This is a long chapter, however; I feel that it is lacking. I have been experiencing a busy schedule and Writer's Block but was determined to write, anyway. In the future, I may edit it and split it up into two chapters.

Thank you so much for the lovely reviews! I am always happy to hear from you.

Ch. 6

Estella found that she was too troubled to sleep, and she was awake early enough to watch the sun rise through the window of her small room. She sat, watching with a blank stare, beside the panes of glass, noticing how they fogged from her breath.

Winter would arrive with haste, and with it icy air that felt like daggers on her skin.

How fitting that the weather should soon be as cold as the fate which I am to face in not even eleven days, she thought to herself bitterly.

Ever since her uncle had broken the news to her of her impending marriage to a stranger only three days ago, she had been struggling with herself. While her immediate thought was to develop a scheme to disappear before the wedding so that she would not be forced to marry, she found that the idea of running away was most irrational and incomplete.

If she were to leave, where would she go? Certainly no one would take her in, and she would be left to wander the streets. It was a thought most unpleasant to her, and she shuddered to even think of what terrible circumstances would befall her.

No, she would not force herself to become victim to a far crueler person, and she did not have a death wish.

For once in her life, she almost wished that nothing would change. Though she found no happiness in her present lot in life, she felt that it would be better than to be thrown into the world of a strange man.

Still, she knew that, if she wished to survive, she would need to marry him. Though she felt this the most reasonable yet illogical choice of all, she determined that she would not give up on finding a way out of it, just yet.

"Am I to host an engagement dinner, then?" John asked reluctantly.

Erik could see the worry written on the older man's features, and he knew what he must have been thinking. Certainly it was not an honest question; it was simply asked out of politeness or obligation, as he knew that John would never allow his niece to be seen as a lady in public, even if she was to marry into wealth.

"No; that will not be necessary," Erik was quick to dispel the notion, though not for the same reasons.

Of course there was no need to have a grand celebration. Firstly, there was the reason that, while Erik had become successful in life, his identity and even the sight of his person remained anonymous, therefore; he had no acquaintances who would need to be invited to such an event.

And although at times he wished to somehow, even miraculously, assimilate himself into a normal life, he knew it to be impossible. And why should he follow the rules and standards of a society that had rejected him?

Not to mention that it would be a great risk to take on his part. Not only would he be exposing his future wife-how odd it was to think of any woman becoming his wife-to the ridicules and scrutinization of others, but he would also be rendering himself vulnerable. He would not endure the taunts or even frightened stares that would result from his mask. Or even worse, perhaps someone would have the audacity to rip it off of his face, as had once been done to him, or even recognize who he was. He did not wish to be painfully reminded of his past, yet again, for his self-despair was fully capable of doing so alone.

No, the less people in his life, the better.

John breathed a sigh of relief once he had been reassured that he would not need to present his niece to any of his acquaintances in the near future. He hoped that, once she was married, he would not need to think of her again. She would be Erik's problem, and he almost felt sorry for it.

Still confused and utterly perplexed by the idea of any man wishing to marry his niece, John still did not know what Erik's intentions were. But how could he complain, what with the way in which his pocketbook had been filled by it?

Erik had noticed the smug look of satisfaction by having been corrrupted on John's face during the past week, and he had been more than disgusted by it, in fact; he would not even ask for his business partner to witness his wedding, for the sooner that Estella would be free of him, the better.

It would be a small wedding, if it could be called a wedding at all. Only requiring two witnesses, Erik would allow a couple of his servants who would be willing to accompany him to the place in which he would be wed.

But could it be called a wedding, when the two people involved did not love each other? Though he had been on hiatus from any building projects as-of-late, he found that he had been quite busy by preparations for his marriage in only a week, but his mind still found time to plague him with troubling thoughts, nonetheless.

Was he making a mistake? He tried desperately to harden himself to the idea of having a normal marriage, for he knew that it could not be. It was only a marriage by legality, and for the sake of companionship and saving her from the fate of a lonely spinster at a young age. He could not continue to have dealings with her uncle with a clear conscience while knowing that someone else had suffered as he had, in that house.

But he knew that this marriage was not born out of love, and so he would not disguise it as such. Yes, he would allow her to have say in the details and even to have whatever she had imagined her wedding to be, even if it would be painful for him, but he would not take pleasure in it.

