It had been five months since that fateful January day when Blair Waldorf had made the biggest mistake of her life. Five months since she married the wrong man and ran off with another bad choice.
She had spent the past five months in complete agony. Playing the happy princess and doting wife in public while being berated one moment and ignored the next in private. The worst part was keeping away from the only good thing in her life. Chuck was all that mattered to her. He and her family were the only things that were important to her and she would gladly remain in hell if it kept them secure.
She was at her breaking point when it all came crashing down. She found out that Serena, although she took the blame for it, hadn't released the video, that sealed her fate, to Gossip Girl. It had actually been Dan Humphrey. All along he was furthering his own agenda and he didn't care about what that might mean to her. Dan also knew that Chuck was secretly working tirelessly to get Louis to grant her an annulment as quickly as possible. He had finally succeeded. Chuck had used some piece of information against Louis and forced him to end their marriage before the year was out. Dan had purposefully kept her in the dark yet again.
She had made the grievous error in thinking Humphrey was her friend but now she knew the truth. A friend would have wanted her to be happy and with the person she truly loved. He only cared about himself and he knew as long as she was trapped she would continue to need him. It was selfishness pure and simple.
Her lawyer had just left and she realized she was finally free from this nightmare. She took a deep breath and smiled sadly at Serena, who sat by her side as she signed the papers.
She had agreed as terms of the annulment to relinquish her royal title and the name Grimaldi as well as any rights to any type of financial settlement, which she was all too happy to do. In exchange the dowry would be waived and it would be like they had never married in the first place.
Serena reached out her hand and rubbed Blair's back gently. "Are you okay?"
Blair glanced up at her best friend with tears in her eyes. "I'm great. This is all finally over and I can move on with my life." She turned slightly on the couch to face Serena. "S, I'm so sorry I've been such a horrible friend lately. I don't know how I could've thought you sent that blast."
Serena silenced her with a shake of her head. "B, none of that matters now. I shouldn't have lied to you. I really had good intentions. I thought I was protecting Chuck and I never in a million years would have thought Dan was capable of something like that."
Blair sighed as she laid her head back on the couch. "What was wrong with me? I've been so stupid. I should have never walked away from Chuck. Had I just run away with him before the wedding none of this would have happened. How could I be so dumb? Believing God would take him from me just for loving and being with him."
"Look B, this is all in the past. It's time to move forward now."
Blair sat up straight. "You are so right." She stood up looking down at her friend. "I need to go see Chuck. I have to talk to him."
Serena got up and wrapped her arms around her friend. "Go be happy. You guys deserve it. I love you."
Blair gave her a squeeze. "I love you too, S and thank you for everything."
Blair headed for the elevator grabbing her handbag and coat on the way. She entered the lobby and rushed to the door.
Graham, her doorman, smiled at her. "Do you want me to call a car for you Mrs. Grimaldi?"
Blair shook her head. "I'm in a huge hurry. Can you just get me a taxi? Oh and its Ms. Waldorf now, Graham. Thank you."
Graham hid a shocked look as he stepped out and hailed a cab for the young woman he had known since the day her parents brought her home from the hospital. He closed the door as she slid in and he hoped she'd be happy again. She deserved it.
Blair gave the address to the Empire Hotel and sat back. It was the longest trip across the park she had ever taken. Why did he have to live on the Westside?
After what felt like an eternity the taxi finally came to a halt in front of the revolving doors of the Empire Hotel. She paid her fare and stepped out glancing up at the building. This place held so many memories for her, some great and some not so great.
She took a deep breath and rushed past the doormen and through the lobby. The employees at the front desk didn't say a word as they saw Blair Waldorf Grimaldi rush to the private bank of elevators. Everyone employed by Mr. Bass knew that she was the one person always allowed up to his penthouse suite.
The ride to him seemed to take forever and Blair paced back and forth across the small space. She felt nervous but in a good way. The doors opened and she stepped into his foyer. She immediately felt his presence. This was Chuck's space and it was so him, from the paint colors to the artwork. Suddenly she felt comforted from being in such a familiar place.
Her heels clicked against the marble floor as she crossed to the living room. She only made it halfway when the man she loved more than anything stepped around the corner.
He had a confused look on his face. "Blair?"
