How could I be so stupid?
by LiltingBanshee
Author´s note: Thanks for all your kind reviews:) here´s the next chapter.
He wrapped his arms around her and scooped her up in a tight hug.
"Hello princess, how are you?" he said tearfully and kissed her cheek.
"I'm very bored daddy, will you take me out to the playground?" Alana asked, looking at him with her big brown pleading eyes.
"I would love to darling, but I can't take you outside right now" he smiled.
"Why not? Because of the witch?" she asked.
"The witch?" he gave her a puzzled look.
"Mummy says that the witch is keeping you locked in a house and that is why you can't live with us" Alana explained.
Erik threw his head back and laughed whole-heartedly. "And have you come here to save Daddy from the witch?" he chuckled after a second.
"No, we came here to look at broken things and ugly drawings" Alana sulked
"Oh sweetheart, we'll have to do something about that" he soothed.
"Do you have any more of these?" she asked and held the now empty caramel wrapping up in front of him.
He grinned and reached into his pocket when two female voices distracted him. One of them he was quite happy to hear, the other…well, not so happy.
"Alana, you must stay close to Mummy, don't wander around on….Erik!"
"Erik what in Heaven's name do you think you're doing!"
"Hello Christine, nice surprise to find you in Paris. Giselle, I am giving my daughter a hug" he answered, looking from one woman to the other
Giselle was the first of them to recover from the shock. "Will you put that ridiculous child down at once! Have you completely lost your mind picking up a stranger's kid?" she shrieked.
"Forgive me dear, you have not been properly introduced. Giselle this is my daughter Alana" he said to her with obvious annoyance.
"Erik I have absolutely no idea of what you're talking about! Put her down now, we're leaving!" she hissed.
"No Giselle! I have not seen her in a long time and we were just having a conversation" he said sternly.
Giselle lost it. "I'm not having this Erik! I said now!" she quickly strode over and began tugging at Alana's arms that were wrapped tightly around Erik's neck. "Let go you stupid brat!" she said angrily.
"No! Stop it! Daddy!" Alana began to cry helplessly and clung even tighter to Erik. Christine who had been watching the argument without being able to speak quickly regained her composure when Giselle put her hands on her daughter. She shoved Giselle out of the way with a rough push.
"Will you stop it! She is just a child!" she shouted at her while lifting Alana into her own arms.
"You! You're the mother of this little bastard? Well, I should have guessed with the way you were always hanging around close to our house. Don't you know how to let go? He is married for God's sake!" Giselle smirked.
"Trapped in a marriage is more like it! Have you never wondered why he has a child with someone else?" Christine snapped at her.
"Well, I can take no responsibilities for what little love sick school girls like you get yourselves into. Just stay away from my husband!" Giselle yelled.
"Ladies, Gentlemen! You must keep quiet or leave at once!" a museum worker broke into the argument.
"We'll gladly be leaving!" Christine said with tears in her eyes and turned around quickly.
"Christine wait!" Erik called after her.
She just kept walking and Giselle grabbed his wrist. "Come on Erik, we're going home!" she said sternly.
"Let go of me you crazy bitch!" he hissed and began walking to the exit in a quick pace.
Everyone had been expecting the doorbell to ring at some point and when it did around 10pm Camille went to answer.
"Hello Erik, we thought it might be you" she said and let him in.
"So I take it she is staying here?" he said.
"Where else would she be? She's in the kitchen" Camille said.
As soon as he entered the kitchen Antoine got up from his chair and left the room quickly, clearly sensing what this was about.
"Erik" Christine said and nodded to him.
"Hi Christine" he smiled weakly. "Look, I'm really sorry about today, but I had no idea you would be at the museum. Hell, I didn't even know you were in Paris" he said sounding slightly hurt.
"I know. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but we're only here for a week" Christine apologized.
"A week is a long time Christine, we could easily have found time to see each other" he said.
"Erik, to tell you the truth I was not sure if I wanted to see you. I thought we would just go here to see Camille and then I could give you a call if I felt like it" she sighed and looked at her hands.
"Right, so you weren't sure if you wanted to see me. Was that your decision or did your boyfriend have something to say about it as well?" he asked with rising anger.
"My..what do you mean?" she asked.
"That Gerard guy! He was quite quick to leave the room when I entered" he spat.
"That wasn't Gerry, that was Antoine. He is a residing student here, Camille's housekeeper and as gay as they get! And I'm not seeing Gerry anymore if you must know" he said with tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry Christine, I didn't mean to start a fight again" he said and kneeled down in front of her and grabbed her hands. He gave her a second to take control over her tears and she looked up to meet his eyes.
"How did Giselle take the little incident?" she asked carefully.
"Well, I've been listening to 'how stupid could I be to have sex with a simple school girl?', 'why I couldn't keep my pants zipped?', 'who I really thought I was treating her like that?' and so on. She threw quite the tantrum and now she has taken the car and raced off to her parents, so I guess this is far from over" he sighed.
She nodded understandingly and squeezed his hands.
"So tell me, what happened with that Gerry lad, you said it was over?" he asked after a minute.
"Yes, we had a little thing going, but I ended it" she said.
"Why did you do that? I thought you told me you were going to marry him" he said, remembering her last sentence from their dreadful last conversation.
"Why do you think I did it Erik?" she snapped, hurt by him bringing up the fight again. She got up from the chair and moved away from him.
"You tell me Christine" he said.
"Because Erik, I couldn't let go of you for God's sake! I've been trying to move on for nearly two years now, but whenever I think I might be able to get on with my life and actually fall in love again you either show up, call me and tell me you love me or send a card that is so sweet that I can't find it in my heart to ever love anyone else!" she was crying silently now, tears running freely down her cheeks. "Don't you see what you do to me? I am really trying, but when I'm nearly there I get bombed right back to where I started, falling in love with you all over again!" she sobbed and lowered her head so her curls fell forward to cover her face.
He walked over to her and carefully wrapped his arms around her placing a soft kiss in her hair.
"I can't take it anymore Erik. I'm not being fair to myself and I'm not being fair to our daughter. We're both miserable and frustrated by not knowing where we stand" she whispered.
"I know Christine…" he whispered back.
After a few minutes she raised her tearstained face to him and placed a hand on his chest right above his heart.
"I need to know Erik. This can't go on any longer. We´re at the point of no return, Giselle knows everything.You stay withher and we'll make a deal regarding Alana. You will keep your distance from me and let me get on with my life. If not, you must end this marriage and be a father to your child and whatever you wish to be for me. Either way it won't be easy, but you must decide."
He stared at her, not knowing how to react.
She leaned up and kissed the corner of his mouth softly. "We're leaving tomorrow. Make your choice and let me know what it will be" with that she left him standing there to make up his mind.