A/N: Seeing this is my last note to you wonderful patrons, I would like to thank you all for reading. It was quite an unbelievable journey – one that my dear friend Phoenix was never expecting. This was her first attempt at something in novel form. She has been a screenplay writer since I can remember. So, she is very proud of this piece of work and her other work that is posted on FictionPress.

Tonight the last chapter will be posted and the curtain will be drawn. But it will open on another work from my friend. Please look for 'Into the Mind's Eye' posted some time on Thursday. It is an exciting journey and one that I am sure you will enjoy.

Once again, thank you all for reading and enjoying this tale. I was happy to relive it with you. As always, may the Angel of Music watch over you. I bid you all ado. The stage is yours.

With much love,

Erik

Chapter 52 – A Ring and a Rose

Raoul watched as the grave came into view. Years it had taken for the heartbreak to end – years of frustration and anger. His beloved was gone. Christine de Chagny had battled with illness and heartache. It had destroyed her in the end. The loss of a son and a daughter had killed her.

He was barely standing now. The accident had left him in a worsened state. Christine had put up with his shouting and anger. But it was the letters that continued to come that kept him alive. Angelina continued to write from various ports. It was hard to keep track of her.

But he was lost in the world now. There was no one left. The Phantom had taken away everything: his beloved and his angel. How was he to survive with everything gone?

Christine 1854-1917 Countess de Chagny Beloved Wife and Mother

His hands wanted to betray him. Putting down the box that long ago haunted her, Raoul watched the monkey seem to laugh at him.

Its music was haunting and made his blood run cold. But Raoul knew that it would help Christine's soul be at peace.

Red was seen out of the corner of his eye. Slowly looking over, he gasped as he saw the last thing he needed to see.

A red rose with a black ribbon…

Creeping closer, his heart stopped. Something he thought he'd never see again was glimmering from the sun.

The ring…

Angelina stood and watched her father. Her heart continued to break as she watched him rise from the wheelchair he was confined to. But it was the loss of her mother that was heavy on her heart.

"Angelina…"

His voice still made her heart quicken. Turning, she smiled at the man standing behind her. His features had changed so much in the years after they had fled the mob. Erik finally admitted to her of his age and his looks. He could never hide the deformity as he wanted but his age…stage make-up hid his looks as he needed. Erik wanted to be the presence everyone had remembered from the Opera Populaire. If he had shown his age, the managers would have never cowered in fear. He wanted to be a ghost. And that is what he was.

He feared her rejection after the revelation. Angelina did not care about his age. It was his heart and soul that she loved. There was no need to hide from her any longer. As they fled, they learned about each other through ways no one had thought imaginable. Through song and dance, Erik and Angelina had reached new plateaus. Their relationship had finally become what they both had wanted.

It was one night in Venice that they had sealed their fate – bonding themselves together. In a moonlit ceremony, they promised themselves to each other. Their love for one another transcended everything Angelina had ever thought possible. She was his and he was hers.

"…come to me."

As always when he beckoned, she obeyed. She nearly cried at the sight of him.

"You should not be out of bed."

"I had to…I had to see her…"

Angelina knew why he had to – the death of her mother and of his first love. Her heart broke at the thought of him still loving her. Could she possibly be jealous of her mother?

"Erik, do you still love her?"

His lips on her forehead held the answer. He would always love her mother but the love he held for her was greater.

"I love you, Angelina."

Angelina turned and watched her father's shocked expression as his eyes fell on the rose. Erik's grasp tightened as Raoul touched the ring.

"He will not take it." Angelina assured him.

"The boy has taken everything else from me."

"He will not take it, Erik." Angelina watched as her father began to walk back to his chair. "See?"

Erik's free hand grasped Angelina's shoulder to steady himself. Dizziness overtook him as Angelina turned.

"Erik?"

"I am not feeling well."

"Come…let me take you home."

Taking one last look, Angelina knew that this would be the last time either men saw Christine Daae. She was now an Angel of Music. Her spirit would linger in both men until they joined her in the heavens above.

Erik's hand at the small of her back brought her back to reality. She smiled at him and they continued out of the cemetery. Love had brought him and Christine together. Love drove them apart. It was love that brought Erik to her. It was love…