Disclaimer: I do not own Erik, daroga, or other references of Leroux's novel. They belong to the author that created them.

Chapter Summary: In this chapter, William creates a very romantic evening between himself and his wife; however, as with any life of a phantom, the people who want to keep Stacy away from him spoil his plans.

Author's Note: Sorry for the late update (family problems, health issues, and a loss in the family has prevented a frequent update) Thank-you and a BIG hug to all of whom reviewed. GUESS WHAT, EVERYBODY, this is the LAST CHAPTER TO PART ONE! I have almost half of Part Two through. There will be three parts to the story. In my personal opinion, Part two is the better thus far. Please review at your convenience; I heart them a lot. A big surprise and plot twist in this chapter will surprise you, hopefully.

P.S. I want to give out a HUGE shout-out to all of my faithful reviewers: Twinkle22, ChristianAngel7, Harem98 hey girly, Cassie, erik'sangel527, and Ina, and Ziroana.

You all deserve these things: A big hug, Erik and Nadir dolls, a lollipop, Erik and Nadir autographs and personal dates, restraining order against you from Erik and Nadir, and lastly, a BOX OF CHOCOLATES!...(Happy Belated Valentine's Day!)

Okay here is the last chapter of part one…

Chapter 20- The Truth Hurts Where Love is Concerned

It was five o' clock, and I was rushing to get ready. The dress William bought me was gorgeous! The full-length black satin gown accentuated my figure, and it had long sleeves that flowed out. The bodice had diamonds embroidered over the front.

I finished getting ready right as William stepped through the front door. His breath appeared caught in his throat; he stood frozen in place with packages in his arms.

Finally, he let out his breath and whispered, "You look absolutely stunning!"

I answered, "Whenever you have a dress custom made, it always makes me look 'stunning.' Where have you been?"

Giving him a small curtsy, I smiled when he grinned, his smile of perfect white teeth. My heart melted.

"I have been getting things together to spend some time off with you for vacation. I plan to have a month's leave while the daroga takes my shift at the office. The President knows that I need a break from fighting terrorists. Besides, Rovanachov has taken a short interim. I've no doubt he is backing off from his attacks to plan his next move."

Helping him sit down the packages, I realized what he was wearing. He wore form-fitting black trousers and shoes with a silk black shirt that clung to his muscular form. His black mask covered most of his face and I trembled with longing.

"Come, follow me, Stacy." He walked down the hall hurriedly, as I, like an obedient dog, followed him. He strolled towards the bedroom and stopped short of the door.

"What—"

"Shh, silence," he uttered as he pressed his finger to my lips. Then he faced the wall and punched some numbers on the security panel, and the wall shook as a door opened.

Out of shock, I stumbled backward, but William caught me with ease, chuckling to himself.

"Wow, you are so sneaky! You knew about this the whole time, didn't you?"

Cautiously I stepped in the room as William turned the lights on. The room was immense! It was a ballroom. How could I have missed this? Whirling around, I noticed that William disappeared. Music from Joseph Haydn filled the vast room with beautiful melodies.

When I turned around, there was a stunning table set for a romantic evening and dinner. Rose petals lay deftly dropped to make a pathway to the table. So enthralled but the striking spectacle, I did not notice William walk up behind me.

Cooing in my ear, William whispered while wrapping his arms around my waist, "Do you like it?"

He kissed me and began to trail kisses down to the nape of my neck.

"Of course I do. You knew that I would love this. Being with you completes me."

In pure ecstasy, I closed my eyes and turned around so my body was flush against his. We then began to dance to Haydn's various sonatas. I pressed my face against his muscular chest while he twirled us around and hummed the melody in my ear.

Once my feet began to ache, we sat down at the table to ear.

"How did you do all this in such a short time?"

He smiled mysteriously and whirled his wrist in the air and produced a white rose—my favorite--.

"Magic," he said simply.

The food was delicious and William ate for my benefit, even though, his black mask prevented much of his attempts. My heart broke when he glared down at his plate of food. I touched his hand to give him support.

Viciously snatching his hand away, he snarled, "I don't need your pity!"

Ignoring his angry outburst, I replied, "William, you don't need to wear your mask around me."

His golden eyes flashed angrily. "If I recall correctly, the last time I did that, you ran into the arms of Grishold."

Shock ran through me. I should have known better that I could not fool him. He always knew. He abruptly stood up and turned his back to me in his pain. I would not let him leave me again.

"William, don't go! I know what I did was stupid and compulsive, but can you blame my actions? The only reason I did it was that you frighten—"

I bit my tongue, knowing I had just lit the match to the dynamite. He spun around with such a violent fury; I fell back in my chair.

"Ah, so you finally said it! You are frightened of me! Then I want you to go! Leave me alone!"

"No!"

I leapt onto his back. He fell back on the ground, caught off guard. I was on top of his body.

His eyes, dazed, regained their clarity and searched my shocked ones. Before he could react, I tore off his mask and crushed my lips to his in a passionate plea for his love. He moaned when I pulled him deeper into me.

