Perhaps he simply wasn't meant to have happiness. Why else would it have taken such a horrible turn? One would've thought he would've learned his lesson at this point.
Christine hadn't been very good company lately. She was more than a little aware of such a thing. But she couldn't help it. Her husband didn't want her anymore. he had essentially told her as much. How could she just get over something so soul shattering? He'd gone through so much and done so much just for the slightest chance that she could want him in return and all it took was birthing children to ruin that.
She often annoyed Meg with her quiet disinterest in whatever her friend was rambling about. The only thing she could bring herself to do was to take care of her children. Singing was much too painful of a concept.
It was difficult, seeing as they were triplets. Jeanne and Emelie often fed at the same time and Gustave became hungry half way through. Gustave and Emelie went down easy for naps. Jeanne did not. Jeanne and Gustave were easy to bathe. Emelie was not. Jeanne and Emelie were easier to change while she often had to worry about being urinated on while changing Gustave. It would be easier if her husband still wanted her and she was with him, where it would be easier for him to help.
She dropped into her chair with an exhausted sigh, covering her face. Perhaps she should leave the opera house all together? She didn't want to. She wanted Erik to come back and sweep her up into his arms and make her feel like he loved her again. But she wouldn't hold her breath. She jumped when there was a knock at the door.
"Come in!" Christine called morosely, expecting Meg or even Madame Giry to enter. Why couldn't they just give up and let her wallow in peace? However, it wasn't either of them that had entered. It was Raoul de Chagny... the man who had been one of her best friends.
"I hear things have crumbled for you and...that thing." Raoul broke the silence, ignoring her incredulous stare. He wandered over to her and messed with the things that laid on the table beside her.
"Perhaps. Please refrain from referring to him that way. He is still my husband." Christine returned coolly. Barely, but that wasn't the point. She wouldn't have anyone speaking of Erik like that.
"Are you sure about that? This could be a sign that you deserve better and it would be easy to end this sham of a marriage." Raoul taunted, unknowingly poking at her insecurities. Perhaps even knowingly, considering that Meg or Antionette had clearly informed him of what was going on.
"...We have children together." Christine spoke, wrapping her arms around herself as a form of comfort. This was something that she clung to as if it were a life preserver.
Surely he'd show himself eventually, if only for the children they'd created together. Right? Maybe then they could have an actual conversation and she could demand to know what she'd done so wrong. What had been so horrible that he'd stopped loving her.
Raoul sighed deeply, seeing that this approach was getting him absolutely nowhere. Christine would foolishly cling to a man that held less worth than dirt and his demon spawn. He would have to content himself with something simple when it really came down to it.
"Well, either way, you can't spend your whole life in this room doing the bare minimum. You and I are going out to dinner tonight. This is not negotiable. Madame Giry already agreed to watch your... children." Raoul informed, leaning over to plant a lingering kiss on her cheek. Christine was too surprised by the sudden affection to recoil as she wanted to. He walked out of the room before she could even attempt to respond.
Even though she didn't want his touch and she truly wished she'd jerked away, she couldn't deny that she missed being touched. The triplets were thankfully still napping somehow, so she could start getting ready before Antionette arrived. She wore one of her better dresses and ensured that her curls looked perfect. There was a smart part of her that considered taking the ring off and she nearly did.. but she couldn't. She just couldn't bring herself to give up fully just yet.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Whatever happened to him when he'd discovered that Christine had left him, Erik decided that it was a coincidence. There was nothing wrong with him. He simply overexerted himself and his body had shut down due to exhaustion. The overwhelming emotional pain had simply been the final nail in the coffin, so to speak.
He'd avoided the surface like the plague, especially since the horrible screeching that he heard echoes of made it clear that the managers had somehow bribed someone else into taking her place. They would've had to make endless promises and pay well seeing as everyone knew that he'd be angry with this decision. But... as much as he tried, he just couldn't. This meant that his Christine had well and truly rejected him.
Perhaps...She still loved him, though. It was a long shot, of course, but if there was even a sliver of a chance he needed to know. If there wasn't... well at least he'd know and he could put himself out of his misery with only minimal guilt. She'd be able to replace him and give their children a better father, then.
With a plan in mind, He made himself look presentable and took his time in getting across the lake. He needed to think out what he was going to say and how he was going to explain. Now wasn't the time to let his temper and occasionally horrid way with words get the better of him. Not if he wanted his wife back.
By the time he made it up to the mirror, He saw her with the vicomte. The vicomte was a man that he had assumed was long gone. He watched as he kissed his wife's cheek, lingering. The fact that she let it happen didn't bother him. That could be written off as pure shock.
Christine getting dolled up was probably a good sign, even if she had no way of knowing that he was there. Perhaps she wasn't going anywhere with the damnable young man. Maybe Little Giry was dragging her out for a night out by force. The ballet rat did have a tendency to do such things.
These hopes were crushed along with whatever remained of his heart. She'd been tempted to remove the wedding ring. He'd lost her. Lost her for good. He knew that for sure now.
