The Affair

Chapter 5 *

"Goodnight, dear," Christine kissed Gustaves forehead and pulled the covers over him, "I'll see you in the morning.".

"Yes, mother." he smiled, "Goodnight."

She blew out one of the candles by Gustave's bed, then went to blow out the last two.

"Mother," Gustave started.

"Yes," she stopped and looked at him.

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Of course, dear. You can tell me anything." she responded, she blew out another candle and left the last one, "Are you alright?"

"Yes, mother. I'm alright." he said, "You have to keep a secret, I promised I wouldn't tell." he began to whisper.

She nodded, "Okay."

He reached out and pulled her close, "I met the angel of music you told me about." he whispered into her ear.

She stood and looked at him, "What?" she worried. Her heart sank, "When? Where?"

"This morning, mother. In box five, are you mad at me?" he asked.

"Of course not, darling, go to bed, I'll see you in the morning." she kissed his forehead again and went to the door, "Go to sleep." she smiled and closed the door.

"Goodnight." he said one last time after she shut the door.

Christine sighed quietly, "Box five," she mumbled to herself. She stood there for a few moments before making her way to the box.  She peeked her head into the room, she was surprised to see a figure sitting in one of the chairs. She grew completely silent, her breathing quickened and her heart raced, she felt as if she may have a heart attack.

"A-" she swallowed hard and blinked for a moment, she looked to the floor and wiped her face, "A-Ange-" she couldn't even finish her words, she immediately blacked out and fell backwards against the wall, then slowly to the floor.

Erik, who was in fact the figure sitting in the chair, promptly turned around and looked at Christine. He began to panic, he stood and rushed to her side. He watched her, he seemed to be taken aback by her, he'd almost forgotten just how beautiful she was. He took care in picking her up off the floor, he quietly brought her to the bottom of the main staircase where he was sure someone would find her, "My love," he whispered, looking over her to make sure that she wasn't hurt. He softly kissed her hand, he lingered for quite some time before resting her hand on her dress, "Sleep well." he murmured to her and crept away.

Early the next morning, she remained on the staircase. She moved a little and made a quiet noise, she tried to sit up and bumped her head on the bottom of the railing, "ouch." she let out verbally and slowly opened her eyes the rest of the way, she rubbed them and when she looked up, Raoul was standing over her. She looked around, "How did I- Why are you here?" she murmured.

"Why are you sleeping there?" he asked her in a slight accusatory tone, "Have you been drinking?"

"I- I'm not sure, I remember talking with Gustave and then... nothing." she put a hand to her head, "Why are you here?"

"I came to check on my wife and son. To see how my family was doing.is that so bad?" he smiled, "Are you sure you weren't drinking,"

"I wasn't drinking," she held onto the railing and pulled herself up, "Where's Gustave?"

"Sleeping, I presume." he helped her up the rest of the way, "Why don't you remember anything if you weren't drinking,"

She shrugged and smelt her dress, "I don't smell like alcohol. I was at the bottom of the stairs. PerhapsI fell?" she stared at the ground, knowing full well she was on her way to box five, however, still not remembering anything after.

"That's plausible," he muttered, "Well, I should be going. You seem super busy."

She shot a glare at him "I've got a major headache with all of my chores." she huffed, "Goodbye then."

He pulled her close to him instead, "Christine, my love, take it easy,"

"Let me go, Raoul, please." she said, not wanting anything to do with him right now.

"You're simply in a bad mood." he softly kissed her.

She pulled away from him, "Raoul, you obviously weren't upset when I left. I truly believe we need a break, I currently need to focus on myself and our son," she backed up a few stairs, "I may start singing again, I may start dancing..."

He watched her, he suddenly became aware of what was happening, "He's here, isn't he."

She shook her head, "No, dear, I... I feel sad. I wake up and I wait for you to come home, my life revolves around you-"

"And I love that about you," he interjected.

"Well, I don't," she looked at him sadly, "I need to live too, not just for you. You should go home,  I'm busy, remember?" she said and the turned around, she made her way up the stairs.