*DISCLAIMER* I DO NOT own The Phantom of the Opera, its storyline, or its characters. Please R&R.
I was released from the hospital later that night. Meg stayed with me while they ran tests and ensured that I was okay. After being released, Meg drove me home and stayed with me for a while. She ordered Chinese takeout for the both of us and we watched a movie. Afterwards, she went home as it had gotten quite late and she still had to work tomorrow morning. "Bye Chrissy, if you need anything don't hesitate to call me or Nadir. My mom wants you to know that you can call her at any time too. Nadir has given you the next couple of days off so that you can recover… please don't test your limits Christine. Take this time to recover and relax." With that said, she was on her way.
It's been three days since I was released released from the hospital, I feel so much better now that I have taken the time to relax and destress myself. I am finally returning to work today and I am more than ready to do so. These past couple of days I have been evaluating my current situation and I am feeling more confident then ever, I will raise this baby with or without Erik and I will give this baby all of the love in the world. Now that I have decided, there's only one thing left to do, I need to tell my dad, Brad, and Addison.
I took a quick shower, did my hair and did a light makeup look for the day. I made my way over to my closet and picked out a plain white long sleeve shirt, and black skinny jeans. I paired it with an oversized plaid scarf and suede ankle boots. I quickly threw on my tan overcoat, grabbed my burgundy leather Michael Kors bag and walked out the door. I didn't want to be late on my way to work, I had the Uber waiting for me out front as well.
The ride to work was short and quiet. I mostly spent my time on my phone, researching things about babies. Once we arrived at the front entrance of Destler LLC, I thanked the driver and made my way up to my office. When I walked in, I found Meg and Nadir waiting for me. We talked for a while about what it was that I had missed. Before leaving, Nadir turned to look at me. "Christine, please take it easy today on you first day back. I gave you a small workload on purpose so that you're not overly stimulated. You have a small to-do list on your desk, feel free to go home right after," he said. I nodded in understanding.
Once Meg and Nadir left, I decided that the first thing that I should do, should be to look through my emails. Most of the emails I had received were either spam emails that managed to sneak their way into my inbox, or emails from our partner companies, or emails from companies wanting to partner with Destler LLC. However, there was one email that stuck out to me from the others. It was subjected "Heed My Warning" and it had been sent by a . I opened it and read it said, it read as follows:
Christine,
I see that you have made yourself right at home at Destler LLC. With the workers, the company, and even Erik Destler himself. However, you are making a big mistake in doing so. If you continue to present yourself at Destler LLC, I'll have no choice but to take care of you myself. I have been keeping an eye on you and I know everything about you… everything. Where you live, where your family lives, and your dirty little secret. If you do not wish any harm upon yourself or anyone that you love, you will leave Destler LLC for good an never come back. If you choose to ignore my warning, a disaster beyond your imagination will occur.
You have been warned.
I sat with my mouth open for a while before finally picking up my phone and dialing Nadir's extension. After explaining the situation to Nadir, he hung up the phone and he and Meg were at my desk within a couple of minutes. After they both read my email, Nadir decided he had no other choice but to call the police and have them investigate this strange email.
The county sheriff and a couple of other police officers arrived a while after. After reading the email himself, he turned to look at the three of us. "Ma'am, this is a very serious matter. I have read the email myself and it is certainly a very threatening email. Please rest assured that my team and I will get to the bottom of this. For now, we will be taking your laptop to the station for further investigation. Hopefully with the information from the laptop and your email, we will be able to get some leads as to where the email originated from. Thank you for your patience in this matter and please try to get some rest, let us do what we do," he said. I nodded in understanding while Nadir thanked him and gave them my laptop.
After the sheriff and his team were gone, Nadir let me go home for the rest of the day. I took advantage of this and texted Addison for a ride home.
Me: Hey, Addie. Do you think you could pick me up from work, I'm all done here.
Addison: is typing…
Addison: Sure, I'm nearby anyway and running some errands. You wanna go shopping?
Me: Thanks! I'll be down in the lobby waiting. Sure, I could definitely use some new clothes!
I headed down to the lobby and waited for Addison to get there. I had time to sip on a cup of tea before I saw Addison's 2019 ice blue Mini Cooper pull up out front. I made my way out and got in her car. Bentley was sitting in his car seat and smiled up at me when he saw me. "Chris-see," he said babbling. Addison laughed and nodded while looking at him through her rearview mirror, "That's right Bentley, its Auntie Chrissy!"
