The Man Clad in Black: Book Two

Suspicions - Chapter 12

Deny. Deny. Deny.

You denied everything about involvement. You denied everything about what you knew. You denied that you had lied over and over again, but at this point, Peter knew exactly what was going on.

"[Y/N], please. You're safe... If you know anything at all, just let me know," he muttered. "It will be easier for the both of us."

You nodded...

But you didn't at all mean it.

"I know just as much as everybody else, Monsieur," you nodded. "What makes you think I would know more, anyway?"

"Well, someone told me about how you disappeared quite often - especially during the last production of Don Juan. Why were you disappearing? And where to?"

"Just to my work, Monsieur," you nodded. "Before Matthew - the new manager - took his place in the role, we worked together... I wanted to keep my job for the sake of working with him."

"If I ask him, he'll say the same thing - correct?" Peter asked.

No.

"Yes," you nodded. "We always took the night shift."

"So... The reply would be no different of an answer if I asked your employer, right?"

No.

"Absolutely," you nodded. You wanted to slap yourself more now than ever, and in a way, you did— just... it was more of a mental slap, since that would raise much less suspicion. Peter already seemed to take note of your response.

"Wonderful," he murmured. He wrote down a few things before glancing back up at you, closing up his notebook and staring you down.

"I believe I can take the case from here," he said with a soft nod. He gave a half-smile, as if he were saying 'you-just-got-yourself-into-a-bad-spot' before standing up, grabbing his things as he did so. "Thank you for your help."

Without another word, the man stood up from his seat, left a few francs on the table to pay for everything, and scurried off to do what you (assumed) had something to do with asking your boss whether or not you were truly attending work those late nights... which, unsurprisingly, was

Your stomach sank...

And for the first time in your life, you were terrified.

The walk up to your room seemed to last forever. You felt like you could hardly breathe, and you hardly realized that you were on the brink of crying up until the candles scattered throughout the hallway blurred into a glowing blob. You vaguely remembered seeing anyone around the hallways, and that could have meant one of two things: everyone was asleep, or your vision had been so impaired with tears that you wouldn't have been able to see at all. You went with the hope that nobody else was up.

Unsurprisingly, Erik was waiting for you in your room. He stood by your desk, seeming to examine a few trinkets on your desk before he was noticed your saddened expression. It almost replicated on his face right then and there.

"[Y/N]... Are you alright?" he asked. He placed whatever he held in his hands back onto the desk before he made his way over to you, and he gently held your hand in his. He used his other to place under your chin and examine anything that seem out of the usual. "You look horrible."

You let out a sigh... almost immediately afterward, even though his wording hadn't at all  been what was bothering you, Erik rushed to correct himself.

"Not horrible— you look absolutely gorgeous, just... shaken," he said quickly, giving a soft laugh as he wrapped you into a tight hug. He nearly winced with how tightly you hugged him back. You were normally so gentle, and when you had so desperately flung your arms around him, he knew that something bad must have "What's bothering you, if I might?"

You didn't look up at him. You spent the moment with your face buried into his shoulder, and when you rested a hand on the back of his neck, he just held onto you even tighter.

"One of the detectives - Peter, his name is - I think he knows more than he should," you said quickly. Speaking suddenly became twelve times harder for you. "He asked..."

You couldn't get the words out of your mouth.

"He's going to ask my employer about whether or not I worked during the night time," you murmured. "During Don Juan, that is - when I was dancing with you..."

If this occurred a little over a year ago, Erik would be quite upset... perhaps even livid that you had let something like that slip... although now, that was a much different story.

"Ah, I see," he mused. He pulled away from the embrace to hold onto your face, and even though you were crying, he took the initiative to give you a soft and reassuring smile. It was borderline contagious. "That... just might serve as a bit of a problem."

"A bit?" you blinked, your lips parting into a small smile as you gave a sniffle. You couldn't help but be just a little happy with Erik trying to make you smile. "What if my employer says something about it?"

Erik pressed a quick kiss on your lips.

"Then you tell them something embarrassing that you could have been doing," he said. "I do with with Madame Giry all of the time. I pretend like I did something that could have been horribly embarrassing, and then she stops asking for details and lets me do whatever. It's a wonderful thing, no?"

You had to give a small chuckle.

"She really believed you? What did you say?" you asked, smiling like a complete idiot at that point.

Erik paused for a moment, and telling from his eyes, it seemed as if some things should have been left to the imagination. By God - he definitely had one hell of an imagination... and in this case, it probably wasn't a good thing.

"Some things are better left unsaid, [Y/N]," he said with a soft smile. His thumb began to wipe away the remnants of your tears, and after you gave another soft smile, he pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead.

"I love you, [Y/N]," he said with a soft smile. "I can assure you that everything will be just fine."

A/N: WOAHHH!! Guess who's back!!! Haha, I've had such a busy summer that it's actually easier for me to write more now than it was during that point in time... but congrats if you're all still reading! I'm proud!! And thanks for everyone who added this book/last book to their reading list... you have no idea how happy that makes me! My updating schedule should be more frequent again, so yeah! I'll see you all much sooner than I did last time ❤️