Author's note: Thank you Rashmika for going through this story for me and correcting the grammar for me:) And I'd also like to thank Magda and Danila for being so supportive and telling me to publish this. It's my first story ever and since English isn't even my first language it was all quite scary for me haha. I'd appreciate any constructive feedback on my writing though.
It had all turned into a blur, the room, the people, even her own thoughts were hard to hear for the white noice covered up everything that wasn't right. Lily stood in a huge sky-lit hall at Columbia University and watched as the crowds of people around her discussed topics relating to diseases she had never heard of in every gory detail. She was wearing a pink silky gown, not the type of a dress she would usually wear but then again it wasn't her typical evening either. She had agreed to accompany William to this event after he had contacted her in need of company to go with. He hadn't actually begged her to go and probably was surprised when Lily didn't take long to think about it. She wasn't sure why she had agreed. These types of events weren't the place for her to shine. In fact she couldn't even talk about her doctor husband as they had been divorced for a couple of years already. Nevertheless she had left Eric and Serena at home for Klaus, her husband of six months, to look after. He had not been happy about the idea of Lily going to an event with her ex-husband but knew better than to start an argument over it.
"Excuse me, Mrs. Van Der Woodsen, is it?" Lily turned around to face a blond haired woman, probably in her early 40's eyebrows sticking up to her ears after what seemed like a fairly recent face-lift. "Ah yes", Lily said forgetting to which husband her name was referring to. It still was her name. She hadn't given much thought to it after she had divorced William. Changing her name once seemed appropriate enough. "Mrs. Guinness I presume, it has been a long time"Lily said shooting a hardly noticeable glance at the woman's dress which was clearly suited for someone 20 years younger. Maybe it was a good thing she had left this circle. She wouldn't get sucked into plastic surgery and desperately trying to look younger just to keep her man from running off to a 20-something girl on his numerous business trips. Not that she'd believe the latter would ever apply to her, she had her ways. She was already losing her focus with this woman. What was she talking about? The names she kept dropping must have had something to do with her husband's work so Lily smiled and nodded with a fake enthusiasm.
"So what is William going to talk about today? Silly me, I didn't even look at the list! I've been trying to get used to the Manhattan scene again after we spent all those years in L.A. while Richard was working at this private clinic with his old friend from medical school. Such an amazing place, I am telling you you'll never get tired of the sunshine but as years go by you'll start to look at things differently and we were never going to stay there forever. Anyway, I'm just blabbering now. What's going on with you? How are things with you and Dr. Van Der Woodsen?"
Great they were back to the topic "William" and apparently this woman didn't know about her first divorce, second marriage, quick divorce and an even quicker marriage. She had somehow managed to find the one woman on Upper East Side who was unaware of her reputation.
"Oh William and I broke up a few years ago" she said a little more lightly than she had meant to. "But we are still good friends and with Eric and Serena, our two wonderful children, we will always be there for each other." Now that was weighing more on the side of untruth. Eric and Serena had not seen William since then and she planned to keep it that way. There was no use in going back to the past to face things that had ended for a reason. Her mind was wandering again. This woman, who's first name had escaped her, she could only remember her husband because he had been a friend of William's, must have commented on her answer but now she was back to talking about L.A. and what an important part Richard had played there. He had had so many famous people from the entertainment industry as patients. Lily tried her hardest to look interested but as it never came quite as naturally to her as she would have liked she was just waiting for William to save her from the pointless one-sided conversation. Suddenly she caught a glimpse of him alone on the other side of the room and desperately trying to get rid of her old/new acquintance she made a quick excuse to go find a phone to make an important call.
She made her way to William her stomach twisting with a sudden urge to leave even though the event had barely even started. "Lily, I'm sorry for taking so long" William said apologetically."Daniel was so keen on talking about vaccinations and trying to shake of last minute nerves." He took a step back and had a look at Lily's dress. "You know, I did lie a little just now." He smiled at her. "I was just standing there and watching you. You truly are the most beautiful woman in this room." He looked right into her eyes as he said warmly "just so you know".
Lily smiled. She could never resist a compliment and started to feel slightly better. As she walked to the conference hall with him she couldn't help but think about how similar her feelings were to both William and Klaus. They were such amazing men and she had let William go because she couldn't stand being alone in a marriage. The business trips were endless. Klaus was just like him but he would always be there for her. She had come to the event with mixed feelings but now she knew what she wanted. She would make it work with Klaus. Serena was already throwing sarcastic remarks about her men and Lily was beginning to think she might actually begin to loathe her once she reached puberty. From her own experience she was not expecting Serena's teenage years to sail by smoothly. Her daughter would need a stable father figure and for that Klaus would be perfect.
Rufus felt like his world was crashing down and the fourth beer only seemed to be making everything feel ten times worse. He sat at the table in a tavern with his friends Mike and Sam who had invited him for a guys' night out after Alison had dropped the bomb. She had been staying at her mother's with Jenny and Dan for some time now and tonight she had informed Rufus she would not be returning for a while because she needed some time to "figure things out". Everything had been going so well for them. He had recently opened an art gallery and the job had made him feel happy and full of energy. At home everything had been going as smoothly as ever and he couldn't wrap his head around why Alison was unhappy. It was driving him crazy and there was nothing he could do about it.
The soccer game his friends had been watching ended and they decided to head home back to their wives. Rufus told them he'd stay till a bit later. He was tired but going back home to Brooklyn from Manhattan seemed too big of an effort at that very moment. He would have much rather felt miserable at the bar that was across the street from the loft. As he drowned down his beer he kept thinking about Alison and the ways he could make up for whatever it was that he'd done that had caused all this. She would come back, she had to. He couldn't imagine how everything would work out with Jenny and Dan if she didn't.
Half an hour had passed after his friends had left when he noticed a woman walking in. There was something about the length of her figure and the way she carried herself that reminded Rufus of someone, a woman like her, yet not as elegant but definitely as confident and attractive. As she got closer to the bar he suddenly recognized her as Lily Rhodes, the only woman who had ever managed to drive him both crazy and wild with every kind of human emotion he was capable of having, and even after that she would still find a way to surprise him in some other completely unexpected way. He had not seen her in ten years and she sure had changed a lot. He knew she had married Dr. William Van Der Woodsen years later but that was all he knew of her. A sports bar like the one they were in now would have fit them well back in the day but now she seemed lost, as if completely out of place. Rufus got up. There was no way he would let her leave without at least saying mind was suddenly filled with questions and what ifs. Out of all the nights he happened to see her on this particular one. It had to mean something. He made his way towards her wondering how quickly she would recognize him.