Through the Mirror || Phantom of the Opera (Completed)

Chapter 18

When she had finished the song, there was not a sound in the room. Everyone was in awe. The director raved and raved about her performance, and then instructed her to take a quick break while he worked with the dancers. Marianna immediately went to Erik, completely aglow with excitement.
"Well, what do you know? You did spectacular." Erik said, smiling proudly.
"Thank you. And by the way, about halfway through the song I figured out what you did."
"And...?"
"And I love you for it." She murmured, and before Erik could say a word, she was in his arms. Once again, he stiffened, but this time she didn't pull away. And after a moment, he very reluctantly put his arms around her. She finally pulled back and looked up at him, and for the first time he noticed how lovely her big brown eyes were. Very much like Christine's...
"Thank you. Thank you so much... I think you just changed my life. I don't feel inadequate anymore... For the first time ever, I feel confident. Like I can actually do this."
Erik nodded, his hands still resting on her shoulders. "I tried to tell you that all along, but you are a very stubborn young lady, Marianna. I finally realized you weren't going to do your best until you actually /needed/ to. Just now, you had to prove yourself. And although you were proving yourself to me, you weren't doing it for me. I wasn't the one who needed it, you were. You were doing that for yourself. And that's when you do well. When you aren't singing for me, or for the fans, or for anyone else but you. And I knew, once you had your breakthrough and realized that, you would be unstoppable."
Marianna couldn't seem to stop smiling. "Erik, you are an incredible teacher."
Erik smiled again, looking down at the ground. "I've had experience. But I do have a question for you, actually."
Marianna tilted her head curiously, signaling him to go on.
"How did you figure out what I did?"
"Because, in the middle of the song, I saw you watching me. And you were smiling at me... And it wasn't a surprised smile. It was a 'I knew you could do it' smile." Marianna answered, still smiling from ear to ear.
Erik nodded. "Excellent perception."
Just then, the director called Marianna back over. This time, he said, they would try to go through the rest of the show with no interruptions. Everything went smoothly. Marianna performed like she never had before, and that sinking feeling in her stomach had all but vanished. And when it was over, a sudden realization came to her. She thought back to the night Erik had first arrived... In the excitement of his arrival, she had all but forgotten her wish on a falling star. Her wish to be the best Christine Daaé she could be... Erik had just granted that wish. Could it be that perhaps that was how he had gotten there? Had her wish that night brought him to her? It seemed to make sense. More sense than any of their previous theories, anyway.
She contemplated whether or not to tell him and decided against it. Though he'd been very kind to her lately and perhaps even developed a liking to her, she feared it would anger him to know that she had unintentionally taken him away from Christine.
Eventually, he would have to know, of course. But she couldn't lose his attention and care for her just yet. She simply wasn't ready.
She wanted to keep him liking her for as long as she possibly could.