A/N: Hello again! I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry for not updating sooner! Thanks so much for my lovely reviews! I feel so happy to know that people like my story! By the way, this is :Dun,Dun,DAAAAAAAAAAA: The chapter… If you've read the story's summary, you should know what I'm talking about ;) Tehehehehe I'm so excited! MAJOR, MAJOR E/J issues this chapter, but they will not be mad forever, I promise!

Padfootz-luvr You're always so kind in your reviews, I love it! (I also love how passionate you are in your hatred of Christine lol it's cute) I hope you like this chapter! Your FAVORITE (I'm being WAY sarcastic) character is finally making her appearance! Evil Grin I can't believe JK's going to kill someone ELSE too! I literally cried for hours after she killed Sirius! How could she! He's the best guy ever!

horse-crazy-gurlThanks for your review! Well, Erik is MOSTLY mad at the fact that she betrayed his trust by going through his personal possessions (can you really blame the guy?) But he's also afraid that if she knew how horrible he really looked, she wouldn't want to be seen with him or will simply be frightened by just the thought of how horrible he must really be. Plus, he now knows that she'll start asking questions (hint, hint: this chapter!) and she may not love him when she learns about all the terrible things he's done.

phantomsangel102Thanks SOOO much for your review! I'm glad you're enjoying this!

All Apologies Thanks! Hopefully your wait wasn't TOO long, lol (I'm trying to update as often as I can

oceansunIsn't fluff just the greatest thing in the world? ;) I'm a HUGE fan of it (most of my stories have loads of it!) Tehehehehe This chapter has some too, though not as sickeningly sweet LoL

An Anti-Sheep Cheese Muffin I'm glad you liked it! I know! I was happy that I could finally be together too! (Though who knows how long it will last… you-know-who's going to show up, you know Grins Evilly)

aLL aMeRIcAn gIRl 50 Soon enough for you? LoL I'm so glad you like it! Thanks for reviewing!

Maeko-Nohara: Where are you:( I miss your awesome reviews!

Chapter Five

The days seemed to fly by after that night. What little tension existed between the two had ceased to exist. Now there was only each other and nothing else seemed to matter. Though hesitant at first, Erik decided to no longer wear the mask in Jacqueline's presence. She had grown accustomed to stroking the right side of his face each morning when they woke in each other's arms, almost as a way of assuring him that she was unafraid.

Jacqueline had no idea how much this small act truly meant to Erik. Never before had anyone, not even himself, been able to touch his horrid face without recoiling in horror. Every morning, as he felt the soothing weight of her body against his, he often wondered if this could truly be real. "Could this all be some cruel dream?" Erik often found himself whispering aloud. Yet every day and night passed by normally and each morning he found himself still living this amazing dream.

XXXX

It was a mere month after their confession of love that the day came. Jacqui woke up with an unexplainable start and in a moment she knew: Today was the day she had to find out the truth. Once again she had been plagued by confusing nightmares about rings, collars, and masks. She knew that her subconscious was trying to tell her something. For weeks the thoughts had been circling her brain. What to ask, how to approach him… She was unable to find an easy way, yet she knew it must be done. Jacqueline loved Erik with all her heart and nothing he could say would change a thing. "My fears will never be put to rest until I learn the truth." She decided.

Breathing deeply, she gently caressed Erik's bare chest. "Erik?" she whispered softly. His eyes opened slowly as he looked down at Jacqueline's lovely face. "Yes, my love?" he kissed her forehead and ran his fingers through her silky hair as he awaited a reply. "We…need to talk." the words came out in a soft hesitant whisper.

She felt his hand leave her head. "What is there to talk about, Jacqueline?" he replied, failing to hide the concern in his voice. Jacqui sat up slowly, turning away from him, frightened. "About you…your…those things I found…I mean, I…" Suddenly she jerked around to face him, though she could not see him, she wanted Erik to see her face. "What are you hiding from me?" she demanded without warning.

Erik got out of bed slowly and began to dress, avoiding an answer. "We can talk later." He said shortly, "Come, let's have breakfast so we can start your lesson." Jacqueline could not believe he was acting like this. "We both know you kept those things hidden for a reason, Erik!" she was shocked to find herself shouting. "Why won't you tell me? Don't you love me!" Erik approached the bed slowly. "You know I do, but…I really don't think…"

Jacqueline stood up. "You know you'll have to tell me eventually! Why not now, when I'm willing to hear the truth? Erik, I love you. I've already sworn it before God. I promise that nothing will ever change that. Ever." She reached forward until her hand contacted Erik's shoulder. She rested her head upon it, wrapping her slender arms around him. "I just need to know."

