Between innocence and danger.

Staring at her reflection in the mirror, there were two things Edith Cushing-Sharpe knew for sure; one was that, after today, she would live safe and peacefully from now on. The other was that Thomas Sharpe and the Sharpe name would be dropped from her life. She would become Mrs. Alan McMichael only an hour away from now. It was something she hadn't expected either, it had grown over time. Her ordeal at Allerdale Hall had been a little over a year now. Alan had taken care of her since then; making sure that all arrangements had been made when it came to her becoming a widow. Widow… It sounded so strange in her head. She still thought of him sometimes… the way he would look at her… the way he would touch her with is gentle hands… She shook her head. After all that he had done, it was unwise to think of him in that way. Yes, Thomas Sharpe had been a tortured soul, brutalized by his sister when he was a child. But he could have stopped her as an adult. He went along with Lucille's plans, which made him an accomplice to murder. He had seduced her for her money, knowing what his sister would do to a new bride once the money had been handed over to them. No, Thomas Sharpe was far from innocent. But still, when she thought of their one night together… The night that had shaken all three of them; Edith, Thomas and Lucille, to their core.

In hindsight, it was that night that had changed things for all of them. She herself had opened herself up to Thomas completely. Thomas had fallen in love for the very first time in his life… and Lucille… Lord, it had made her realize that her brother wasn't hers to keep.

It seemed almost strange, as Alan had been a friend to her most of her life and nothing more. Thomas had been the only man to ever touched her intimately. To have another man touch her that way… Well, Thomas was never coming back, so there was no reason to feel odd about it.

When Edith thought of Lucille, she still shuddered. The thought that she herself had taken a life… Well, now wasn't the time to think about that. It was time to get married to a man who would take care of her and who didn't hide literal skeletons in his closet.

She smiled as she watched her wedding gown flow past her body. It was ivory, with a proper bodice, concealing her shoulders. Her hair had been casually pulled up in a loose bun. She looked beautiful and radiant, even if she said so herself.

"Are you quite ready, dear?" Mrs. McMichael said, as she peeked her head around the corner. Edith smiled at her.

"Yes, I'll be right out."

Mrs. McMichael still wasn't too fond of Edith. She thought her future daughter in law was too free spirited for her son. A woman who had waited so long to marry and who wrote bestselling books… But since at least one of those things would be rectified tonight, she behaved courteously.

"Time to get married," she whispered to her own reflection.

Edith lifted up her gown and made way towards the exit, when a noise made her stop. She turned her head, but saw nothing. That was odd. She was sure it had come from the far corner of her room.

"Is someone in here with me?" she asked.

No response. She almost laughed at herself. Lord, Crimson Peak seemed to still be with her at times. Apparently, she still heard ghosts in the background. Smiling, she turned towards the door.

"Don't do it," a voice whispered softly.

Okay, now she definitely heard that. "Show yourself!" she hissed, a bit more stand offish now that she had experienced the dark nooks and crannies of Allerdale Hall. Still, what came out of the shadows of this room had her nowhere near prepared. When the tall and dark figure stepped into the light, she fell backwards against the door, the dark wood ramming into her back.

"you've got to be joking," she stammered.

His eyes bored into hers while his presence was overpowering. He was exactly as she remembered him; dark, careless hair, blue eyes, and a secretive small smile. She put a hand to her heart, willing it to calm down. Was he a ghost? Was she still able to see them? Because ghosts hadn't visited her again after her ordeal in England.

He slowly strode forward until he stood in front of her. She could feel the heat radiating from his body as he moved into her personal space, his breath close to her face. Was this a dream?

"Thomas?"

Her voice sounded incredibly breathy, almost like a groan, as his hand reached up to touch her cheek with the tip of his thumb. As soon as she felt the contact, she realized that he was very real, and sank into his arms, passing out momentarily.

It only lasted seconds, before the world around her became clear again. Thomas was still holding onto her, while she rested heavily on his arms. He smiled at her as her eyes settled on him. "You're alive?" she whispered. He nodded slowly, searching her face for a reaction. Disbelief and yes, she had to admit, slight joy turned into anger as she realized he had hid the fact that he had survived Lucille's attack for over a year. Where had he been?

She pushed him off of her, glaring at him. "You wait until my wedding day to reveal to me that my husband is still alive? Do you have the slightest idea what I've been through this year? Where were you? How is this even possible?"

"I am aware that my timing is unfortunate. However, when it came to my attention that my wife was on the verge of being wed to someone else, I had to move quickly."

Edith shook her head. "Otherwise what? You wouldn't have told me right now? Or maybe you wouldn't have told me at all?"

Thomas looked down, clearly thinking of what to say.

"You do owe me an explanation, Thomas."

"I know. When I woke up after Lucille… You were gone and she was… For a while I thought you would be better off without me. Yes, I let you think that I had passed."

