Ok, chapter two. Now I'm sure that you will all say that Raoul is very OOC… but remember; it's been a year.

And also, thank you very much for you reviews. It means so much to me to see those e-mails in my inbox…

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Christine stared out the window of her hansom, silently cursing herself. Why had she done it? With anyone else it was perfectly acceptable to shut down like that, but with Erik? He knew her too well.

He would know that something was wrong, she realized. He would be able to tell… what exactly? Christine still didn't know what it was that had wrecked her marriage, she just knew that Raoul had begun acting strangely… it had all started when he had befriended the Baron L'Engle.

In a matter of weeks, Raoul was acting stuck-up and snobbish. He began to be controlling, demanding to know where she had been whenever she left the house. Christine couldn't prove anything, but she thought that when she walked around the shops, as she had done that day, Raoul paid someone to follow her.

Christine closed her eyes as she remembered the first time she had seen that side of her husband…

"Christine, I want you to stop seeing Meg." he told her.

"What? Why?" Christine had asked, aghast.

"She's just a lowly ballerina." Raoul said. "It isn't proper for a woman of your stature to be seen with her."

"But she's my best friend!" Christine protested.

"It doesn't matter." He told her firmly. "You're very lucky, you know. You've risen in society practically overnight. But you have a new life now. Leave your old friends behind."

"But Raoul-" she began.

"Christine, you are not to see her again. That's all I have to say on the matter." He told her shortly.

"Yes, Raoul." She said quietly.

Christine sighed. That had only been the beginning of Raoul's reign of control. Slowly, he had cut her off from everything and everyone that meant anything to her. He refused to let her sing. He had denied her everything she had ever loved.

He had said that he was doing it out of his love for her. She found it hard to believe that love could cause so much pain… but no, it could.

Oh, yes. Said a mocking little voice inside her head. Love can cause pain. Whenever he hurts you, it's always out of love, isn't it? Unless it's your fault. Then you have to get on your knees and apologize, unless you want more 'punishment'.

No! Christine thought. Raoul loves me, I love him, he's my husband…

How ironic. The voice continued. Didn't you choose Raoul last year because he made you feel safe?

Christine shook her head regretfully. It was true. She had been a child then. Raoul had protected her. She laughed bitterly. Maybe she would have been better off with Erik.

Erik. Seeing him today had brought back way too many memories. Memories… Christine closed her eyes as they flashed through her mind.

Her and Raoul kissing on the rooftop the night of Il Muto. Performing Don Juan Triumphant, and jerking the mask off of Erik's face as he declared his love for her. Raoul hanging in the Punjab lasso. Kissing Erik, at first as a desperate measure, but then the kiss had become pleasant, and she had almost thought that it wouldn't have been bad to stay with him… but he had let her go. The final memory Christine had was of her last glimpse of Erik. He had been sobbing.

When Christine opened her eyes, the carriage was pulling up in front of her home, the Vicomte de Chagny's mansion.

She stepped out of the coach and walked inside. She glanced at the clock in the foyer. It was seven-thirty. She gulped. Her conversation with Erik had caused her to be fifteen minutes late meeting her hansom.

Christine's eyes widened. Raoul was going to be angry… and he had been doing very bad things when he was angry lately.

She hurried up the stairs of the mansion, and burst into the master bedroom.

Raoul was in the process of changing for their dinner with the Duke and Duchess of Normandy, who were currently staying in Paris. He was wearing his fancy satin pants, but he was shirtless.

"Christine." He said softly. "You're late." Something frightening lurked behind his eyes. It was not anger, not yet. But it was the potential for anger, and somehow that frightened Christine more than the anger itself.

"I- I didn't meet the hansom on time." She said softly, looking away. She found that she could not continue staring into his intense gaze.

"Why not?" Raoul asked evenly.

"I ran into someone." Raoul continued to stare at her impassively. "An old friend." She explained.

"Someone from the opera house?" Raoul asked innocently. His tone, however, was mocking.

Christine's heart sank. He was playing with her. He was waiting for her to make a mistake. She would have to tell the truth; because she had no way of knowing how much Raoul knew.

"Yes." She said slowly.

"You know, I have ways of gathering information." Raoul said. "And these, these sources, if you will, they tell me that you were seen talking to a man wearing a cape. They say that he was dressed all in black, except for a white mask that covered half his face."

Fear jolted through Christine. "Raoul, I was just talking to him. I ran into him completely by accident-"

"And how am I supposed to believe you?" he shouted. "God, Christine! How serious is this? Have you made that monster your lover?" his rage was obvious now.

"No!" she cried. " Raoul, I haven't seen him in a year before today! I-"

"Be quiet!" he cried, striking her across the face.

Christine's head jerked to one side. She felt involuntary tears well up in her eyes. "Raoul," she began, looking at him. "Please, I swear-"

"Stop it!" he yelled, shoving her. She fell to the ground with a cry. He stormed about the room for a bit, and then told her, "Apologize. Swear it will never happen again."

"I'm sorry, Raoul." She said softly from the floor. "It-" she sobbed. "It'll never happen again."

"Get up." He told her, and she rose.

He put his shirt on, tucked it in, and examined his reflection in the mirror. "Get changed." He told her. "We leave in thirty minutes. I'll send your maid in."

"Yes, Raoul." She said quietly.

-

Now- I know the whole abusive-husband thing has been done before, but I hope this one will be different. It will get more complex; we will see why Raoul hurts Christine. And Christine is trying to make her marriage work. So, basically, don't worry, this is isn't another Raoul-hurts-Christine-so-she-runs-to-Erik fic.

OK, what are you waiting for? Go review, already!