clears,” he said. “Please stop crying.”
He strode over and snatched two glasses of champagne from the bar, and then handed me one when he came back. “You okay?”
Damian sounded so disconcerted that I smiled. He obviously had no idea what to do with a woman in tears. “Of course,” I assured him. “The show was just…so sad. It broke my heart.” I tested out the champagne. It wasn’t too dry to consume, so I took a bigger sip.
His eyebrows drew together as he said, “See, I’ve never understood how anybody could consider the ending as a bad outcome. Personally, I think the poor girl had to choose between the lesser of two evils. Raoul ignores her distress, doesn’t believe her when she tries to tell him about the Phantom, and pats her on the head like she’s an idiot. But even worse, the Phantom is a homicidal stalker. So I suppose Raoul was a better choice. She really should have dumped them both and tried again. But she chose Raoul in the end, the guy who was condescending, but not a homicidal stalker, and the Phantom disappears. The heroine and hero get what they want. The end.”
I rolled my eyes. He really didn’t get it, but his hilarious summary did make me want to laugh. “Because I think there’s a part of Christine that cares about the Phantom, and all of the pain he’d suffered.”
His eyes widened. “The bastard was a murderer. And should we mention the fact that he manipulated her by pretending he was her father at first? Or the fact that he kidnapped her and forced her into his lair? More than once.”
I shrugged. “He did all those things because he was so obsessed with Christine.”
“Really? Does it matter why he offed people?”
“Yes,” I answered, hiding my smile behind my champagne glass as I took another sip. “Couldn’t you feel his pain, his sorrow, his longing to be a different man for Christine? He followed her everywhere.”
He frowned. “Yeah. Just like a demented stalker who wanted to rape and murder the poor woman.”
I laughed. “He didn’t want to kill her. He wanted to be with her. Okay, so he was basically a crazed, tormented anti-hero, but I still felt sorry for him. I guess the silver lining is that at least Christine and Raoul lived happily ever after.”
“If you want to keep thinking that, then I highly suggest you don’t see the sequel,” he said dryly. “Horrible music, and a very bad plot.”
“I know there was a movie version, but I’ve never seen it. Was it really that bad?” I asked curiously.
He lifted a brow. “Would you like a brief summary?”
I nodded. I was enjoying his cynical reviews. “Yes.”
He took a deep breath. “In short, ten years later, Christine’s husband, Raoul, becomes a broke, abusive drunk. Christine once again runs into the Phantom, and we find out that her ten-year-old son is really the Phantom’s love child. After she suffers through more torment and pain, she finally chooses the Phantom, and then gets shot by Meg. Her son runs away while she lies there dying because he doesn’t want a homicidal stalker for a father. Christine declares her undying love for the Phantom—although God only knows how she found anything lovable about the creepy bastard—and she dies. The End. Seriously, the whole thing was another ridiculous tragedy without the incredible music to save it. Like most sequels, it never should have been written, in my opinion.”
I burst out laughing. “Oh, my God. Now I have to see it. I’m completely intrigued.”
“You’re twisted,” he accused jokingly.
“Maybe.” I opened the small clutch I was carrying and dropped his handkerchief inside it. “Or maybe I’m just a sucker for really tragic love stories.”
Damian tossed the last of his champagne back with a gulp. “I think it’s a female thing,” he observed as he put the empty glass down on a nearby table. “Hopefully, you enjoyed yourself—in between sobs.”
I found his wry teasing so amusing that I grinned at him. “I did. Thank you. It’s been an incredible evening.”
My eyes roamed lovingly over the sight of Damian in a tux. He’d asked me what I was wearing, and had opted to go formal after I’d explained that I had an adorable black cocktail dress that I hadn’t found the opportunity to wear yet.
Not that we’d needed to dress up quite so much for the theater. The attire had been anything from smart casual to dressy on the attendees tonight. But Damian