you said papa was dead."

"Clare, just forget everything I've told you about your father. Now who do you think it is?" She shrugged nonchalantly. "It's Christian darling. Your father is Christian." She looked up at me and smiled broadly clapping her hands. I smiled at her glee until I heard a voice behind me.

"Satine, that is truly a very romantic story." I gasped and turn slowly around. There the Duke was sitting on my bed looking very peevishly at me.

"Duke. I. I didn't see you."

"Obviously." He slowly got up. "I had just gotten to France when I decided to come back. See I also decided February was a long wait. So I figured I would come back and we could go ahead and be married." I grabbed Clare's hand she looked at him fearfully. There was a mad glare in his eyes. He wouldn't take his eyes off me and then off her. I backed up every step he took closer. "But now I see my love is not returned, and my daughter is not my daughter but the daughter of a penniless writer. So Satine this whole thing has been just a big act?" I said nothing and he raised his hand to smack me but instead smacked Clare. It was an earth-shattering smack that almost seemed to echo across the room. That half of her face was read and if the smack was loud her scream was louder.

"Clare!" I looked at the Duke, who looked straight back at me. Clare started to crawl over to me until the Duke took one step in front of her. "Why? Why won't you just let me be!" I started sobbing and screaming at his face. "Why won't you let me be happy!?"

"I've tried. But you seem to be more interested with that damned writer." He said calmly. He stood next to Clare and bumped into her causing her to lose balance and falling flat on her side. She cried more and I whimpered. "Why won't you just be a good girl and love me? Hmm?"

"Mummy." Her lip trembled as more tears pored out.

"Stop, please stop! She's not the one your mad at!" He looked at me, and then at her. Clare looked in fear up at him. He reached down and grabbed her hair in his fist and pulled her up. She screamed loudly and I tried to grab her but the Duke took one hand and shoved me back against the wall, knocking the breath out of me.

"Your right Satine, I'm not mad at her. But this is how I show you want torment and pain you've put me through. I love you Satine."

"Your incapable of love! The only thing you know how to do is lust after someone!" I spat the words at him. "If you really loved me, you would let down my child and leave us be! For the only thing a lover wants for his love is to be happy!" He continued to hold Clare with a tight grip in her hair.

"Then why wont you let me be happy?"

"Because I don't love you!" I screamed at him. "I never have and I never will!"

"I don't think I would say those things if I were you. You see, I have your daughter and you don't. to say things simply. If you refuse me, then Christians little baby girl will be no more. Meeting him at the studio tomorrow would mean instant death for her. Now I purpose that you come with me, we elope and then she's safe and we live happily ever after. If you refuse, I have a gun in my jacket. I'll cap her before she knows what in the hell is going on, and I'll find your lover boy too. Now darling, what is your choice?"

I began to sob aloud. I looked at my little girl, pain and fear etched on her face.

"Fine!" I screamed. "But know this Duke! Our marriage will never truly be binding, because whatever word comes from my mouth will not be true! I will hate you until I die! And the only reason for doing this is to save the man I truly love and my child!" Said the words with as much venom as I could pore into them.

"Now love I know you don't truly feel that way. Tomorrow you will be the happiest woman alive. Shall we depart?" He roughly let go of Clare, she fell to the ground crying in pain. I was able to go to her but the Duke quickly stopped me. "She will be a bother leave her here or you will wish you had never touched her."

"Mummy?" She mewed still crying. Her arms extended for me to pick her up. The Duke looked at me. I looked at her.

"Don't say anything, just keep walking." He pushed me along.

"Mummy?! Mummy up! Mummy up!" She screamed at me. I wanted more than anything to go pick her up but her life depended on my ignoring her. "Mummy!" I could hear her cries as I walked down the hallway down the steps and even out of the door it seemed I could hear her.

There was one thing I knew for sure. If I married him, and he killed Christian and Clare. I would surely kill myself. So I vowed that I would take my life if he took there's.