Erik had noticed his bride's fear after he'd kissed her cheek the other night. As unconventional as this situation was, he wanted to try and soothe her. The wedding night absolutely would not be pushed back, but perhaps he could offer her the opportunity to learn more about him before hand. Despite himself, he wanted to know more about his little bird as well. Surely she had more life to her than she'd been exhibiting. There was no way that anyone simply wandered around and just let things happen. At the very least, he hoped not.

Dinner seemed like the best opportunity to learn about her, even if it had to be in public - for the sake of her comfort and to avoid any questions she might have about what she did. Sure, one of his concerns were a little self-serving, but he liked to think that it wasn't completely that way. Her safety and how much she knew were directly correlated, after all.

But first, he needed to finish up with work. Christine wasn't alone, she had Meg and Nadir with her again. What they were doing, he had no idea. He had given them permission to help her look for wedding dresses but they could buy other things as well.

He'd really appreciate it if she were to stock up on .. feminine items as he never wanted to be asked about them again. He'd brought the ones she'd already had at her father's house over, but that was as far as he was willing to go pertaining to those.

He was just about done when the door slammed open. He looked up from his desk and inwardly cursed. He'd hoped to never encounter Raoul de Chagny again - but when had hoping ever done anything for him? Had he caught wind of the wedding? Did he know about Christine? He wasn't sure how likely that was, but he'd never put anything past the irritation in front of him.

"May I help you? I wasn't expecting any visits from high ballers today." Erik drawled. While he wasn't exactly poor, he hadn't been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He'd had to actually work for his fortune - whether it was gained respectfully or not was very much besides the point.

"... An old friend of my family has informed me that you and his daughter are getting married." Raoul sneered, hands shaking as he slammed them down against the desk. His anger was palpable but it truly wasn't as intimdating as the younger man seemed to think it was.

However, it was rather disappointing to realize that Gustave had been running his mouth and complaining to people. Perhaps he should've expected it, but he genuinely had hoped he was different. He'd truly intended to allow Christine the chance to invite her papa to the wedding. That wasn't going to happen now that he knew he couldn't be trusted to keep his damn mouth shut now, though. She'd just have to deal with walking herself down the aisle.

"Oh? How is this any of your business? Would you like a wedding invite or something?" Erik taunted, leaning back in his chair. He fiddled with the pen in his hand, feigning disinterest as he awaited the rest of Raoul's blustering.

"It is my business because Christine is a friend of mine! If you hurt her, I will ruin your life." The boy snarled. Truly, the threat was more amusing than it was actually worrying. There was no way that a toff like Raoul could actually do anything to him. Even so, he supposed he could humor the poor idiot.

"If you're so worried about her state, why don't you come to our wedding at the end of the week? That way you can see that she's alright for yourself as we all know that you never take my word for anything." Erik offered, leaning forward. His tone became supplicating and perhaps a tiny bit condescending. Thankfully Raoul didn't seem aware of this part, otherwise he'd waist even more of his time.

There was a stretch of time where he was almost worried that this offer wouldn't be enough to pacify him. He really didn't want to be warned and threatened for the next thirty minutes and he couldn't risk hurting Raoul. It would bring more problems instead of solutions. Especially since his little bride was apparently friends with this fool.

"I do believe I will be taking you up on the offer, Arquette." Raoul stated coldly before whirling around on his heel. He stormed out in the same way that he'd entered and Erik groaned, dropping his head into his hands. He could feel a migraine coming on. If he had to deal with more toffs today, he was going to blow his own brains out.

At least his idea had worked. Now he could center a plan around it. There was absolutely no way that he could allow Raoul to make it for the actual wedding and he could do no harm to him. He still refused to move the wedding day back so the only option was to move it forward.

He was home before Christine and he waited patiently on the couch. He flipped through his newspaper as he did so, checking out the headlines and skimming the stories that seemed interesting at the very least. He looked up when he heard the giggles of Meg and her insistent rambling.

He didn't have to wait long to see Christine enter the room, a short blonde clinging to her arm. He fought a smirk when he noticed her attempt to hide the bag that concealed her wedding dress. She really was cute and perhaps a bit naïve if she truly believed in those old superstitions. Nadir followed behind them, sighing heavily. Erik could only assume that Meg hadn't shut up since they'd left earlier. Oh well. He was the one that had wanted to marry the little motor mouthed wench.

"I see that you've got your wedding dress. That's good because there has been a change of plans. We're marrying tomorrow night. There will be plenty of cake and such. I had to do a lot of coaxing but I pulled it off. It'll still be utterly perfect." Erik informed, winking at Christine. He purposely brushed his body against her as he stood and walked past.

He stopped by Nadir and grasped his arm tightly, letting the slightly older male know that he was utterly serious about this. He tugged him away from the women without looking back at them.

"Khan, I am marrying her in another city entirely. You and Meg are coming as you're driving her. You are to avoid answering any questions and follow behind me. Do I make myself clear?' Erik demanded coolly, tightening his grip.

Nadir didn't answer at first and he maintained eye contact, tightening his grip further. He didn't relax his hold until Nadir nodded. He let go entirely and patted his arm, a sigh leaving him.

"Good man." Erik grunted and headed out the door. He'd have to book two rooms when he reached the motel. One would be for Nadir and Meg and the other would obviously be for himself and his little mouse of a bride.