"You have no idea,

That I'm walking through the clouds when you're looking at me

I'm feeling like a child, vulnerability

I am shaking like a leaf if you move beside me

And you're all that I see

But it's no good for me"-The Corrs, No good for me.

For Angie, the three days that followed the night in which she had poured so many tears went by indifferently. She barely saw him and only the memory of what had happened in their last encounter made her heart ache. It was because of that that she had tried to avoid him. It would have been too easy to crumble down before him, confess openly all her feelings and the suffering he was inflicting on her but, somehow, she knew that would be in vain. If she was not sure of his true feelings, if he did not tell her first about his emotions, how could she cry out the secrets of his heart?

With a sigh of resignation, she opened the door. She hoped she would be as lucky as the previous days and not meet him on her way, but her heart sank when she saw him in the living-room. There, leaning on the window frame, he stood tall, watching her through those blue eyes which had a spark of intensity, of brightness, she had never seen before. No, she did not want to get lost in his eyes again…

'It seems like an eternity since we last saw each other and could talk, hm?'. A smirk formed on his lips, at the same time that he made an effort to search and hold the girl's gaze.

She locked eyes with him briefly but soon looked away, focusing on a non-existent spot in the furthest corner of the room. 'I though my job here consisted only of going out, running errands, coming back to leave whatever you need, doing the housework and retiring as soon as posible at the end of my working day'. She lifted her gaze, challenging. 'I'm just doing what I've been told to do. I reckon I've broken no rule, have I?'.

Haughtily, her steps carried her to the table where she used to leave his things when she felt his hands on her shoulders, slowly treating her to soft caresses

No. She had to be stronger than ever, her willpower should be able to beat her longing instead of surrendering under his touch…

His lips were now hovering near her ear and neck. 'Of course not, dearest…'. His voice was now a soft, sweet melody that enrapted her senses. A delicious sound whose effects over her were difficult to control. 'But I would not like, not at all, that I'd lost everything because of a man's bad day…'.

She tensed, speechless. That was like fighting the greatest temptation of them all.

His large hands were massaging the skin of her shoulders with expertise, and after those delicate ministrations, he removed one of his hands and traced with its long fingers her cheek. Then, he kissed that same cheek tenderly, and went on to kiss a spot below her ear.

She closed her eyes, suppressing a sigh of contempt. Damned him, he seemed to be torturing her conscientiously. Didn't he know all those loving gestures made her weak, without the ability to react?

Finally, drawing strength from nowhere, she turned to him. Her look was watered with tears that struggled to come out.

'Why are you doing this to me?'. Now she couldn't stop herself from shedding a lonely tear. 'Why do you grant me with the most pleasant sensations and then take them away all of a sudden with sour remarks?', she paused. 'What kind of… game do you think you and I are playing? Tell me!'.

'Angie…'.

She turned away, stopping him by raising her index finger. 'No! No, Erik! I don't need your beautiful words, nor your persuassion. None of that, not anymore!', more tears were flowing freely and uncontrollably from her eyes. 'I need feelings…do you understand that? Sincere feelings!', she calmed down to take a deep breath. 'But I think I might be asking too much of you…'.

She started to walk away but Erik's strong arms had her trapped again. He pulled her to him, tighter than ever. Taking her face between his hands, acting on impulse, he seized her lips in a kiss. Initially, he was as shy and tentative as when their lips met for the first time but soon the kiss deepened progressively. The girl's lips seemed to look for his with an unparalleled hunger. She couldn't deny or ignore any longer that every fibre of her being throbbed passionately with every kiss, every caress, every whisper… but an unbearable pain forced another tear out of her closed eyes.

They broke the kiss and Erik could feel something deep in her eyes. Sadness and desire, a bittersweet mixture he had seen only once before, in his own reflection.

'Someday you'll realise all the pain you're causing me…'.

With those words and a final glance, she left the house as fast as she could. He looked at the shut door of his apartment with a dumbfounded, confused expression. He merely sat down in his armchair and covered his brow with a trembling hand.

Xxx

Christine was sitting at the desk in her bedroom. She had barely slept through the last days. What she had guessed, her worries and doubts were undermining her strength and robbing her of all proper rest. Her body cried out in exhaustion but her mind just could not obey.

She took out paper and quill from the drawer and started writing. She did not really mind the consecuences right then but she was still thinking of a safer way to get out of there. She was actually thinking of Meg. Yes, her friend had made her promise that she would contact her if anything happened, so there was still a little room for hope in her heart.

Closing the envelope and praying that Édmond never found out of her plans, she retired to get changed.

She crossed the threshold of her room wearing the light green dress she used to put on in spring-like days like those. She made sure she carried the letter in her bag and made it for the apartment's door. She found him sitting peacefully in his usual armchair, with a cup of coffee and a thoughtful look. He lifted his eyes as soon as he felt her presence.

'You do look tired today…I'm sorry that we haven't seen too much of each other lately. I'm aware of how lonely you must feel at a moment like this. I can only hope you'll accept my apologies'.

She nodded. 'There's no need to apologize, Édmond', she smiled half-heartedly. 'I'm not getting much sleep lately…I suppose I've been through so much that exhaustion is now catching up with me. Precisely I was about to go for a promenade. I think I'd feel better after a bit of fresh air…'.

'Of course! Besides it's a beautiful day, too beautiful to waste it by locking yourself in your bedroom, don't you think?'.

'I agree…'.

She left the house with feather-like steps and trying not to draw too much attention to herself. She preferred not to arouse suspicions of her new plan of flight. Édmond smiled. He already knew she had entered his study due to that damned carelessness of his and that she was probably thinking of getting out of his house too. Oh, but the poor girl couldn't imagine what they had in store for her…