The Angel's Shadow || The Phantom of the Opera || Book Two

20. The Forgotten Man

Alright, I have finally discovered that Maurice looks like Zachary Levi! Zac may not have blue eyes like Maurice but he definitely has the wavy black hair and sweet personality. *swoon*

Chapter Twenty || The Forgotten Man

"I went mad with long intervals of horrible sanity." ~ Edgar A. Poe

Valentin

I did everything for her. I love her. I have always loved her. She knew I loved her and yet she won't speak to me. She won't look at me. She won't acknowledge my presence. She doesn't care for me.

You think I'm over exaggerating. You think I'm being over dramatic. You think I'm wallowing in self pity. Perhaps I would think the same thing if I were reading this just like you are right now. But I'm not. I am on the inside, trapped within this story, speaking my thoughts and hoping someone will listen. I do thank you for listening....If you are still listening...

You see, dearest reader, I know I am not over exaggerating or being over dramatic. Wallowing in self pity? Perhaps. But why wouldn't I? I loved her. I had her. She was mine. And then that monster took her away from me. That faceless man. That criminal. How could she love such a man?

She does love him. She not only told me so but she showed it. That night I came to remove him from our lives I could see it in her eyes. I could see that she would sacrifice her own life if it meant saving him. To her, his life meant more than her own. She would never do the same for me. Again, I know this. It is not an illusion my depressed mind created to torment me. How do I know this? If my life meant anything to her, why would she point a loaded gun at my head? Now you understand.

I am nothing to her. Sure, she cared for me. But she didn't love me. Not like I loved her. Has she even mentioned me to you? Has she told you of when I tried to speak to her? Probably not. Why would she? I told you, I mean nothing to her.

Do you know how hard it is to see the woman you love married to another man? Do you know how hard it is to see her pregnant with another man's child?

That child could have been ours. Our child would have been heir to the throne. We would have been King and Queen of New France. Why would she choose some commoner's life with a man of sin?

Man.

I use the word loosely. He is more of a monster, a demon. Hardly a man.

If only I had been quicker that night. If only I hadn't taken my time and played around. I should have just pulled the trigger. If I had, that demon would have been out of our lives and Antoinette would be mine. That child would be mine.

I have been thinking lately...

No, no, do not be alarmed. I haven't done anything yet.

I know it's wrong. I know it. And despite what Antoinette might have told you - if she has told you anything - I am not a bad man. I am a hurt man. An angry man. But not a bad man. Never a bad man.

What have I been thinking about? Their son. Whose son? That monster and Christine Daaé's.

Before you create a false assumption that I have been stalking the imperfect Changy family, let me explain to you how I know of little Gustave.

When His Majesty, King Dantes came to visit Antoinette and her demon husband I had been in Paris on business. King Dantes had heard this and, being the good man that he is, he invited me to the ball he threw for his sister. How could I refuse?