A/N An update. Can you believe it. I am sorry to all of you who have been waiting for a new chapter. I have been sick, I had surgery and now I have a cold. Its been a crazy month. I hope you enjoy and please review so I can tell if you like it.

Thanks so much,

Stephanie Lynn

Ch. 21

Erik felt his heart constrict. He had been floored at Christine's action. That ring had meant so many things to him. He had actually forgotten that she still had it, but he remembered how happy he had been when she had accepted it. Erik, at the time, felt like he had an actual future because she had accepted the only tangible token of his love for her.

It was an actual chance at normalcy.

Even if things hadn't worked out, it hurt him that she had given the ring back. That ring symbolized something greater than just a commitment to being with him. It meant that no matter what events took place, she would just simply love him. That Christine's heart would always be tied together with his. That was what the ring meant to him.

"You look upset. Whatever is the matter?" Nadir's chirpy voice called out to Erik.

Erik would have normally lied and said that nothing was bothering him, but he couldn't do that. Not today. Today he let the tears fall freely down his cheeks. Nadir looked over at him in shock. Erik was composed…all the time. He was quite unsure how to approach his good friend.

"Erik? What happened?" Nadir asked softly moving to sit next to Erik.

Erik wiped away a few of the tears that had escaped his eyes. How should he start? Should he say that he was born in this corpse for a body and from then on it all became a living nightmare? That he had been abused and misused his whole life and the one time he had found love it had ended badly.

"She ended things. I think this time it's for good." Erik whispered to Nadir completely distraught at the idea.

No, things could not be over with them. Christine was his, she always had been. He had messed up many times before, but he never really thought that she would actually step back and let things die. As sad as it sounded, Erik had always figured that Christine would crawl to him when he said to. He didn't think she would ever have the nerve to go on without him. Maybe he wanted to believe that she needed him to function. Maybe he wanted to believe that because the sad fact was that he needed her to function.

Nadir looked at Erik in confusion. Christine had ended things? "What's been going on, Erik? You are dating Bella."

Erik grabbed his hair in frustration. "I know all this Nadir. I know that I am dating Bella, but I have been seeing Christine behind her back. God, I love her Nadir!" Erik shouted.

Nadir looked at his pained friend in confusion. "Who, Erik? Who do you love?"

"Christine!" Erik cried out in frustration. He got up and began to pace. He couldn't think about what he should do.

"But you are dating Bella." Nadir reminded him cautiously.

Erik ran his hand over his face. "I know." He said feeling guilty about his past betrayals. "That is what makes thing so much harder."

"You truly are an idiot. For the genius that you are, you can sure be dense." Nadir told him boldly.

Had the look Erik gave Nadir been poison, it would have killed in an instant. Erik knew all his flaws, but he wasn't too fond of having people point them out. "Excuse me?"

"You always do this. You take advantage of situations and then when things start to go bad, you freak out and get that crazy look in your eyes. You start feeling sorry for yourself and you just become, well the word is, unbearable." Nadir admitted.

"Well you needn't worry. I know what I am going to do about it all." Erik replied evenly.

"Make the right decision, Erik. I would try like hell to do the right thing."

OOOO

Christine stared at herself in the mirror. She had just been so happy and now she was feeling low. Chloe-Ange had come by to wish her good luck with her show tonight. Raoul had brought her by hoping it would cheer her up. He had been right; it had made her feel better, but only for the time she was there.

She knew she shouldn't have been upset with the decision she made, but she was. Her heart was still reeling for him. She loved him and knew it would be a while before she would feel better.

But for tonight she would forget all her problems and go and perform. Tonight she would go and sing her heart out and leave all her troubles behind. At least for the time being.

OOOO

"Erik! I came to wish you god luck." Bella's voice called out to him from his office door. She was absolutely thrilled about watching Erik perform tonight. She wanted to see him in all of his grandeur.

Erik smiled and suddenly felt guilty. "Thank you my dear." Erik replied as he motioned for her to come over to him. "Sit. I have something I should tell you."

Bella felt a pang of fear rise in her gut. "What is it?"

"Just sit, please." Erik replied. He wanted this to just be over with. He didn't want to lie about anything anymore.

"Okay…but what is it?" Bella persisted.

"I love you." He said simply. "You are the only person that has ever loved me by choice. You mean so much to me. I want you to know that." He had to have her know that.

"Oh Erik! I love you too." Bella sang. She had been waiting for this moment for so long and it felt wonderful. She loved Erik and the look in his eyes said he truly loved her too.

"But," Erik said. "There is someone else who has stolen my heart."

"Christine." Bella said as the tears welled up in her eyes. As much as she wanted to believe Erik was all hers, she knew he wasn't. He loved her, but she knew he loved Christine.

"I have loved her for so long and I can't be with you when my heart belongs to her. I do love you, but I love her too."

Bella nodded as the tears fell down her face. "There is no changing your mind." She cried. She knew that Erik was a man of many convictions and she knew that if he didn't want to be with her, he wouldn't.

"Believe me, I have tried to, many times, but I love her. She is my life, my heart, my everything. She is the one." Erik confessed as he smiled at the thought of Christine. She really was the one.

"Well then I guess all I can do is wish you the best." Bella told him. She smiled at him through her tears and gave him a quick hug. She stood up and made her way to the door, but turned back around and looked him square in the eye. "Be good to her Erik."

"Thank you Bella. For everything." Erik told her smiling.

She smiled back and walked out of the room.

000

It was only a couple minuets till the show was scheduled to start. Erik watched everyone run around in their craziness. He wasn't supposed to be on until later into the show. He glanced back at the stage in awe. This was it. His life, his story was about to be told to the world.

"Good luck tonight Erik." Christine's voice called from behind him. Erik turned around and felt his insides turn. It was like a trip back in time. She was dressed in that slave girl costume that had been assigned to her more than five years ago for the production of Hannibal. She looked exactly like she had when she was sixteen.

Her hair was pulled back containing her beautiful curls. He had always preferred them wild and out of control. There was also something else that was tugging at him. She looked…innocent. She looked like the innocent sixteen year old she had at one point in time been. He had loved that Christine. She had been sweet and easy to control. She had looked up to Erik in awe, but he found that as much as he had loved that Christine he loved this non-innocent one more. He loved that she was just as flawed as he was, but she accepted her flaws whereas he never could.

"I hope it all works out like you planned." She told him.

Erik smiled at her and ran his finger down her cheek. "It will."