Erik's POV

I worked until the morning sun rose. When I could no longer keep my eyes open, I placed my left over work aside and headed out. The summer heat was already beating down upon my shoulders, making me flesh unbearably hot. Deciding not to linger, I turned in the direction of my opera house, knowing that I had to meet with my stage manager in order to tell him about the holiday's plans. Usually, the opera house was empty at such an early hour, but today, I heard Christine's voice as soon as I entered. Curious, I snuck up to my private box and peeked out from behind the curtain. It was indeed Christine… She was standing center stage, all alone and singing to a tune she most likely had playing in her head, for there was no one sitting at the stage piano. What made things worse was when I noticed that she had tears in her eyes. I knew she was upset about how last night's events played out. I watched her for a little while longer, deciding to break up her sadness when she began to sob.

"Christine, why do you cry?"

She gasped and raised her head as soon as she heard my voice. She looked around for the longest time before setting her eyes on my private box. Though, I was no longer there, for I had already snuck down the stairs and backstage. I was nearly behind her now as silent tears slid down her damp cheeks.

"Christine, why do you cry?"

Once again, the woman gasped as she spun around and saw me standing beside her. She quickly wiped away her tears and sniffled, attempting to be the strong woman that she always thought she was. Though, deep down, I knew Christine was just as emotional as I was at times.

"I…I can't keep doing this," she cried, continuing to wipe her eyes. "I can't keep loving you like I do."

I folded my hands behind my back and straightened my posture.

"No? And why not?"

"Because I know that you don't love me the same way that I love you."

"And how could Christine say such a thing? Has your Erik not given you everything a woman could have asked for? If I didn't love you as much as you, why would I be wearing this promise ring around my left finger? Did we not promise one another to be faithful? Do these rings not mean a thing to you?"

Christine looked down at her own ring and gently pulled it off of her finger. With every tug she gave that ring, my heart broke into two.

"I…I used to think you'd be the man I'd spend my entire life with," Christine placed the small trinket into the palm of my hand. "But…but you believe that I see you as nothing more than a monster. You constantly put words in my mouth, Erik. You tell me that I see you as a hideous demon."

Christine closed my fingers around the ring and began to sob once again.

"But now that I'm finished with you, I will tell you the truth, seeing that you never listened to me before. You're not a hideous demon, and you're not a monster. You are a man, one who is kind and caring…One who would do anything in the world for me. I can't continue living with a man that believes I lie all the time. That's not a relationship, Erik."

"Christine," I was getting down to my knees, but Christine hauled me back up.

"You think that I see you as a monster, and every time I try to tell you differently, your temper gets the best of you. If you loved me, you wouldn't feel that way…I…I'm leaving your house."

"Christine," I had tears in my eyes, tears for all the pain that I had caused the woman by accusing her of believing me to be a monster. Oh, how many times a day did I accuse her of such an act? The woman was attempting to leave, but I had my hand upon her arm. "Christine, please…"

"Erik, I've waited and waited for you to ask me to be your wife, but as time went on, I realized that you were never going to ask me because you would never marry a woman that constantly calls you a monster."

"You never did," I pleaded. "Please, Christine…"

"I never did, but in your heart, you believe that I did. If you truly loved me, Erik, there would be no need for you to feel like that. But just for the record, your face is not what makes you a monster…It's the way you treat me sometimes."

"Christine, where will you go?"

"Anywhere, as long as it's away from you…"

This broke my heart… I tried to chase after Christine, but by the time I made it home, my house was already empty. It broke my heart…Tore it in two. Not only had I lost the love of my life, but I had lost my friend and leading act. What hurt worse was that she had taken the boy with her…He was like a son to me, my own flesh and blood. For hours after that, I walked the streets, hoping that I would come across the two of them, but I came up short…She was never coming back and all because of the horrible way that I had treated her. I sobbed into my hands that night, sobbed and wished that I could change the past. I didn't have the heart to tell my boss about Christine's flight, but what choice did I have? There were tickets that had been sold for upcoming nights, and without a leading act, my park would anger a lot of patrons… And just as Mr. Tilyou had wanted, Meg had been moved up to that position. I couldn't even stomach the thought of her dancing around and singing in Christine's place. That being the reason why I didn't even attend her first performance…No, I was too heartbroken to do so.

That evening, I lurked to my office and sat at my desk, filling out paperwork as my heart bled for the only woman I had ever loved. Oh, here I was once again, alone and broken…I promised myself that I would never become weak again, and yet, here I was, still in the same position! But why was I still wearing my promise ring? Why was it that I was still wearing the beautiful trinket that had made my heart leap with joy? What promises were there to fill now? What promise could I possibly be obeying to?

"Sir?"

A light knock occurred at my office door, followed by the sound of Mr. Squelch's voice. I turned to face the man, motioning him to enter.

"Sir, I couldn't help but notice that you're seeming extremely upset this evening."

"That I am…Though, I shall be all right."

"Not satisfied with Meg Giry are you?"

I shook my head. "No, who could be happy with her, when I've had the opera diva as my main act? No, having Meg take over is nothing compared to what things used to be. It will only be a matter of time before everyone realizes that as well."

"Sir, I know this may be none of my business, but why is it that Miss Daae left? She seemed so happy working in Phantasma, especially when she was around you. Both her and the child seemed happy."

"I…I don't know, Mr. Squelch. She just picked up and left me the other afternoon. I don't blame her…Everyone wishes to get away from me."

"I know that I shouldn't be telling you this, sir, but just before Miss Daae took off, I spotted Mr. Tilyou speaking to her on the other end of the park."