Addison drove out of the lot and onto the street. "So. Where are we going Addie?," I asked. "I was thinking that we could just go to the Queenstown Mall. What do you think?," she asked. I nodded, "sure and after we could get some Chinese! I've been craving it alll day."
We arrived at Queenstown Mall after a 25 minute drive. Addison and I got out of the car and I helped her get Bentley out as well since she is about 6 months pregnant now. We made our way inside of the mall and headed for the nearest maternity store. "Thanks for coming with me, Christine. I really needed to get out of the house and get some maternity clothes and clothes for my little girl," said Addison while rubbing her belly bump.
We finished at the maternity store, and Addison walked out of there with two full bags. We then made our way over to Carter's and looked at the baby clothes. Being in there made this entire pregnancy feel so real, and I was hardly three months pregnant. Being around these little clothes was so real for me and I couldn't believe that I was about to have to buy my own set for my own baby. I must have been deep and thought and it must have been noticeable from a mile away because Addison gave me a strange look. "Christine, are you okay? You don't look so well," she said. I nodded with tears in my eyes. "Oh no, Christine. What's wrong?"
I wiped my tears away and them pulled her by the hand towards the dressing rooms. I pulled her into one of the rooms and shut the door almost forgetting that Bentley was with us and shutting the door before he could wobble in. I reopened it to let him inside, "sorry buddy, I forgot you were here for a second." Addie pulled him up to seat him on her lap. "Oh gosh, I don't know what you're about to tell me but I have a feeling its pretty serious or you wouldn't have kidnapped me and brought me into a dressing room," she said nervously. I couldn't help but to tear up as I said it. "You know how I told you about Erik and I? Well, we slept together in Ibiza and well… I'm pregnant. I have been, for about 3 months now," I cried. Addison smiled, "Oh my gosh. Christine, this is great news! I know that you must not have planned it, but look on the bright side. You're pregnant, and you're healthy, your baby is healthy, and you have a family that is going to help you out," she said getting up and hugging me. I nodded though tears, "I know. But I get the feeling that I'm going to have to do this on my own. Erik hasn't spoken to me since that night, and he's not returning any of my calls or texts. I don't know what I'm going to do." Addison looked a bit distraught. "Christine, you have to tell him. Maybe he's doing it because he's not looking for anything serious, or who knows. But I'm sure if you told him what is going on he'd man up and take responsibility. If he doesn't, you know that Henry and Brad will knock sense into him to do so," she said.
We talked for a while and finally made our way outside of the dressing rooms. I helped her look for a couple of outfits for the baby girl that would make her appearance in just a couple of short months. After Addison had a couple of outfits in hand, she looked at me. "Alright, I'm going to buy my baby niece or nephew their first piece of clothing so lets get looking so that you can pick something out," she said. I laughed and agreed to do so. We made our way over to the gender neutral clothes because I still had no idea what I was having. We found an adorable light grey onesie and I told Addison I wanted that one. Once we had our things payed for and bagged, we headed back home.
After our shopping trip, we headed to Addie and Brad's house for dinner and a movie. They offered to let me stay but I declined as I wanted to rest at my own home and get a good nights sleep. Addie was tired and went to bed, so Brad agreed to drive me home. I arrived home a couple of minutes later and headed upstairs to my apartment. I walked in and noticed how lonely it was, I was by myself now and it looked like I was going to be on my own after the baby arrived too. I wanted to hate Erik for doing this to me, but I couldn't help myself but love him. I don't know what it was about him but I couldn't manage to bring myself to hate him. I loved him and I was finally coming to love the baby that is currently growing inside of me.
I took my shoes off and put my Ugg slippers on. I made my way towards the kitchen to get myself a glass of water. I decided to watch another movie before bed, even though I knew that I'd probably end up falling asleep halfway through. I put on the movie, Holidate as it was perfect because it's not completely about Christmas but its perfect for this mid-November night. I grabbed a blanket out of the basket beside my couch and draped it over me as I sat down.
I fell asleep during the Fourth of July scene and woke up during the ending credits. I turned the TV off and got up to make my way upstairs and to my bedroom. I stopped in my tracks as I heard some footsteps, but not footsteps from the people that lived next door, I heard footsteps upstairs! No way, its impossible. Erik isn't home and he probably won't be anytime soon. You're just going crazy, you need some sleep. I ignored it as being my imagination and made my way to my bedroom and crawled into bed. There's no way that Erik could be here, he's in Saudi Arabia… or could he?
