Twisted Every Way

Chapter 20~ A New Beginning?

~Paige's POV~

The train ride to Paris was long and we had to make several stops along the way. Mia had fallen asleep on Erik's knee as soon as we had sat down in the first train. Erik was stroking her hair as she softly snored and it made my heart melt. Could we really be a family? Could we finally be happy?

A devastating thought rushed into my head and it made my eyes fill with tears.

"Erik?" He looked at me concerned. "What happened to the Opera House? Did you manage to put the fire out?" He looked away from me and cast his glance down, stopping stroking Mia's hair in the process.

"I tried..." I could tell he was also close to tears. "I tried so hard Paige. I tried to save my home, but I couldn't. The fire had spread too far by the time I had come back from searching for you, that I had to abandon it. I think my lair might still be salvageable but there was nothing I could do. The Opera Populaire was all over the papers and I couldn't risk being seen. They're blaming me for the fire."

I was shocked, angry and upset, all at the same time. How could they blame Erik for the fire.

"What about all of the people who were watching? Surely they saw that it was Alexander that caused it all."

"Paige... No one survived but me. I managed to get out of there by using a secret passage but Alexander had bared all of the doors." I barely heard anything Erik said after that. No one survived? I knew Christine must have survived as I had written to her, but what about Meg or Jacob? Had they died? Erik must have read my mind as he grabbed my hand and kissed it.

"It's okay. Madame Giry knows all of my exits too. I asked her to take as many as she could with her but she only managed to tell a few before they needed to go. Maybe your friends are within that group." I nodded. I had faith that they had gotten out but that didn't stop me feeling so sad. The Opera Populaire was my home for so long and now it was destroyed. There would be no more shows, no more rehearsals, no more music.

"What happened to Monsieur Firmin and Monsieur André? Did they survive as well." Erik shook his head. "Then who owns the rights to the building?" Erik smirked which confused me as we were talking about a very serious matter.

"Me."

"What?!" I gasped. Mia stirred in Erik's lap but stopped when Erik started stroking her hair again. "How is it that you own it now?"

"I made a deal with the previous owners years ago, detailing that if the owners of the Opera Populaire ever died without choosing a new owner, the deeds would go to me. I made sure I was protected if anything was to happen suddenly, just like now."

"So what do we do? Are we going back there?" He nodded. "Okay then. We can try to secure a safe area to stay down in your lair for a while. What do you plan on doing with the building itself."

"I would like to rebuild it. That place has been my home for most of my life, I don't want it to suffer for my own stupid actions." That would be a lot of hard work. Rebuilding the entirety of the Opera Populaire would take a long time, not to mention a lot of funding. I don't think the amount of money that I brought with me would even begin to cover the sheer amount that would be needed.

"I'll get a job to help pay for the building," I said with a smile. I could see that talking about rebuilding brought a glow to Erik's eyes and I knew that this is what will make him happy. "I want to help you in any way that I can Erik, and if that means getting a job and taking care of Mia at the same time helps pay for this project, then that is what I will do." Erik smiled but shook his head.

"Paige darling, I have enough money hidden away to pay for this, and keep us happy for a lifetime. You don't need to get a job and be exhausted when you come home just to keep me happy. Being here, with you and Mia is what is going to make me happy for the rest of my life." I stopped smiling.