There would not be holding of hands at the altar, or even a kiss to seal their decision. Simply the vows or whatever it took to make it official was all that he had wanted, for he would not taunt himself with what he could not have. Why reopen the old wound in his heart by feeling those soft lips that he had dreamt about? He would not fool himself into thinking that it could be real.

Erik found that the more that he sat thinking on the details of his wedding and even discussing certain necessary aspects of it with John, the more sour his mood became, and he did not wish to remain in John's study much longer.

Was it not to be a joyful event? And yet he found that it brought him no joy, whatsoever. Perhaps a bit of relief to know that he was doing his part to show kindness and compassion for a fellow outcast who has suffered injustices, but nothing more. Maybe the two of them could become friends in the future, but he would not allow himself to develop hope for something that was not guaranteed.

He would not reveal to John that he had already found an officiant, thanks to his head butler, nor the fact that he already knew of the location in which it would be held. If John would not be attending, then such matters were irrelevant to him.

As Erik dismissed himself from the company of his partner, all that filled John's mind were two thoughts-how joyful an occasion it would be to finally be rid of his obligations to his half-breed niece, and what he would do with his newly-acquired money.

Erik slowly closed the door behind himself and sighed once he had stepped out into the hallway.

His face was written with the worry that it brought him to know that, soon, a woman would be living with him, even if not in the same room.

Would he regret his decision and long for the days of his solitude? He could not imagine wishing to be lonely and unhappy as he had been for the majority of his life, but he wondered if it was the better option.

He had never experienced true happiness, for each time in which he thought that he had felt it, it had only been an illusion. So many times when he had heard Christine sing, he had told himself that she sang for him, alone. It must have been her reason, for he had been the sole reason for her voice. Without him, she would not have had the talent and circumstances to rise to fame. Without him, she was only a chorus girl and no different than the other ballet rats who lacked talent.

But she had not sung for him. Even when her voice had filled his ears and heart with a sweet sensation, even as he watched her beauty upon the stage, deep down he knew that it could not be for him. How could it ever be?

He had ignored his rationalizations and reasoning, ignored the truth, and lived a lie. He behaved according to the fantasy in which he had been ensnared, and it took countless painful rejections and a terrible betrayal to shatter that illusion.

He knew that a woman could never love him for as long as he had the hideous abhorrance-of-a-face, but was he setting himself up for another trap by once again playing out the illusion? Was his heart strong enough to endure this marriage?

These answers he did not know, but he had already made the choice and would follow through with it, even if it might not have been entirely what he had wanted.

Past the point of no return, he thought bitterly to himself. He even felt the stab to his heart along with it, and he wished for nothing more than to retire to his estate and to lock himself in his room, but he knew that there were other matters to attend to.

Erik suddenly realized that his gloomy thoughts and painful memories had rendered him motionless, and he still stood outside of the study. Before he could take a step further, he heard a woman's voice. Though muffled by the wall, it still drifted into the hallway in a dangerous tone.

He could not make out the words, but he knew that it came from the setting room, only a short distance away, and he slowly and quietly drew closer, but remained in the shadows. It was not as if she could see him through the wall, but he wanted to take his precautions.

When he was but few feet from the nearly-closed door, he stopped to listen.

"-do not understand why any man would marry you! Surely it must be a joke!"

It was the voice of Hattie, and Erik furrowed his brows and continued to listen to what she had to say to his soon-to-be-wife.

"I can assure you that it is true," Estella replied softly.

Though she was still not certain of what his motives were, she could not deny that he was intending to marry her. She was aware of his frequent visits to her uncle and not ignorant to the reason for such visits, especially while she knew that they had taken a break from their occupations.

"You must have cast some sort of spell upon him with your unnaturalness! Or perhaps he feels pity for you..."

Then, Erik heard Hattie's shrill laughter pierce the air.

"Oh, yes, but remember what happened with Mr. Roberts?" she was thinking aloud with a mocking tone, "Certainly Mr. Destler would never follow through with this marriage! It shall all turn out as it did before!"

Erik was both surprised and frustrated at the fact that hearing another man's name and developing a curiosity for it made him jealous, and he reprimanded himself mentally for it. Why should he care if there was, or once had been, another man involved?

