Chapter 58

Erik scoffed. "You are no more a father to me than a dog on the street. Now I ask again: what do you want, Lyle?"

I quickly flipped through my internal catalogue of characters, not remembering the name Lyle at all. It confused me even more. Who was this man?

Lyle held his hand to his chest, seeming to be offended. "While I may not be your real father, I have always felt like it, Erik."

"Oh yes!" Erik exclaimed while rolling his eyes. "Because a real father would make you perform in a circus as a freak to be ridiculed to make you money."

Realization set in as I saw what was going on: Lyle was the circus owner.

I stood from my seat to stand in front of Erik. "I don't think this is a good place for an argument of this caliber. How about we move this elsewhere?"
Lyle leered at me. "I'm sorry, and you are?"

As I went to tell him off, Erik shot me a look. "Don't even grant him an answer."

"Oh, I know," Lyle chuckled. "You are the girl that has taken over Paris. A sincere honor to meet you, mademoiselle."

I could hear the mocking tone in his voice. "I wish I could say the same, sir."

The amusement quickly left Lyle's face at my quip. Yup, that's how we're gonna play it…

"Enough of this," Antoinette stated, standing from her seat. "I do not know who you are, but you will not speak to them like that. If you would like to have words with anyone, I suggest you make them civil words. We were having a joyous meal and I would like to get back to it, monsieur. Have a good night."

Lyle stared at her in shock and disdain. "I wasn't finished-"

"That means leave," Erik growled out. "Now."

It took a few moments for him to shut his mouth and walk away, but not before he gave us a look of anger. "I suppose I shall leave you to your evening then. Have a good night."

Once he was out of earshot, we all heaved a sigh of relief. I could tell Erik was shaken by the encounter – he was literally shaking. Out of anger or fear I didn't know. What I did know was that I needed to get him out of there.

"Well," I said, breaking the silence. "I think that was a bit too much excitement for the night. It may be time to go home."

Christine shook her head, seeming to shake herself out of her thoughts. "Yes, I do believe it is time to retire for the night. Would you mind walking me home, Raoul?"

Once arrangements were made for carriages to arrive, Erik and I decided to escort Antoinette and Meg to their rooms before heading back to Erik's for the night. All the while, we were silent. I didn't like silence in general, but this was even worse.

As we walked with Antoinette and Meg through the operahouse, Antoinette held me back a few steps behind Meg and Erik as Meg talked his ear off about the kind of man she wanted.

"I assume the wedding will be soon?"

I started, tripping a bit over my skirts. "Um, I'm not sure. We haven't really talked about a date yet. Or anything wedding-wise, for that matter."

"I understand," Antoinette said softly, taking my hand and patting it lovingly. "After all, it was only last week when he asked."

I nodded. "That is true. But you're taking all of this rather well. Not that you would be acting out in any way, but I'm just shocked. I know he is a dear friend, almost like a son, to you."

"And you would be correct, dear. But I know the life he has led before you arrived. The torture and pain he had endured. The nightmares and scars. You have been a healing balm for him. You are good for him. How can I be anything but happy? Overjoyed?"

Tears sprang to my eyes as she embraced me. "Not to mention," she added, "Nadir may or may not have told me last week after he left Erik's house."

We both laughed heartily. "I knew he would tell someone. It wouldn't be Nadir if he didn't. But I'm glad he told you, Antoinette. If I would have wanted anyone to know, it would've been you."

After our embraces at their doors and walking away, it was time for us to head downstairs. I just didn't expect the entire journey to be in absolute silence.

When we made it back across the lake, I finally broke the quiet. "Are you alright, Erik?"

It took a moment for a reply to come, but he simply said, "I'm fine."

"Erik-"

"I said I am fine, Mandy."

I took a breath, stopping myself from spouting off in anger. "Okay. I won't make you talk about it. But you know that you can talk to me, right? About anything and I mean that."

He seemed to calm down a bit after that. "I apologize, love. It just came as a shock to see…him."

"I know it must have. I can't imagine how you feel after seeing him, but I want to be here for you. Whether that means sitting in silence for the rest of the might or helping you write music, I want to know that I am here and I always will be."

A few moments passed before he broke, sobbing into my shoulder and releasing his pent-up emotions. I did nothing but hold him. He needed a rock, and I was more than willing to take on that moniker.

He cried well into the night, almost falling asleep after calming down. When I felt him try to stay awake, I pulled back from him a bit. "Do you want to go to bed, love?"

He nodded, a yawn escaping his mouth. "That does sound like a good idea. I apologize, dear- "

"Don't you dare apologize for that. What have I said about apologizing? If you needed to, you would definitely know."

He sighed in defeat. "My apologies."

I laughed at his following giggle. You, sir, are a bonafide comedian."

"I have my moments," he said, shrugging his shoulders as we made our way to his bed. "And I meant to ask, what were you and Antoinette guffawing about tonight on our way back? Surely it couldn't have been about our encounter."

Not wanting to get Nadir into any more hot water with Erik, I simply shrugged. "It was an inside joke that we have."

Instead of replying with tangible words, he grunted and snuggled in to my side once we git under the covers. It wasn't long before we both drifted off to dreamland.