The next morning Christine woke up much later in the morning than she usually did. She heard the sound of voices in her room and was surprised to see Meg and Madame Giry there. They were talking in worried voices.
Madame Giry was the first to see her awake and quickly walked over to her. "How are you doing Christine? Do you feel ill? We were worried that you were, because you slept so late", she said.
Christine smiled. "No, I'm perfectly fine. I apologize for scaring you so much, though", she said. She remembered how late she was out last night with her Angel. Speaking of him, he had acted very queerly last night, almost as if he was afraid of her. She shrugged off the thought and quickly got dressed.
"Christine, someone left this for you", Meg said, handing Christine something. She looked at it and her heart almost stopped. It was like the daisy her Angel had given her three years ago. Only this time it was a red rose with a black ribbon tied around it.
She looked at it, just standing there and looking at it. A rose. Not a daisy, which was a symbol of innocence and happiness. But a rose, which was a symbol of love. Of love.
Christine couldn't believe it. It had the same note attached as the daisy, so she knew that it was from her Angel. But that couldn't be right. Her Angel was her guide and guardian; her protector. He wasn't supposed to be someone she loved, like a husband.
She was confused and frightened. This wasn't supposed to happen. She dreaded the promised music lesson planned with her Angel later that night.
When that night came, Christine made sure to keep herself calm, but it was extremely difficult knowing that her Angel was right there.
"What's the matter, Christine?" he asked, gently his hand on her hand. She flinched. She hadn't meant to, but she did out of instinct.
He sensed this movement, and became heartbroken. Did she finally find out that he was the Phantom? This was horrible...
"I'm sorry, Angel. I just have a lot of things on my mind", she said, not looking him in the eyes once more.
"Alright. Since your so distracted, we'll cut our lesson short tonight", he said briskly and stood up.
"I'm sorry Angel. Please, we can continue", she said, worried that he was mad.
He himself wanted to be alone tonight after what had just happened so he could think it over. "No, Christine. You should go back. I'll take you", he said.
She consented and left with him to go back to her room for the night. When he put her to bed, she didn't want to kiss his cheek as she always did.
"What is the matter with you, Angel? You've been acting so different lately", she finally approached him with the question she had been wanting to ask him all night.
He felt his blood run cold. This was what he had been dreading all night. "I could say the same for you", he said, avoiding her question.
"That's only because I'm worried about you", she replied.
He sighed and told her-although he didn't tell her all of it. "We are growing apart, Christine. I can feel it, and have seen how you are so different around me now. It's understandable though, as you are almost a young woman of fourteen. This will probably even be our last night together", he said sadly, only partly acting.
Christine looked at him worriedly. "You don't really think so, do you Angel? Oh, please. Not the last visit!" she begged him, her voice quaking and her eyes pleading.
He looked away, almost not able to control himself. "Christine, we can't go on. You still have quite much of your life ahead of you".
"Please, Angel. You are now even my teacher! I still have so much to learn from you, how am I supposed to go along by myself?" She said, horrified at the thought of not seeing her Angel anymore.
He sighed once more and wiped his brow. She was coming up with all these points he hadn't even thought of. But she was right. He was the one who had said he would continue to teach her and he knew that if he did continue, her voice would be even more beautiful than it already was. He didn't want such talent to go to waste just because it was awkward.
"Christine, listen to me", he said, grabbing her shoulders tightly, making her chest rise faster and her eyes open wider with fright.
"I'll still teach you, but I will now be strictly your teacher, nothing else. When you are finally taught enough, we won't see each other anymore. Is that understood?" he said, lightening his grip when he saw how scared she was.
Could she really do it, though? It was only last night that she had been terrified and terribly frightened of this man. She knew he loved her, and considering the circumstances, that could be bad.
She looked away, trying to decide. He noticed this and his heart broke. She was going to say no, he just knew it.
But her answer surprised her. "Angel, for you, I will continue and do as you say", she gulped back tears. The pressure had just been too much.
He lay her down back into her bed and settled her in.
"I'm going to give you something, Christine", he told her, sitting at her bedside.
She closed her eyes in fear. He leaned down and kissed her full on the lips. The kiss was short and lasted only about a few seconds, but it spoke for itself.
He left without a word and left her alone with Meg sleeping on the other side of the room. The kiss had confirmed her thought. Her Angel of Music loved her.