This instantly made me drop my pen, for I had not known this.

"What?" I gasped. "You saw Mr. Tilyou speaking to Christine?"

Mr. Squelch nodded. "Yes, a few nights ago after her performance…"

"And what were they talking about?"

"I'm not sure, sir, but whatever it was really made Miss Daae upset, for she ran away in tears."

I immediately gathered to my feet and hurried out the door. Oh, I had to find Christine! I had to speak with her. And then, when I was finished talking to her, I would clobber Mr. Tilyou. I wasn't sure where my angel of music could have fled off to, but I wasn't about to lose her for good. Yes, I had acted like a monster in the past, but Christine always understood me. She never broke things off with me just because of my anger. No, the girl had to have had something said to her, something that was most likely a lie. Mr. Tilyou was good for that. I knew that she hadn't much money, which was why she was most likely staying at an inn…There were three in the area, and so, I started with the first one, entering the office and asking if she had signed in. I came up short with the first two, but after entering the third and final inn, I was happy to find that Christine was indeed staying there.

"She is a one of my employees," I said to the manager. "I need to speak with her immediately. Please, which room is she staying in?"

"Sixty six," the man said.

Satisfied, I hurried out the door and towards the room that my angel was currently staying in. When I approached her door, I adjusted my shirt and lightly knocked. I waited for several minutes, before it finally opened. Though, it was not Christine who was standing before me…No, it was Gustave. As soon as the boy saw me, he jumped into my arms.

"Mr. Erik!"

"Gustave…Oh, how I've missed you."

"Mr. Erik, why are mama and I living here? Why aren't we living with you?"

Before I could answer, Christine's harsh voice called out.

"Gustave, get inside this instant!"

"But mama…"

"But nothing! Get inside this instant and go to your room."

I placed the boy down and he walked back inside, turning to face me one last time.

"Bye, Mr. Erik…"

Christine waited until his bedroom door was closed before stepping outside and closing the door behind her.

"I gave my ring back to you," she snapped. "There is no reason for you to be here."

"Christine, I don't know why you just ended our relationship like you did, but I have a feeling that you didn't do it on your own free will."

"Of course I did," she growled. "What do you believe I did?"

"Christine, please…"

"Please what?!"

"Please let me come inside so that I can talk to you."

"Why should I let you in? Why should I do anything for you?"

She was crying now…Crying, but I didn't understand why.

"Christine?"

"No, I can't trust you…How could I ever trust you again?"

"You can…Oh, Christine, what's wrong?"

Christine wiped her eyes and opened the front door. She didn't say much, but I followed her inside and took a seat in the kitchen.

"Christine, I don't understand why you broke things off with me, but I really want you to tell me…What's wrong, ange?"

"Ange? How could you call me that? After all that you've done to me…"

"Christine, did Mr. Tilyou talk to you a few nights ago?"

Christine took a seat and nodded, her eyes still filling with fresh tears.

"He came to me after my performance… The night after you left me because you were angry. I waited for you to show up, but you never did. He approached me backstage."

"And what did he say?"

"He told me the truth…He told me that you were going to get rid of me. He told me that you've been sleeping with Meg."

"What? Meg Giry? That whore? Oh, Christine, why would you believe him? You know what that bastard is capable of!"

"I didn't believe him at first, but when I asked Meg about it and she told me the same thing, what was I to think? She told me that you've been sleeping around with her and that you were going to make her a star. She said that you weren't ever going to marry me, and were only using me for my talent and body. She said that you didn't love me and never have after what happened in Paris…She said that you thought me to be nothing more than a gullible whore…"

Christine broke down in sobs after this…Oh, I would kill them both! I knew what Meg wanted, and I knew what Mr. Tilyou wanted! It made sense for the both of them to team up like they had in order to hurt Christine and me.

"Christine," I got to my knees and placed my hands in her own. "Christine, listen to me…I would never ever sleep with that girl. Never…Oh, Christine, I would never hurt you in such a way. I love you, I love you more than anything in the world. The only woman that I have ever made love to is you, and it is always going to be that way. Mr. Tilyou is an evil man, mon ange…So, so evil. He wanted Meg as the main act and when I denied his wish, he turned to Meg in order to plan out their demise…Christine, don't you believe me?"

Christine looked down and pressed her eyes closed. "I…I've missed you so much. I'm the one who broke it off with you, and yet, I've done nothing but cry myself to sleep at night. Gustave has missed you too…Oh, Erik forgive me for…"

"Shhhh…" I pressed Christine's face into my chest and rocked her body against my own. "Christine, you acted rational…You made haste decisions before speaking to me first. Made up a lie to break off our relationship. Christine, I need you to promise me that you will never listen to those two monsters or anyone else ever again before speaking with me."

"I'm sorry…"

I took out Christine's promise ring and placed it back on her finger.

"Christine, I want you to do two things for me…Now, these two things are important."

"Anything…" she cried.

I wiped her tears away with my thumb and looked up at her.

"I want you to leave this hellhole of a room and move back in with me…"

"I will," she promised. "I'll come back to your house if you will have me."

"And you will work at Phantasma once again…It may not be tomorrow, but I will be having a talk with my boss in the morning."

"All right…"

"But that wasn't the second thing, Christine. No, the second thing is this…I want you to be my wife."

Christine's tears instantly stopped, for her jaw slightly dropped.

"Wh…What?"

I got down on one knee and smiled.

"Christine Daae, would you do me the honor of becoming Mrs. Erik Mulheim?"

"Is this real?"

"Of course, Christine. I want you to be my wife…."

DUN DUN DUN...Will she say yes? Stay tuned! Please review!