Christine reached over and wiped the tears that fell freely down her husbands face, both the masked side and the unmasked side. In reality there were many things in that letter that she did not understand, but Erik did, and she knew how much it meant to him that her mother had told him how much she loved him as a brother. She wondered why he had turned from her at some point. Obviously it was another piece of the puzzle that had yet to be put in place.
"Emma..." Erik's voice was hoarse. He laid his head down on Christine's stomach, careful not to hurt her, and cried into her blanket covered flesh. Christine stroked his hair, unbelieving that this strong man was so overcome by his emotions. To her it proved that he had loved Emma more then he had ever loved anyone on this Earth.
"She loved you Erik, which is why she wrote this. She never wanted you to doubt that love," Christine whispered. Erik could say nothing. Emma forgave him for turning from her. He had lived with that guilt from the moment he had heard of her death. This letter meant more to him that he could ever explain. It put everything into perfect view for him and there was something he had to tell Christine. It came out as a choked sob.
"I love you."
I love you.
Oh, God. He had said the words. He had said them and he had not been under pressure. Christine stared at the man that had become her husband not to long ago and who she still was barely coming to know. His gray green eyes never once strayed from hers although she could she the nervous gleam in his eyes. He was afraid she would reject his love. It was so clear for her to see. No one had ever loved him since her mother, and since her death he had been all alone. Erik was a complicated man, Christine had known this from the moment she had met him. His temper scared her at times and annoyed her at others. He could be the most tender man in the world, like when he had made love to her during the masquerade, but he could also be the most violent...like when he had struck her after finding her with Raoul.
Yet she loved him.
Christine believed that she had loved him for a very long time and it had just never been put into words. They were two of a kind. She felt as if he completed a part of her that she had never known was there. She was scared of feeling too much for him. He could hurt her if she let him have her heart and she knew she would not be able to stand it if he were to turn from her, or go to another woman for his pleasure. She had never told him but when he had went to Natasha when they had first married it had hurt her deeply. Not at the time it had not, but as she had begun to care for him she could not get it out of her mind. If he were to do that now, after confessing that he loved her, she did not know what she would do.
"Christine?" Erik prompted, his voice trembling. She smiled, knowing her eyes told him how she felt.
"Erik Desslar...I love you, too."
Erik pressed his mouth to hers, kissing her as passionately as he could without hurting her. She smiled against his mouth, tears appearing in her eyes. He showered her with several more kisses, trying to show her how much her confession meant to him. He had only been blessed two times in his life, he realized. The first time was the day that Emma found him in the street after stealing an apple...and the second blessing was in his arms. He wished he could make love to her, to show her this newfound love they suddenly shared but knew it would have to wait until she was recovered. His eyes found Christine's when her good hand cupped his cheek.
"Erik...I need there to be complete trust between us."
Erik said nothing, simply stared at her. Christine refused to tell him how important this was to her. Very quietly she told him of the man she had killed trying to escape from Leroy with Sienna. Erik silently wiped the tears from her eyes. He could see that she had refused to think about what she had done until that moment. He was proud of how strong she was and he told her quietly that she had done what she had to in order to get away and no one could blame her for that. She kissed him and thanked him for not judging her for something that had never been far from her thoughts. It was silent for a long time and Christine's expressive blue eyes stared at him, obviously waiting for something.
"What is it you want me to do, Christine?" he whispered. She had just told him something that she had never told anyone and it was only right that he did the same, but he wanted her to decide.
"I want to see what you are hiding beneath the mask