Til I Hear You Sing |The Phantom of the Opera|

Chapter Seventeen~ Evangeline

I am incredibly sorry for not updating in months! School has been incredibly taxing and has taken up most of my time. But now I'm back and ready to go! Thank you for sticking by me. *Re uploaded because Wattpad was being weird.

Christine

"Erik," I gasp as back up, my small daughter pulling on the sleeves of my dress.

"Christine," Meg's voice echoes throughout the hallway. "Stephan, what is going on," she asks as she walks around the corner, freezing when she saw Erik standing there. "My God," she gasps as her hand runs over her stomach.

"Meg," he asks, his voice cracking. His eyes turn to me, "Christine," he says as he clenches his teeth.

"Mama," she cries again and I turn around to grab her. She's light in my arms, but I could feel the heavy weight of my deceit. She places her tiny hands on my cheeks as she smiles. "Home," she says as she nods her head, her beautiful blue eyes shining brightly.

"In a moment my angel," I smile as I gently kiss her cheek. "Now go run along for a little while, and then we'll leave," I promise as I set her down. She giggles before she runs into the kitchen, Meg following closely behind her.

"I'll leave you two to talk," Stephan says before he follows his wife.

I turn to look at Erik, "Please let me explain," I say as I reach for his arm. He shakes his head as he steps away. "Angel," I beg softly.

"No," he says as he walks into the living room. "Do not angel me, Christine. You don't deserve it," he hisses coldly as he sits down.

"You must understand that I never expected you to find me. And she," I pause as I sit down next to him. "She made everything different."

"You lied to me about Jean, and now her," he sneers as his voice shakes.

"Erik," I say softly as I reach for his hand. "I could not give her over to the orphanage like I could Jean. She has your..." my voice trails off as I look at his mask. "They would have mocked and shunned her. I could not put her through it."

"So you abandon her at a dead woman's house," he snaps as he stands up. "That was your choice? Not coming to me? Not finding me?" I hated to hear the anger in his voice, it caused my heart to ache.

"I was scared that he would find me," I tell him, trying to keep my voice gentle. "If he had found her like that... I couldn't take that chance." My heart began to race at the thought of him, and fear began to overtake my body.

"He shot himself the first night in prison Christine. You had no one to fear," he hisses. The room falls silent as I realize what had happened.

"He's dead," my voice cracks as my eyes begin to water. "All this time he's been dead," I whisper as my hands begin to shake. "And you never told me," I hiss as I look at him, feeling betrayed by him.

"It never came up," he shrugs as he sits down in a chair. "You never asked."

"Why would I want to ask about the man who shot me and nearly killed my children," I snap as I stand up, my blood boiling with rage that I had never experienced before.

"You have no room to judge here Christine," he raises an eyebrow as he motions for me to sit.

"She is the light of my world, Erik. But I know how society judges those different," I look into his eyes. "Would you want her to endure what you had," I ask as I sit down, attempting to calm myself.

"She already has," he answers as he looks into the fire. "Her mother abandoned her. And her father never knew that she existed. I don't even know my own daughter's name."