The Phantom Ascending |✔| [Phantom of the Opera Fanfiction]

Escaping Temptations

Paris was not safe for me anymore, for I was a wanted man, and the death of a renowned tenor echoed much louder than the death of a backstage hand.

I despised the way they had all shunned me before, made me a non-entity, a non-human, a phantom, a ghost, and yet were eager to apply their society's laws upon me now that I've sufficiently ruffled their nest.

Would Christine want me executed? I wondered.

I watched her from the shadows the few times I dared to come out from hiding. I've seen her bask in the happiness of her new life with the Vicomte.

Every such sighting was a twist of blade within my heart. Killing him would be easy. Stealing her from him would be easier.

Yet every time I was compelled to act upon my wishes, my needs, I would be stopped by the memory of her lips upon mine.

Christine, caressing my face, kindly gazing into my mismatched eyes... How could she do that and still hate me? The day she betrayed me and unmasked me before everyone was the second worst day of my life, surpassed only by the day my mother had sold me to the freak show. And yet Christine's kiss also made it the best day of my life. Christine, Christine... She haunted and tempted my mind more than ever before.

I contacted Madame Giry and had her arrange me a passage across the Channel. Even if she was my only ally, she had always been afraid of me as well. I knew she would obey and be relieved to see me gone.

And it was for the best. The more distance I put between the future Vicomtess and me, the better. She, at least, deserved her peace of mind.

The morning after my departure, the newspapers printed a paid ad that said:

The Phantom is dead.