May 26th 1882

She isn't yours.

The words had been blurted out in a red haze of anger brought on by her husband's new attitude and yet the moment she had thrown them out, like a weapon, Christine was brought back to Earth with a heavy thump. What had she just done?

Nervously she watched Raoul's face as he stopped mid-shout and just stared at the wall opposite, jaw still slack as he seemed to digest the four syllables that had escaped her. Slowly, his mouth closed and he turned to meet her green gaze that swam with a mixture of anger, pain, confusion, fear, too many emotions to pin-point. It worried her that she was unable to read the hazel eyes that were void of any kind of reaction at all. His face, too, was blank and Christine began to fidget in the uncomfortable silence that lingered in the hospital room and was bound to continue if she didn't break it.

"Raoul?" Christine whispered, her face showing concern as she slowly lifted her hand to rest on his forearm.

The touch seemed to awaken the Vicomte from his bewilderment and he snatched his arm to his chest as though he'd just been burnt. The flood barriers finally opened and his eyes welled up with hurt and misunderstanding as he seemed to be searching her own green gaze for the truth. She hoped he saw the apology she was trying to push through the frustration she'd previously felt.

"Tell me it's a lie," the broken voice that spoke the soft words shattered Christine's heart more than she expected. Her husband, whom she did love, looked as though everything he held dear was falling from his grasp – and the fact it was all down to her made things ten times more awful. But now the truth was out and she had to stick to it.

"I'm sorry," Christine's voice was gentle but surprisingly steady as she folded her hands in her lap. "I can tell you the whole story if you want but I'm not sure it would make anything better."

Slowly Raoul nodded in agreement looking down at his bed sheets, anything to avoid looking at his wife. She knew he'd no doubt already connected the dots between her two confessions and had worked out the paternity. It was scaring her how quickly he'd turned from anger to grief, but then she'd just as rapidly turned to pity. She'd prepared herself for the rage she'd assumed would come her way but Christine felt this calm sorrow was far worse.

"That's why you were sobbing when you found out?" the shaky voice asked. She simply nodded, some of her messy curls falling forward as she did. "Was it… Did happen after we were married?" He choked on the last word.

"No, Raoul," Christine spoke softly, gently placing her hand on his and this time he didn't flinch away. "Once we married I was determined I was going to give my all to this relationship. If I'd known… Well I wouldn't have dragged you into this mess." She heard him sniff hard and saw another tear fall down his cheek. "I never set out to hurt anyone, Raoul, I do love you-"

"But I'm not him." The final word had acidity to it but the look he gave her was one merely filled with longing. He wrapped his hand around her's and gave it a light squeeze before allowing her to slip out of his grasp. Christine looked down to see her ring finger was now bare – both the diamond and plain gold band were resting in Raoul's palm. Her eyes were filled with uncertainty and she stared at his regretful face which suddenly turned to a weak smile. "I understand how it feels to love, Little Lotte. Who am I to stop you pursuing it?"

The brunette felt her own eyes tear up at the most selfless words she'd ever heard in her lifetime and couldn't help but jump up and envelope her oldest friend in a tight hug. As his own muscular arms wrapped around her still-rounded form, any thoughts of animosity evaporated and were replaced by a tranquil acceptance between the couple. Slowly she pulled away and had to swallow hard as he placed a light kiss to her knuckles before Christine moved carefully toward the door, looking back several times.

It took every ounce of strength Raoul had to give her a slight, reassuring grin as she left but he was reminded of something his sister's had once discussed growing up – 'men that truly love a woman will put her happiness before their own'. For once they're girlish gossip had come in useful, but it was certainly the hardest thing he'd had to do yet in his life.

The moment the door closed he let his face drop. He'd expected himself to break down in tears, or to be angry and punch the walls to his knuckles bled. Instead the Vicomte found he felt quite hollow, unable to express anything – he simply felt nothing and that scared him more than the other reactions ever could. He wondered whether he and Christine would ever cross paths again, whether his heart would be able to survive such an encounter.

The truth was, after setting her free, Raoul De Chagny would not see the soprano for over a decade.

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Christine walked through the front door, arm in arm with Meg as she blinked hard trying to sooth her stinging eyes that had ached from lack of sleep before they'd even got to the hospital – her tears certainly hadn't helped them.

Upon their entry Madame Giry walked into the hall, Isobel enveloped in a crisp white sheet and cradled securely in her arms. Seeing Christine's red-rimmed eyes and tear-stained cheeks, the older woman snapped into action as she lightly thrust the baby into her daughter's arms and directed her toward the kitchen before gently ushering the brunette onto the sofa at the bottom of the stairs.

"Christine," Her normally strict tone was now soft and comforting and the fearful green eyes that looked up her made it clear this was the correct approach. "Tell me everything."

And so that's exactly what she did, spilled out all her fears, her worries, every detail of the past months finally pouring out of her. Antoinette sat still and silent as she listened, seeming to know exactly what to do at each moment – when to make a sympathetic noise, when to lightly grasp the girl's hand and when to pull the poor thing into a full on embrace as the sobs heaved out of her.

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Short chapter for you all – Raoul is now out of the story and I feel we're meeting our climax, Madame Giry is at last clued in to everything. But of course there's still one very important person our Christine needs to talk to before we can bring this story to an end.

Not sure when I'll next update but thank you all for the lovely reviews/follows/favourites, every single one makes me smile :)