Yet it brought back the images of seeing Christine with the Vicomte, and he could not help but to be angry.

Estella did not respond, and it afforded Hattie more time to continue in her taunting.

"Do you remember how you cried and cried after Mr. Roberts refused to carry out his engagement to you? He must have realized what a terrible mistake he was making, before it was too late!"

Erik was shocked to hear of this, and the idea of it angered him further. He could feel his jaw tighten and did his best to remain silent a little longer.

How could a man be so cruel as to break her heart? Though she had different-colored skin, she was still human, and a woman with feelings! Not to mention the fact that she was by no means unattractive-far from it!

Part of him was relieved to know that there would be no competition, and that he would be the one to claim her, even if she would not truly be his. He wanted to prove to her that he would never treat her that way.

But the other part of him did not want her near him after their marriage. It wanted to lock himself in the opposite end of the house and avoid her as much as possible, in fear that she would only be his downfall.

"Mr. Destler is an intelligent and wealthy man, and I do not think that he would ever marry far beneath himself for the likes of you!"

Erik could hear no more of her jeers, so he opened the door wider and made his presence known by walking into the room with a confident stride, though his expression was glaring in the direction of Hattie, who now wore a surprised look on her face.

"M-Mr. Destler!" she stuttered, sounding as a child would who had been caught doing something wrong, "I did not expect you to...to..."

"To hear what you have to say about the woman who will soon be my wife?" Erik snapped a bit harshly.

Estella, who had been seated on the light-blue floral divan, looked up at him in a surprise that almost surpassed that of her cousin's.

Hattie quickly stood up from the opposite seating once Erik had joined Estella's side, as if protecting her from the other woman.

Though they were not touching, Estella could feel the anger radiating off of him as he stood above her.

"I know very well what you and your father think of her, but I will not allow it to be spoken of! Despite what you believe, Ms. Abraham, I fully intend to marry her in a week, and if you wish for your father and I to remain on good terms, then I would advise you to keep your mouth shut in regards to her!" he said through gritted teeth.

Estella was thankful that his back was somewhat turned to her and that he was not looking at her, for she could not hide her shock. Never in her dreams would she imagine that someone would be defending her, let alone having been offended by the typical remarks in her behalf.

"And I am not completely ignorant that both you and your father value my partnership, for it feeds your greediness for wealth quite satisfactory, so if I were you I would tread a bit more carefully in my presence," he warned in a dangerously-low voice.

Hattie had never heard him speak in such a way, and she was quite frightened. She nodded her head quickly and felt awkward to remain in the room.

With Hattie having left the room abruptly, Estella quickly looked down at her folded hands in her lap and pretended to smooth out an imaginary wrinkle when she felt him turn to look at her.

Erik's temper had somewhat resided, though he could feel the remnants of it, but he now found himself nervous in her presence. Not only was she increasingly beautiful to him each time that he looked at her, much to his disappointment in himself, but he was also fearful of what would happen soon.

"May I?" he asked, gesturing to the matching divan opposite of her.

Estella looked up and furrowed her brows, wondering why he would ask her permission to take a seat near her. Was he simply being polite by pretending as if she were a lady?

Nevertheless, she nodded her head in agreement and watched him sit down across from her, with nothing but a small coffee table seperating the two of them.

Her eyes quickly swept over his appearance, noticing how he always seemed to wear dark colors, in fact; though she had only seen him a handful of times, he always wore black and dressed in fine attire. It both confused her and piqued her interest as to why he chose to overdress, though she could not quite complain. She would hardly admit to herself that she found his appearance most appealing, for he was much taller than her and she always thought that a well-dressed man was instantly more attractive.

Her eyes traveled over his cream-colored dress-shirt and up to his clean-shaven face, noting how strong and masculine his jawline was, how dark his hair was as it had been smoothed away from his face, and the furrowing of his brows as he stared at her in contemplation.

Had he not worn a mask, she could easily say that he was most handsome, but it was the sight of the bright whiteness of it that made her wonder what he was hiding. And why only on half of his face? Surely if he wished to hide his identity, why would he not choose to wear a mask over the top half of his face, instead?

Her wonderings were interrupted by his voice.