Wordlessly, he pulled away from her embrace and slowly opened the bottom drawer of his elaborate dresser. "She wants to know the truth? Then I will show her..." Erik removed the carved box and set it gently on the bed before Jacqueline. She reached her hand inside and immediately felt the coolness of metal beneath her fingers.

"How come you have this man's watch, Erik? Who was he?" slowly, she placed the object into Erik's rough hands. "This is not a watch. It is a compass." He said simply. "Why is she forcing me to relive this!" Erik thought in desperation as Jacqueline repeated the question he could not avoid. "Okay, then why do you have this man's compass? Who is he?"

"The closest thing to a father I have ever known." Erik whispered sadly, staring at the shining metal. "Until he betrayed me…until he…" His voice trailed away as he felt the sting of tears in the corners of his eyes. "What happened to your real father? Did he pass away when you were young, like mine?" Jacqueline asked the question timidly, feeling that maybe this was a loss they both shared. She was mistaken. "He died before I was born."

"Why am I telling her this?" He turned to face the girl on the bed. "Can we please let this be, Jacqueline? I have already said too much." Jacqueline stubbornly ignored the question. "What about your mother then? Surely you knew her." Her question was met with cold silence. "Were you close? Did you lose her as well?" Erik rounded on her bitterly. "Close?" An icy laugh escaped his lips as he approached her, "If you consider hatred, neglect, and abuse as "close", then yes, very much so." He turned back to face the wall, not wanting to look at Jacqueline. "I ran away from home when I was around nine. I never saw her again." He ended in a whisper.

"I'm so sorry Erik! I didn't know, I-" Jacqueline began to stand. "Do not be sorry, Jacqueline. I am not worthy of your pity or respect…or love…" Jacqui sighed in exasperation. "We've gone through this before Erik! I don't care what you look like! All that matters to me is your soul…you have such a beautiful soul, Erik!" A soft laugh echoed through the room. "Do I?"

His shaking hand reached back inside the box to retrieve the diamond-encrusted cat collar. Erik threw it at Jacqueline's feet. She slowly picked up the treasure and fingered its jewels. "That collar belonged to my special lady…" A bitter smile played on Erik's pale lips. "Ayesha… my beautiful girl… I guess you could call her my first love." He paused. "Sad, isn't it, when you are forced to love a cat? She got sick about a year ago and…" The tears once again threatened to fall as Erik continued on. "I stole that collar, a very long time ago from the shah of Persia."

"Persia! Erik, when did you…?" Jacqueline could not believe what she was hearing. Why had Erik not told her of these intriguing things before? Surely he had lived an amazing life. She heard a bitter laugh once again. "Don't sound so surprised, my dear. My skills as a magician once made me world famous…though it was my other skills that proved more useful to the shah and his dear mother…" Jacqueline sensed the foreboding in his voice, but she had to ask. "What sort of skills?"

"I'm a designer of sorts, Jacqueline. I design everything from palaces to mazes, even children's toys…" He took a deep, shuddering breath. "But my specialty was designing death…" Jacqueline froze. "Death? Erik what do you mean? I don't understand." The couple stood inches away from each other; Erik could almost hear Jacqui's heart beating wildly with dread. "She wanted to know…" His next words came in a whisper. "I designed torture devices for the shah of Persia."

Jacqueline felt as if her heart had stopped beating…maybe it had. "Erik…why?" The words could not escape her lips, so she merely stood in stunned silence as he continued. "I could not tell you the number of people I have killed, Jacqui: not only the victims of my torture chambers, but in cold blood as well." He turned from her once again, pained by the sounds of her soft sobbing.

"I wish I could tell you that I feel bad about it, Jacqui. I wish so much that I could say I would change the past, if it were possible. But that would be a lie." He heard movement behind him as Jacqui approached the box. Cursing every word he had just spoken, Erik faced the young woman. She held the ring in her hand and thrust it angrily in Erik's face, shouting through her tears. "And whose ring is this, Erik! Was she another one of your victims! Did you kill her, Erik! Did you like killing her!" Before she knew it, Erik's cold hands were clenched around her slender neck, squeezing with intense rage until she could no longer breathe. Jacqueline fought wildly, but she could not escape his grasp.

