Fatal Flaw

Chapter 27

"February 3, 1871,

Many things have changed over the last few weeks. I have lost my home. The Opera Populaire has burned down due to an... accident. I found a castle that supposedly belongs to me, and am now living there. More importantly, however, I have lost my angel, Christine Daae. I gave her a choice between starting a new life with me and letting her fiancé go, or refusing me and sending him to his death. Instead of choosing, she showed me an unforeseen act of kindness... I couldn't force her to stay with me. I let her go. She could've insisted on staying, had she loved me... But I knew she didn't. I knew she loved that Vicomte. At least she will be happy with him. That's the only thing that matters, really. As long as she's happy. ~Erik"

Tears welled up in Christine's eyes as she read over the text once more. Eventually regaining her composure, she turned the page.

"March 16, 1871,

I need to get over her. The fact that she chose the Vicomte over me is ruling my life... I simply must forget about her. I never knew her. I never trained her voice. I never... Loved her. ~Erik"

Christine's neutral expression turned to one of sorrow. She noticed a few tear stains scattered throughout the page.

"July 25, 1871,

I hate her. She left with that rich boy instead of staying with her Angel of Music! She chose youth and beauty over genius and art! She is nothing more than a lowly wench with no knowledge of right or wrong!!! I HATE HER. ~Erik"

Christine gasped. She felt horrible. The next few journal entries told of Erik's hatred for Christine, and how he was getting over her. Tears pricked her eyes and rolled down her face several times, but she was careful not to get any on the journal. She didn't want Erik to know that she had been in his room. The entries became less frequent, and covered two years. They told of Erik's new job and how much he loved it. One particular page somewhere towards the middle of the book caught Christine's attention.

"September 18, 1872,

I finally learned about my family heritage. In the nearby town, there is a fairly large library. I recently found a book on the history of the dynasties that have ruled in this area. I really am royalty! I am part of the Destler Dynasty, which ruled quite a while ago. I was supposed to be a ruler, but once my parents saw my face, they disowned me and had another child, who became the next leader. Jean-Claude Destler. Unfortunately, he was a terrible ruler. The citizens hated him so much that they rose against him. He was murdered, and the Destler Dynasty was put to an end. They quickly found a new leader, and that was that. I had never heard of the royal bloodline before because I was held in captivity by those horrid gypsies when my "replacement" was ruling. Jean-Claude was too young, too immature. His new laws were ridiculous, and no one spoke of him or his lineage once he was dead. I was lucky to find any information on him. In conclusion, I at last know the history of my family, which relieves me a small bit. ~Erik"

"Wow..." Christine breathed as her mind comprehended what she had just read.

Her eyes strayed from the journal and she gazed at the nearest window. The sun was almost setting. Christine figured she had at least an hour before Erik would come home, and she was completely engulfed in his journal.

"Take it to your room." Whispered her curiosity.

"But I shouldn't... Erik will be very angry if I do! The correct thing to do is to stop invading his privacy and leave it here!" Her sensible side snapped in return.

"Don't let him find out. Simply return it once you have finished reading."

Christine sighed aloud. She really hated her curiosity sometimes. She stood in the center of Erik's room with her back facing the doorway and her eyes closed. She knew what the right thing to do was, but what she wanted was the exact opposite. Suddenly, she was startled out of her thoughts by the sound of someone clearing their throat.