Erik stared at Dieter uncomprehendingly. Katja's father had been in her room with her for nearly an hour then came out and stood before him. "What do you mean?" Erik asked, standing slowly.
"I mean: You need to leave."
"Not without Katja and Belle," he replied stubbornly.
Dieter crossed his arms. "She doesn't want you. She's realized that everything bad that's happened to her is because of you. She wants you gone."
"Then why couldn't she tell me herself?" Erik demanded with a growl.
"Because she's terrified of you," Dieter replied, not even flinching under Erik's anger. "She thinks you're going to hurt her."
"No! I would never hurt her!" Erik cried. "Katja knows that!" He knew it didn't make sense. Katja had told him over and over and over again that she trusted him. She would never be scared of him. But Erik had been rejected too many times. A hint of doubt began to creep into his mind. "I…I don't believe you."
"She told me that she finally realized her mistake. She said that she never should have married a freak like you!" Dieter's words cut deep. Katja was the one person he had trusted to never turn against him. Surely…surely she wouldn't really say that. She never would have married him if she had thought he was a freak. Right?
But sooner or later, everyone rejected him. Erik couldn't tell how much was real and how much Dieter was making up. All he had to do was talk to Katja. She could clear everything up. She would tell him the truth. No sooner than he had taken one step, Dieter grabbed his shoulder. "Get out of my house," Dieter ordered.
Erik tugged his shoulder out of Dieter's grip. "This isn't over," he snarled. "I promise you that."
Katja pressed a kiss to Belle's forehead. Her daughter had become her whole world, and she knew the same was true for Erik. She couldn't believe that her parents kept Belle a secret for nearly a week. Every time she'd question their motives, they would insist that she wouldn't have been able to handle the news.
Something was going on. No one would tell her and Katja didn't ask, but she could feel the tension in the air. Erik was never in a room with her at the same time as her parents, and vice versa. And Erik seemed upset by something, but like usual, he would only deny it and retreat further into himself rather than telling her.
"Where's Erik?" she asked, after searching the house for him.
Her father shrugged. "I don't know. He left a few hours ago and it didn't look like he was coming back."
"What do you mean he's not coming back?" Katja shrieked causing Belle began to fuss in her arms. "Erik would never do that to me!"
"He's done it before, remember?" her father replied. "He left you when you found out you were pregnant, and he left you when those animals took you! What's to say he didn't do it again?"
"But…but he wouldn't," Katja protested weakly. "He…he loves me, loves Belle. There…there has to be a reason. He had to have said something about why he left!"
"Es tut mir Leid, Liebling, but he left without a word."
"Liar," another voice interrupted.
They both turned and saw Fredrick standing there. Katja glanced back and forth between her brother and her father. "What…what do you mean?" she finally asked.
"Tell her Vater."
"I don't know what you're talking abo-"
Fredrick cut him off. "Erik didn't leave. Vater kicked him out. He told him that you didn't love him anymore. He said you called him a freak."
Katja's hand flew to her mouth. "Oh, Vati, why on earth would you ever tell him that? You know it's not true!"
"He's not worth you," her father replied.
"What do you mean?!" Katja cried. "It's my decision who I marry! I'm the one who decides how I live my life! I'm not a little girl anymore!"
"Look at everything that's happened since you brought him here. I'm just trying to protect you."
Tears began to prick at her eyes. "No," she whispered. "You're forcing me to choose between my family and my husband." Katja looked down at her daughter in her arms. Belle needed a father, and she didn't think she could live without the love of her life. She raised her gaze back to her father. "Don't make me chose," she pleaded. "Because if you do, you're not going to like what I pick."
"Liebling…" he started, but she cut him off.
"No, no don't 'Liebling' me." Katja pulled on her cloak, and bundled Belle up tightly in a blanket. "I…I can't believe you!"
"Katja, it's not what you think," her father insisted, trying to stop her from going out the door. "I don't know why Fredrick even told you that."
"Because, unlike you, even though I don't care for Erik, I'm not going to try to ruin my sister's marriage!" Fredrick shouted.
"Katja, you can't go out there!" her father protested. "You're not well!"
"It's better than being here," she replied, yanking open the door and heading into the night.
Erik sat heavily on the sofa and buried his face in his hands. Ayesha nudged him gently, begging for attention, but he ignored her. In fact, he had nearly forgotten about the kitten until he had come back. He had felt awful about it and of course had made sure to feed her well, but now all he could concentrate on was Katja.
How could she say such things about him? Did the past months mean nothing to her? Or had Dieter made it all up? He didn't even know.
For the first time in months, Erik began to crave morphine. All he wanted was to make the pain go away. If he had his needle, he'd at the very least be able to dull it for a while. "Oh Katja," he whispered. "I never deserved you in the first place."
The door opened behind him, but Erik was too busy wallowing in his misery to notice. "Erik?"
He whirled around, his eyes full of hope. "Katja?"
She smiled softly at him. Her cheeks were pink with cold and her hair had been tousled by the wind, but she was more beautiful in that moment than Aphrodite herself. Erik sprung to his feet and embraced her and Belle tightly. "I'm sorry," Katja whispered, as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. "I didn't know he had told you such awful things! I would never say any of that."
"I should have known better," Erik admitted. "But so many people reject me, that I couldn't get rid of that thought. A little voice in my head kept telling me he was right."
"No! Never! I love you Erik."
Erik kissed her temple. "I love you too." He took his daughter into his arms. "And I love you Belle," he told his tiny daughter. "Welcome home."
Katja put her hand on his arm. "It's been too long."
He nodded. "Far too long. But you're here now, and that's all that matters."
Ayesha leaped into Katja's arms. "Hello to you too," she said with a laugh. Erik smiled, but then he realized what Katja being here meant. She left her family for me, he realized. There was a mixture of guilt and relief as he realized she had chosen him over her family. Hopefully Katja wouldn't come to regret her decision.
German Translations
Es tut mir Leid, Liebling-I'm sorry, sweetheart