She stopped, twisting her hands together. Suddenly she felt shy and unsure of herself. What if he didn't want to be with her anymore? What if he had decided that all this pain wasn't worth it? What if he didn't love her any longer?
He took two steps towards her and halted. "Are you okay? What are you doing here?"
"I…" she swallowed, "I just wanted to tell you that I signed the annulment papers tonight and I'm officially Blair Waldorf again."
He nodded. "That's great. Right?"
She smiled weakly. "More than great it's fantastic." She took a couple of steps towards him. "I found out something today."
He slid his hands into his pockets. "What was that?"
She took another step she was nearly in front of him now. "I learned that I have you to thank for the Grimaldi's agreeing to end this farce of a marriage."
He shrugged. "I may have suggested, very strongly, that he do the right thing by you and set you free."
She finally took the last two steps that put her hair's breadth away from him. "I love you Chuck and I'm so sorry. I was stupid and scared and not thinking clearly. I've hurt you so much and that was never my intention. I thought I was doing what was right for you and my family." She felt a tear slip down her cheek.
He reached out and pulled her to himself. He covered her mouth with his and kissed her like she had never been kissed before and that was saying something. Her arm wrapped around his neck and she twined her fingers into the hair at the back of his head.
Desperation overcame her and it was like suddenly she couldn't get enough. When she felt his hands untying the belt of her coat she realized he was feeling the same way.
Within seconds he had led her through the doors and into his bedroom. A few more seconds later and her dress and slip were lying on the floor along with his dress shirt and tie. The rest of their clothing soon followed.
He laid her back gently onto the bed. It felt like a lifetime ago that she had slept here and shared this place with him. Without any preamble whatsoever he entered her warm heat. She gasped as she kissed him. They fit so perfectly together that she knew there could never be anyone else for her but him.
The end came quickly and she was resting her head on his chest listening to his heartbeat return to normal. His fingers were absentmindedly tracing circles across her bare shoulder blade. She took a deep breath and placed a kiss on his chest.
She felt the kiss he placed on the top of her head. He was being so quiet and that made her nervous. She glanced up to meet his dark gaze. "Chuck?"
He raised his head off the pillow slightly and kissed her. "I love you, Blair."
She smiled brightly and was about to reply in kind when he stopped her.
"I want you to be my wife but I know that you're going to need time to let things settle for a bit and I want you to know that I'll be here when and if you're ready."
She raised herself up looking down at him. Her chocolate curls fell against his chest. "No Chuck, I don't want you to wait." He scowled in confusion and she leaned forward and kissed him.
"Blair what the hell are you saying?" His tone was laced with exasperation.
"What I mean is I don't want us to wait. I want to marry you as soon as possible."
He pulled her tighter to himself. "What about the press? What will people think?"
She shook her head. "I don't care. I've spent my whole life worrying about what everyone else thinks. Doing what I think everyone else wants me to do and I've decided that I'm not going to do that anymore. I'm going to do exactly what I want to do from now on." She tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you Chuck Bass and I don't care what anyone else thinks about it."
He placed both of his hands on either side of her face. "You're sure. You want to get married as quickly as possible?"
She nodded. "Yes. Is that my proposal?"
He pulled her face to his and kissed her deeply. "Blair Waldorf will you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?"
She smiled at him. "Oh God, yes!"
He kissed her again and rolled them over so he was back on top. He started kissing her and letting his hands roam over her body. She could feel his arousal against her thigh.
She pulled away slightly much to his disappointment. "I want my ring back."
He smiled down at her. "Harry Winston's is the first call I'm going to make. But first," he kissed her as he pushed her legs further apart, "I'm going to make love properly to my beautiful fiancée."
They spent the rest of the night and most of the next morning entwined in each other's arms. Only separating when room service delivered a sumptuous breakfast.
The next evening the press had a field day when they spotted Chuck Bass and the newly divorced Blair Waldorf having an intimate dinner at the London. The pictures were all over the society pages and no one could miss the huge Harry Winston diamond engagement ring on her left hand.
There had been about a hundred phone calls between Eleanor demanding to know what the hell was going on to Lily and Serena gushing congratulations.
She and Chuck didn't answer a single one. She was marrying the man she truly loved and she didn't care what anyone else thought. The two of them were going to be happy for the rest of their lives. Their time had finally come at last.
FIN