A/N: Ok, I decided to post this a little early. I know the last chapter was a little dull, but I swear it was for a purpose. I hope you guys like this chapter. I'm writing chapter 38 and the action builds. Enjoy! Read and review. I love to hear what you guys think.

Chapter 27 – Daddy's Little Girl

Most of the dancers and stage hands were gone. The managers had seen to it that before the next big production that there would be a day of rest. Gabrielle and Rene had disappeared, leaving Angelina alone in the opera house.

It had been several days since the last performance of Faust. Bridgette had received nothing but rave reviews. It had not taken her long to boast about it in Angelina's presence. Whatever Bridgette said to Angelina was ignored. It did not faze her any longer.

She sat on the stage, pondering what was to come. Would she become the next lead in the newest opera? Would she continue to be just a dancer for the rest of her life? Would her life ever stop soaring to the heavens every time Erik was around?

Angelina knew in her heart that she loved Erik with every fiber of her being. There was nothing no one could say or do to change her mind. Whatever love was in her heart for Jonathan was no longer there.

There was only one problem: she could not find the courage to tell him. There was nothing left with Jonathan and she could not tell him. Nor could she tell Erik the feelings that she forced to lie dormant. It was a raging battle that she could not longer ignore. There were too many emotions inside of her that needed to not only be contained but satisfied.

"Lost in thought?"

Angelina's eyes slowly widened at the sound of her father's voice. Slowly turning her head, she saw her father standing there smiling down upon her.

"Father?"

"Do you mind if I sit down?"

She shook her head. Raoul sat beside her. He had been watching her for several moments before choosing to speak. There were days were Angelina looked exactly like her mother and then there were days she looked like him. This was a day that she looked like him. Lost in thought, he could see the wheels in her mind turn and spin.

Meg's letter had reached him in due speed. And as asked, he did not reveal to Christine for the hasty return to Paris. Christine protested his return but the concern in Meg's letter made him want to leave sooner then he did. His daughter was his life and whatever it was that concerned her, needed to be resolved.

"I hear Faust went well."

"Bridgette has seen to tell me that on several occasions."

"You will be the lead in the next opera."

"So I have been told."

There was a sadness in her voice that he had never heard before. It worried him to no end. "Do you want to tell me what is bothering you?"

"No."

"Angelina, you cannot hold whatever it is that you are hiding inside you for long. It will tear you apart."

"You will not understand."

"Jonathan told me he asked you for your hand in marriage."

That was it. Angelina broke down in her father's arms. Her sobs would not stop. Every fiber of her being was being put out before her. The feelings for Erik, the loss of love for Jonathan, the hurt of not being who she always wanted to be. It was all there out in the open.

"Angelina, please talk to me. You have never held anything from me before."

"This is different."

"How?"

"I think I am in love."

High in the rafters, Erik looked down at Raoul holding Angelina. He had watched her pace the stage long before the Vicomte had approached her. Her stance had been sad and detached. It pained him to see her in the state she was in.

"I think I am in love."

That one statement rocked Erik to the core. I think I am in love. It could not have been the boy. She had hardly written or spoken to him. Her days and nights were filled either in his lair or on the stage. Erik was constantly with her – morning, noon, and night.

"Jonathan?"

"No, someone else."

His heart stopped. Could it be me? Could the young girl he had been teaching be in love with a hideous monster like him?

"Who is it?"

"I cannot say. I do not love Jonathan, father. Something happened. Maybe I grew up but I cannot love him."

Raoul now understood his daughter's heartache. She had fallen in love with someone else and did not have the heart to tell Jonathan. Jonathan would of course be heartbroken, but it would be more painful for him to be in a relationship with Angelina not loving him in return.

"Tell Jonathan."

"I cannot."

"You cannot fear to talk to him. If you do not tell him now, this charade will go on forever."

"I will break his heart."

"If you do not break it, it will never heal."

Her tear filled eyes looked into her father's. He was right – as always. In order for Jonathan to move on with his life, she would need to break his heart. To be free to love the one person she truly did, she would have to break hers as well.

"Does this man you love, love you in return?"

"I do not know."

Erik wanted to scream he loved her from the rooftops. But before he could, his thoughts began to change. Erik had watched as his assistant had grown quite attached to his pupil. Their bond grew more and more every day.

She loves Rene.

His happiness slowly diminished. She was in love with Rene. It is not me. Why would she love a masked freak when she could love a talent like Rene? His temper flared as he turned and began to walk away.

"Have you discussed it with him?"

"I cannot."

"Angelina, is there anything that you can do?"

She smiled, knowing exactly what she could do. "I can sing for him."

"I can sing for him."

Erik stopped in mid-step. His gaze slowly turned back to Angelina.

"He has heard you sing?"

"On more then one occasion."

"Like I was with your mother."

"I think it is quite different, father."

"Does he have a name?"

Do not say it, Angelina. Please, do not mutter my name… He assumed it was him once again. Cursing to himself, he continued to watch the scene unfold.

"Does it matter?"

"A curious father's mind wants to know."

Angelina's laugh filled his ears. A smile formed on his face.

"He does. But he does not know that I like him. I wish it to remain that way."

"You think that I would run and tell him?"

"I doubt it. But I do not want anyone else to know."

"I understand."

The naïve Vicomte had no idea about any of it. Erik laughed to himself. He still did not understand why Christine had married the Vicomte. It was not a wise choice.

"Father, please do not ask me any more questions."

The look on Angelina's face was priceless. It made him laugh. He loved his daughter with everything that he had. Raoul gently kissed her on the forehead.

"Fine, but it is against my better judgment."

"Do not tell mother. She will try to convince me to be with Jonathan."

"You have my solemn vow, I will not tell your mother."

"Pinky swear?"

She held out her pinky. It was an old tradition shared by them. His linked with hers.

"Pinky swear."

There was a bond there that neither could deny. Angelina loved her father. But there was another love in her heart now. Still afraid to tell anyone about Erik, she would keep it a secret until she could no longer.

"I am in Paris for the night. May I treat the newest star to dinner?"

Angelina's smile brightened his heart. Meg had worried him that it would be more then what Angelina had revealed. His daughter was in love and there was nothing he could do about it. He only hoped that the man she had fallen for treated her as any man should. His daughter was his pride and joy. No one would break her heart without some pain in return.