Louis Grimaldi poured himself another glass of scotch as he sat alone at his desk. He leaned back and sighed, staring at the piles of documents at his desk. It was late now, and he almost dozed off in exhaustion when the phone rang. He picked up his cell phone and was surprised to see his sister on the caller ID.
"Beatrice?"
He hadn't seen or heard from her since the wedding. She had disappeared to Africa for missionary work, which had upset both him and Blair at the time since they both wanted her at the wedding. She and Blair had grown close- apparently enough for Blair to instate Beatrice as a bridesmaid.
"Hello, brother." She sounded surprisingly meek, uncertain, almost.
When his pause lingered too long, she continued.
"Mother told me what happened. Why did you break it up with Blair? Well, unofficially..."
"She never loved me. You and mother were right all along."
"No, Louis!"
"She confessed her love for Chuck before the ceremony! Even after Gossip Girl sent it to the world she had the gall to look me in the eye and marry me instead."
"And you believe everything Gossip Girl sends? You are worse than mother. I thought you loved her, Louis. She loved you too. Listen!"
On the other side of the line Beatrice fumbled for something in her bag. The buzz of a recording played. Beatrice's voice sounded first- "Why are you marrying my brother when I know you are not in love with him?" "Oh, but, I do love him. There might be some loves that seem... bigger or more complicated or harder to let go of. But there's a reason they're not meant to be."
"Beatrice, where did you get that?"
"The night of her bachelorette party. I got her drunk. I was trying to get her to admit she never loved you. I practically set her up so she would leave you, but she stood by you! If you really believed everything Gossip Girl says, you would know she is not with Chuck. She told him she is not in love with him. Whatever you heard, it was wrong!"
Louis felt his heart swell, first with relief, then a second, heavier feeling... guilt.
"It's too late," he murmured into the phone, shaking his head. He put the phone down on the table, though Beatrice's voice still rang through the speaker.
"Win her back, brother. I have never seen you happier than when you were with her. She is still your wife!"
He slumped in his chair, defeated.
"It's too late," he repeated. "I signed the divorce papers this morning. She would never forgive me for the things I said anyway."
He hung up, and reached for an envelope inside his desk drawer.
Louis unfolded it carefully, and looked again at the check.
The amount of zeros on it almost ran off the page. It was signed Charles Bass. The footnote at the bottom read: For Blair. This is what real love looks like.
It seemed Chuck Bass was a better man than he had thought.