"How dare you say that! How dare you assume that I would ever hurt her! I would never! Why would you say…!" He let the thought end there as he thrust her roughly on the bed, trying to steady his shaking hands. "You really are a naïve little girl, aren't you?" Jacqueline took a gasp of air before breaking into sobs once more. No longer caring, Erik let his tears fall freely from his softening eyes. In that one moment, he hated everything. He hated God, he hated Jacqueline, he hated Christine, but above all, he hated himself. "Why do you hate me, God? Have I not suffered enough!"

With hesitated steps he approached the shaking form that lay on the bed. He truly was a monster in every sense of the word, yet even a monster could not bear to watch the love of his life break down like this. "Oh my God, Jacqueline, I'm sorry! I would never hurt you!" He sat next to her, whispering gently through his silent tears. "I swear, I don't know what came over me." He reached forward gently to stroke her hair. Jacqueline felt the fingers of this murderer brush her skin. "Get away from me!" She roughly pushed his hand away and curled herself tighter into a fetal position.

Erik's silent tears turned into raking sobs. "She's afraid of me…she hates me…" He couldn't stay in this house a moment longer. With shaking legs, he stood up and approached the door, attempting to slow his sobs. "I must go. I will be back before dinner." He managed to gasp, "I will understand if you are gone when I return…" Once more, the tears came in silent streams as he took one last look over his shoulder at the writhing, sobbing form on the bed.

Through her tears, Jacqueline failed to notice the whispered "I love you" before Erik closed the door gently and left her with her grief.

XXXX

Wrapping his cloak tightly around his shaking form, Erik strode determinedly through the relatively quiet backstreets of Paris. He did not know nor care where he was headed, he just felt the need to get away, to think, to find a way to win Jacqueline's forgiveness.

It was then that he realized it. Yes, he had loved Christine. Yes, though he hated to admit it, a part of him still loved Christine. But Christine had left him. She had tricked him, betrayed him, and feared his face. Jacqueline was completely different. She was sweet and kind, strong and determined, beautiful in everyway… Jacqueline was perfect.

He had never loved anyone, not even Christine, as much as he loved Jacqueline. "Christine is nothing but a fond memory now. There is no one but my sweet Jacqui." He smiled gently at the thought of his precious angel. "Tonight I will burn that wretched box and its contents once and for all and show Jacqui that I have changed." Erik headed toward the small market to buy a bouquet of red roses for his beloved. "She will find it in her heart to forgive me, for if anyone's heart is strong enough for that, it is Jacqui's."

Lost in his thoughts, Erik ran straight into a young woman, almost knocking her to the ground. "Forgive me, mademoiselle." He muttered, helping her to her feet before continuing down the road. He did not have the time for a proper apology. "Excuse me, monsieur!" The woman called to him frantically. Erik felt as if his lungs had failed to operate. That voice. He would know that voice anywhere.

He stood, rooted to the spot as the woman ran up to meet him. Smiling, she turned to face him. "Forgive me, but your voice, I thought-" A gasp escaped her lips as the two figures stared into each other's eyes in silence.

That face…so beautiful and yet so terrifying. The mask gleamed beneath the hood… and his eyes…Oh God, how could she ever forget those eyes? She tried to forget what lay beneath the white porcelain and stared at his strong handsome features. It had only been four years, yet it felt as if it had been a lifetime…

That face…surely it could have only belonged to an angel. Her soft ringlets framed her thin face and a few pieces fell into her eyes… Oh God, how he longed to drown in those pools of rich chocolate brown. He tried to forget the pain she had caused, the suffering, and stared at her soft feminine features. It had only been four years, yet it felt as if it had been a lifetime…

"Erik?" Oh, how he had missed the sound of his name on those perfect rose-colored lips.

The name escaped his vocal cords as a soft whisper, almost like a prayer.

"Christine…"

A/N:DUN-DUN-DAAAA: Yes, "The Bitch is Back" ;) The story is officially going into simultaneous E/C AND E/J mode here. No, Erik has not COMPLETELY forgotten Jacqueline…she just, erm…slipped his mind for a few moments. :) Poor Erik…set the dial for angst, baby! Muahahahahahahaha:Ahem: As always, reviews are welcome! I will try to update quicker than last time! (The wheels in my head are already turning!)