I bit his bottom lip, causing him to gasp and moan deeply once more. He then returned my kiss. Biting my bottom lip, he gasped out, "I want you!"

Taking a deep breath, smiling, I pulled back.

"I have waited an eternity to hear you say that!"

He chuckled darkly as he pulled me back into our passionate duet of our love. Clutching my hair as I clung to his back, he whispered frantically, "I need you, Stacy."

He ran his hands down the sides of my body as his own body shook with longing. My lips, red and swollen, kissed him once more as he led to us to the bedroom in our display of love until William suddenly stopped moving. His eyes stared fixated at something in front of us. My back to it, I smiled and pulled his limp arms around me.

"What's wrong, my darling? Don't you want me?"

It was then I felt his anger, and I turned around.

"Leave us alone! We are happy! Why do you have to try to tear us apart?"

Richard, Nicholas, Vlad Kushoff, and Hugo stood there with two other police officers. William's hand tightened around his gun. Vlad Kushoff stepped forward.

"William Addams, you need to stop this. We need you to come back to the Embassy. Rovanachov is causing trouble."

Richard, folding his arms, addressed me, "Stacy, get control of your self. Remember your training. You should know that your husband is not the same man!"

William interrupted, "Stop it now, Richard. I am warning you."

Richard stepped forward and continued to plead with me to come to my senses. William tensed more and more with each step Richard took until William suddenly exploded.

"Once more, Richard, you should have listened to me when I told you to stay away from my wife." He then pulled out his gun and shot Richard. Blood the poured out of Richard's shoulder.

"NO!" I screamed as I ran to his side after he fell to the floor. He gasped painfully for air.

Tears cascaded down my cheeks as I cried, "You should have listened to me! Now, its' my fault that this happened to you!"

Even though he was dying, his grip on my arm tightened. "No, it is not your fault. You did not pull the trigger. Just remember that you are like my daughter and I died protecting you. Your husband died a long time ago."

His head fell back and he took his last breath, simultaneously, as I screamed. His blood was on my hands, both figuratively and physically. Looking at William's face, he showed no remorse.

Anger and hurt filled me, "How could you do this? How can you say you love me and then murder someone I loved! I hope you suffer! I didn't deserve this at all! You aren't my husband. Richard was right; you died a long time ago."

My body convulsed as tears and trauma took over. I cried over Richard's lifeless body.

William stepped forward and tried to walk to me, but I screamed for him to get away from me.

"Stacy…"

"Don't touch me! Leave me alone. God forgive me…God forgive me…" My voice faltered as my vision blackened.

When I awoke in a hospital bed, I hoped that I had dreamed the whole scenario, but I was mistaken. Hugo sat next to me at my bedside.

"Hugo…" He clutched my hands as I continued. "Am I a bad person? God forgive me, I killed Richard!"

Hugo silenced me, "You did no such thing, Stacy! You didn't pull the trigger."

Turning my head to the door, I closed my eyes.

"What happened, Hugo, after I dropped unconsciousness?"

"When you lost consciousness, William dropped to his knees and blacked out, too. He was taken to another sanitarium for observation. Richard's body will be buried according to his will. I wanted to watch over you, so I came with you to the hospital. The police chief, Jacob, escorted William there. By law, you are William's legal guardian, so decisions regarding his health and treatment. Here's his psychological analysis."

I skimmed the documents and stared at Hugo with disbelief. "He has paranoid schizophrenia? I don't believe that."

Hugo sighed, "Well, he has a form of paranoid schizophrenia. You see, when Richard whisked you away out of the country, he told you I had uncovered something dark about William. (A/N: CHAPTER 12) When William lost you after the unmasking incident, I believe, he lost all of his sanity."

He paused and then continued, "He threw himself into work and developed self-destructive behavior. He began using morphine which caused him to have hallucinations and uncontrolled anger fits, especially when he mixed it with alcohol. Stacy, there is that man you married inside of him. He's trapped and only you can help him escape."

"How can I do that?"

"By not leaving, he is terrified, utterly, that you will leave him. His deepest fear is being alone and no one to love him."

"I would never leave him."

"And that's what is going to save his soul."

"Why are you doing this, Hugo?"

"No one deserves to die alone."

Propping myself up on my elbows, I hugged him. "He really is an honest good man. He has been through so much awful in his life. I will never leave him."

"God will use your love to save him, Stacy."

"God never gave up on me; I will not give up on William! Take me to him, Hugo!"

Author's Note: AND CUT! It is finally finished, part one, anyhow. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I tried to cram all elements together—love, romance, angst, drama, murder-- These are the things that make a story memorable.

Please leave a review. They inspire me. I AM SO EXCITED! I finished a story. Well, I FINISHED part of it. Lol. I hope to get 600 reviews…yeah I wish.

Part Two; Chapter 1 should be out as soon as possible. The more motivation I get, the faster I WILL update. Part Two will not be as filled as fluff as this part was filled.

I bid you all adieu,

RainsP.

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