"I have secured the location and officiant," he said.

He almost said for our wedding, but felt that it sounded odd and refrained from doing so.

"Is there anyone whom you wish to invite?"

Estella could hardly believe that he was asking for her input, but she replied that there was no one, anyway.

"Then it will be a small ceremony. I hope that you do not mind," he replied.

Though unacquainted with the world of romance and marriage, he was not oblivious to the fact that most women wanted a large and elaborate wedding. He was thankful, however, that theirs would have to be small, for even the few details to plan were enough to worry over, as it was.

Mind? Why would I mind? And why would he care? she wondered.

Estella said nothing more, choosing to remain silent because she was confused by his sudden kindness to her.

Had he felt obligated to it? Even Mr. Roberts had once been kind to her. But she could not help but to be reluctant about believing it, for she did not wish to see the harsh reality of what he truly would be once they were married-if he followed through with it, that is.

Still, thinking about how he had so boldly defended her only moments ago, she could not help but to feel a strange sensation in her chest and hope that he had been genuine. It would make her life far easier if she were to have a kind husband.

"Have you found a dress?"

Estella wanted to snort at him, but she kept her composure with an untrusting stare and the hiding of her emotions.

"Certainly you could not expect me to find one, when I have never been allowed in public and do not have the finances for it. I do hope that my uncle has not given you the illusion of my being a lady or one of wealth, for that matter," she replied. Though wanting to keep her voice free from emotion, the end of her response had been laced with acidity.

Erik thought deeply on her response.

"Then I give you permission to go into town."

This time, Estella did laugh at the absurdity of his words.

"Now you truly must be amusing me! And how, pray tell, would I ever manage it? You say that you do not want my uncle and cousin to mock me, yet you wish for me to be exposed to the ridicule of society?"

Though he knew it not to be deliberate on her part, Erik was angered that she appeared to be laughing at him, and he had to look away from her and remind himself of why she felt that way.

Of course he could not expect her to be willing to leave the estate. Had anyone told him to appear in the public, he would have a far worse response than she had had.

"Very well; then I will make arrangements for your discretion, and you will not be bothered by anyone. I simply ask that you find a dress, even if you will continue to avoid others."

"You are mistaken; I am not avoiding anyone," she defended. "I am a shame to society, and I cannot force such ugliness and disgust on other people!"

She was horrified once the words had left her mouth, for she was determined not to show her true feelings to him. She had just shown a moment of weakness, and she instantly regretted it.

Erik stood up, finding that his temper was near the brink of becoming uncontrollable. It was not only what she had said to blame, for ever since the day he had expressed his intent to marry her he had been reliving his terrible dreams and memories that he had so long repressed. It was more painful to him than he ever thought it to be, but what upsetted him most was his own foolishness into conjuring up the plan in the first place.

He refused to give in to another woman's charms, refused to be vulnerable and to expose his heart once more. This time, he would not be so blind. He knew that it would only end badly for him. And the fact that he seemed to be toying with the risk was infuriating to him, and he had only known her for two weeks! What would living with her bring?

"Do not think me a liar, Ms. Crawley! I told your cousin that I would not hear such words, and that applies to you, as well!" he barked.

Estella was taken aback and shamed by her having upset him, though she was not entirely certain why she felt remorse.

"I only wish that you would take advantage of your changing circumstances," he added in a softer voice. It was what he would do, if he was given the chance to change his life completely.

Then, he pulled out a bit of money from his pocket and reached out to hand it to her.

"Buy the most expensive dress in town, or don't. I simply ask that you look as a bride should," he added.

But she did not take the money. Instead, she glared at him.

"Do you think that your money can bribe everyone?" she spat.

Erik threw the money onto the table and his eyes burned into hers, though he kept his distance.

"I know that it cannot, otherwise my fate would be far different!" he retorted angrily.

If money could bribe everyone, then he would have no need to hide away. He could at least pretend to be normal, even if people would only overlook his face because of how much wealth he had to offer.

Estella was confused by his response. Far different? What did he mean?

Erik did not allow her to say anything else, for he stormed to the door. For all of the trouble that she was causing him, she was certainly being ungrateful!

Before he left, however; he turned to look at her.

"At least I know that you will not deceive me because of my money!"

And then the door was closed.