To Outwit an Angel

21. Return to Normalcy

Carlotta's POV:

I was on the verge of ruining that irritating girl's life, on the very brink of it, when she opened the door. How simple it would have been! Slip in a word to her precious, perfect fiancé, plant a seed of doubt in his mind, and let a man's natural jealousy finish my work. But if that wretch caught even a hint of my plan, she'd slide herself into the conversation and finagle a distraction. The whole thing was impossible now.

 "Ah, here's our little flower!"

 The remark flew off my tongue, and best of all, it had the intended effect on Mademoiselle Daaé. She flushed and backed toward the door.

 "Christine Daaé, quite the lady of the hour!" Firmin strutted forward to enclose her hands in a hearty handshake. "Is our, ahem, ghost's notes to be taken into account for your performance?"

 She blinked several times, once again playing the clueless innocent. Despicable. Finally, she pasted on a sweet smile and removed her hand from Monsieur Firmin's.

 "We wouldn't want to displease him, would we?"

 It was impulsive, yes, but I couldn't bring myself to regret my next words. It was worth it to wipe that manipulative smile from her face.

 "Especially you wouldn't wish that, Mademoiselle Daaé, no? Given your affection for the horrid ghost."

 Scarlet crawled up to her hairline, her lips dropping to a frown.

 "I'm sure I don't understand, signora." She said, regaining her composure in seconds, lifting her chin in defiance. It was in defiance to my clear superiority, which I couldn't tolerate. It was all a front anyway. She knew I had her cornered, and now, she had to face her wrongdoing. But she spoke again before I had the chance. "It sounds like you're spouting baseless rumors, and I beg you to behave with more restraint in the future."

 I shrugged, delighted by watching her silly pride deflate. Slowly, she must accept the truth. She couldn't cling onto both her precious patron and this torrid affair with this Phantom for long.

 "I don't aim for restraint, but honesty. You should try it sometime. I'm sure both your fiancé and lover would be grateful."

 Her jaw dropped open, and a smile curled over my lips. Good, my job was done. In one brash comment, I had snuck doubt into her fiancé, and the girl realized her time deceiving everyone was over.

 Maybe, just maybe, the ensuing scandal would force her out of the limelight, into an early retirement. Then, simple as that, the stage was mine once again.

~

 I suffered through being within the chorus for the next few hours. On our final break of the evening, Monsieur Piangi accosted me. Never, not once, had he possessed enough nerve to stand up to me like this. It was sickening, unprecedented, and enraging.

 "I thought..." With a quick glance at the people nearby, he mysteriously lowered his voice, "I thought you and... Christine... were on good terms. What happened earlier? Why did you imply a relationship between her and the ghost? We both know that isn't true."

 What was he implying? Us on good terms? Since when? The man was idiotic, but even for him, this concept was laughable.

 "Don't be absurd," I snapped, "finally beating out against her in Il Muto isn't good terms. And why else would that foul Phantom favor her so greatly? Once a ballet dancer, always a harlot."

 I released a short, biting laugh, then centered my focus back to the libretto in my lap. But that bothersome man buzzed around me like a fly, never to go away, no matter how harshly my words swatted at him.