Three sentence fic pairing/prompt: E/C, keeping a secret out of love (Inspired by Elcie's "The Ordinary Life" and basically a Leroux version of my "Elixir of Love")
Erik knew where his living wife went when she left their home for hours on end, far longer than needed to attend church or complete a few errands. He also knew his time was running short (another year, perhaps - five if he was being generous) and that the past months with her had been the happiest of his miserable life. So when Christine told him she was expecting a child, pressing his skeletal hand to her belly before embracing him with a smile, he lied and swore that the tears he wept into her golden hair were those of joy.