A/N I am back, I am really sorry for the long wait. I have been very sick this past month. I also lost my inspiration to write, but I pulled through and kept going. I was sad had how little this story was reviewed for chapter 10.

If you read this chapter, please review. ALL OF YOU!

You have no idea how much of a difference it makes when people review. Also, to my faithful reviewers (the ones who review every chapter) I want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH. I love getting your reviews and it makes me so happy that you enjoy and get so into these characters.

I LOVE YOU ALL!

Ch. 11

"Erik, do you think we could go someplace quiet to talk?" Bella asked.

Erik smirked as his eyebrows rose. "Would you not say that to be improper? Venturing off with a man whom you do not know." Erik asked.

"I am from Spain; I still have a while before anything is considered improper!" Bella smirked.

"Well then," Erik replied. "Follow me."

Erik took her hand and swiftly led her out to the gardens in the back of the opera. It was actually a very secluded area that Erik happened upon one day. He saw the potential of it all and soon, he was hiring landscape artists to make it into a secret paradise. The scent of roses lingered in the air; they had been planted upon his requests. Even the slightest sent of roses left memories lingering through his mind. He looked at Bella and for some odd reason, he saw Christine. He shook his head, demanding himself to rid the image of his former flame.

"This is so breathtakingly beautiful!" Bella exclaimed.

Erik smiled. "Yes, I think so too. I hand picked all the flowers, but I cannot take credit for making it what it is." Erik told her.

"Well, I am impressed by your taste. Sophisticated yet simple." Bella replied.

"Thank you." Erik said.

"I cannot believe at how sidetracked I have become this evening. I suppose it is because I have enjoyed talking to you." Bella suddenly confessed.

"What were your original plans for tonight?" Erik asked, suddenly curious as to what this girl's motives were.

"Well, I had come to try to schedule a meeting with the manager." She told him.

"Why?" Erik asked as his eyebrow rose.

"Well, I was interested in becoming a patron for the opera. I was hoping to propose the idea to him, but I suppose my nerves have taken some of my courage away for I have been stalling most of the night. Not that I didn't enjoy spending time with you, your mainly why I have staled for so long." Bella babbled. "It's just that I have been turned down by so many operas already all because I am a woman. Isn't that the most absurd thing you have ever heard of?" She laughed nervously.

Erik smiled at her interest, although he could tell that it was a sore spot for her. She obviously was not a woman made to feel inferior to a man.

"Well, I guess luck was on your side tonight." Erik said.

"What? Are you the manager?" Bella laughed.

"Yes."

Bella's eyes went wide as her jaw dropped. Erik couldn't suppress the grin that had suddenly formed on his face. Her surprise was not at all hidden.

"You're serious?" Bella asked.

"I am always serious." Erik said; he cringed when he realized it was the truth.

"Well, I guess, well. Will you allow me to become a patron for your opera?" Bella asked, her mouth had gone dry form shock.

"I want you to take your mask off." Erik suddenly said.

He had suddenly felt the urge to see her face and Erik was a man who usually got what he wanted. She nodded and slowly untied the mask. Her head was facing down and when she finally lifted her face up towards him, it took his breath away. Bella was far more beautiful than he had at first imagined.

She had the biggest, brightest, most sparkling blue eyes that he had ever seen. Christine had beautiful blue orbs, but Bella eyes contained something Christine's no longer did.

Innocence?

Erik couldn't pin point exactly what it was that was different, but he could see that Bella held something that Christine didn't. Her lips were pink and plump and her face had an angelic softness that Erik couldn't even describe.

He still believed Christine to be the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, but Bella looked like no one he'd seen before.

"Why have you not said anything?" Bella finally asked after standing in silence for so long.

"Because you are beautiful." Erik simply said.

Bella was happy it was dark because she couldn't help but blush at his comment. "You sound tell a girl such things." Bella said nervously.

"Why? I am only speaking the truth." Erik told her.

"True, but some truths are not meant to be pointed out." Bella said, turning her gaze back to the beautiful plants in front of her.

For some odd reason, Bella's words had caused Erik to suddenly think about his face. The simple truth was… he was deformed.

That was a truth that he wished no one would ever have had to see.

"I suppose you are right." He replied. "But, if you are truly interested in becoming a patron of the opera house, I wouldn't mind it at all."

Her squeals of delight caused Erik to smile. "Oh, thank you so much." She shrieked. "Oh, I could just start crying."

"Please don't!" Erik exclaimed. "Crying women and I don't mix." Erik said, completely serious.

"Sorry." Bella laughed.

Erik couldn't help but smile. She was a complete beauty in every sense of the word. She seemed to contain a sort of quirkiness and independence that Erik very much admired. Erik knew he was attracted to Bella, he knew it would be ridiculous to deny his lust. He understood that feeling for Christine had begun to resurface, but now…

Now he was interested in Bella.

He couldn't quite figure out what to do.

"You are doing it again." Bella said.

"Doing what?" Erik asked.

"Being silent." Bella told him.

"I am so sorry my dear, what would you like to talk about?" Erik asked.

"Will you take your mask off?" Bella asked.

"No." Erik said automatically. He saw her face fall and felt bad for answering so abruptly. "Its not that I don't want to, I just can't."

"Why?" Bella asked concernedly

"Because I am not like a normal man." Erik replied flatly. He didn't know what it was about curious women. They always seemed to dig deeper than what they should.

"What do you mean by that?" She kept on.

"I am disfigured Bella." Erik finally snapped. "I have a skewed complexion." Erik could feel the blood pumping through him, his mind going over every bad experience his face had caused.

He realized that his whole life, he believed his face to be the poison that infiltrated his life, his relationships with people, his chance at being able to pursue a normal existence, and quite possibly…

Loving himself.

He knew that he was making an excuse for the way his life had turned out was easier than to admit that down the line, his face had no longer become and issue as to why life for Erik sucked.

Bella watched him in silence. She could see that he was insecure about his flaw, the last thing she wanted to do was continue to pry. "It's okay Erik. I understand and I am not going to ask to see your face. I know that something like this is hard. I really do." She said comfortingly.

Erik just chuckled. "How could you possibly understand? You are walking perfection." Erik told her. "Walking perfection looks down upon the flawed. Trust me, I know first hand." He said, thinking about Christine.

Bella took a deep breath in before she spoke. "My brother was born handicap. He was born without any legs. It made no difference to me, but I know that it mattered to him. He was so limited to everything and people treated him badly because of it. It broke my heart to see him in such pain." She said tearfully.

"How did he deal with his disfigurement?" Erik asked curiously.

"He didn't, he killed himself about a year and a half ago. He was seventeen." Bella replied, tears escaping down her cheeks.

Erik watched the young woman in front of him in awe. He was in shock at how much he liked her. He had seen her bold side as well as he current vulnerability. He knew he didn't fully understand what she was feeling. He had no siblings; therefore he never lost any siblings.

But he had lost someone he loved.

That was something he could, and would, never forget. He pondered his feelings for Christine for a minuet. He loved her, yes, but he knew he'd always love her. He just wasn't sure whether or not he could love her like he once had. She was a mother now. She had other responsibilities.

"I am sorry for breaking down like this." Bella's voice broke in.

"It's fine." Erik replied.

"Good, I don't want to make you uncomfortable." Bella said.

Erik stared into her eyes and smiled. Finally he blurted out…

"Would you care to join me for dinner?"

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