His idea of her better off without him almost pained her. Yes, he would think that. After everything that had happened, the relationship between them would be more than difficult. She wasn't even sure if she could ever forgive him… if she could look past the things he and his sister had done. There was too much history to delve into, and she didn't think that Thomas would ever heal from his ordeals or that she would be able to help him through it. It was just all too much.

"I did keep tabs on you, though. I loved your book about Crimson Peak. It was a good romantic story with a ghost in it," Thomas confessed.

Edith couldn't help the smile that crept up on her face. "You read my book?" she asked in a quiet voice.

Thomas smiled shyly, looking down.

For a moment there, the air crackled with the tension between them. Edith could feel her stomach doing strange things inside of her, while her cheeks seemed to turn bright red on their own accord. Then, her thoughts halted her.

His sister had killed her father. He had known about it and had knowingly seduced her afterwards, whisking her away to a hill. She could compare it to his sister being the spider and him being the maker of the web. He had cocooned her in it, waiting for his sister to finish her off. Too much had happened. No matter what she may or may not still have felt for him in that moment… it couldn't happen. Of course, if that wasn't reason enough to stop this, her pending marriage was.

"So now you do not think I am better off without you? You want to be husband and wife? There's a man out there waiting for me to make a commitment to him. I promised him. What do you propose I do? He can offer me stability and safety. I do not have to worry about him coming up with bodies of former wives, covered in clay. What I saw in Allerdale Hall, Thomas. I will never be able to forget it. I've had nightmares about it. Maybe…" she paused for a second.

"Maybe what?" Thomas asked, capturing her gaze.

"Maybe we are both better off if we let things be. I will marry Alan and you can make a new life for yourself, without your sister. You can find a nice woman and built something new. You are free now, Thomas. You'll never have to look towards the past again."

Something dark crept over Thomas's face as he took in her words. He stepped forward and backed her up against the door, glaring into her eyes. It was a look she had never seen on him.

"Do you want to know why I came back for you? Because the thought of another man touching you is enough to make my stomach turn inside of me. I will die before I let Alan McMichael lay one finger on you. I was your first and I will be your last. You. Are. Mine."

Thomas stressed the last three words, making sure that she had heard them. Oh yes, she had heard them indeed. While his outburst should have infuriated her, it seemed to send red hot flares throughout her body, ending somewhere between her legs. Her physical response to him was embarrassing! She blushed furiously.

"I stopped being yours the moment you allowed your sister to poison me," she snapped at him.

The way his head whipped back after her remark was almost like she had struck him. Sadness appeared in his eyes, while she saw him swallow with difficulty. It almost made her feel sorry for her comment… almost. But he knew she was telling the truth. He had known about what Lucille had been putting into her tea. He had never stopped a thing his sister did.

"Darling? Is everything okay? Everybody's waiting," a voice outside the door interrupted their heated conversation. It was Alan.

Edith sighed, eying Thomas warily. "I'm supposed to get married today. Why did you have to come and shake everything up?" she whispered, so Alan wouldn't hear them.

"You're right. Alan can offer you safety and stability. He can offer everything I failed to give you in England. I will go, but not before you know this: I came back because I love you. I've spent the last year making something of myself. I've left Allerdale Hall, came to America and opened up a shop, displaying my craftsmanship. You've seen what I made in the attic. I'm doing really well for myself."

"Thomas..," Edith began to interrupt his words, but Thomas would have none of it and continued.

"I've watched the two of you together. You don't feel the passion for him that you feel for me. He doesn't make your heart beat faster, nor does he arouse you. When you look at him, I don't see love for a future husband. I see friendship, that's all it will ever be. So go ahead and marry him, but you will never feel this again."

He finished his tirade by swooping down and firmly pressing his lips against hers. Edith was shocked and wanted to push him off of her, putting her hands to his chest. But when Thomas deepened the kiss and swept his tongue into her mouth, all the protest she could produce was a low moan. It was so familiar to feel his tongue gently massaging hers, that she seemed to forget all that he had done and that her future husband was knocking on the very door they were leaning against. A fire started in her loins that was impossible to extinguish.

"Edith? Is someone in there with you?" Alan's voice finally sank in.

Startled by her own behavior, Edith finally pushed Thomas off of her. Before she had a chance to address what he had done… what they had done, Alan pushed the door open and Thomas slipped back into the shadows of the room.

"Edith, what's going on? Why are you so late? People are waiting," Alan began.

His voice seemed very remote to Edith, she could barely hear him. She began to feel lightheaded and her legs could barely hold her up.

"Good lord, Edith. You look as pale as a ghost."

She wanted to laugh at his comment; a ghost, yes indeed. Her very own ghost of a husband had come back to haunt her and he would not be letting up. Her stomach seemed to turn and churn and her head… her head was…

That was her last thought before she sank into a dark abyss, dropping to the floor….

Author's note: Was Thomas real? Will the wedding really happen? Please leave a review and find out what happens in the next chapter.