Happy Wednesday my peeps! Hope you're doing wonderfully.

Thank you for all the lovely comments and reviews. It's hard to believe we're already getting to the end of this story.

Lots of love to Christine and Sofi for being the dream team.

Hope you enjoy!


There was a café near Central Park where Cooper took Joanna on the weekends, for either breakfast or a cup of coffee while they were out on a late afternoon stroll. Blaine thought they could use the weight of the happy, positive memories but maybe it hadn't been his brightest idea: it looked like there was an extra load on Joanna's shoulders.

She looked tired, dark marks under her eyes, and a little pale. Today should have been a joyous occasion: Blaine had just gone with her to the doctor for a sonogram. The tiny little blurry baby that would someday be Blaine's nephew or niece was growing fast and well. But as he held her hand and they watched the screen, he knew they were both thinking the exact same thing: it should have been Cooper in this room with her, marveling at the sight of their son or daughter.

In hindsight, Blaine shouldn't have thought twice before sharing with her the latest developments, but he felt like she had every right to know. After all, she was Cooper's fiancé and was carrying his baby. She was an Anderson already, even if the wedding hadn't taken place yet. Blaine didn't feel right keeping her in the dark. He had hoped talking to her about it at the café, steaming cups on the table between them, would help soften things.

He had been wrong.

"Joanna, please," he said, lowering his voice and leaning closer. "Calm down. Everything's going to be okay."

Joanna reached into her purse for a tissue. She blew her nose before casting an anxious look around the café, checking they weren't being overheard. "For god's sake, Blaine, we're talking about murder. You're telling me that it wasn't an accident, that someone actually tried to kill Coop?"

"It's a possibility."

She balled up the used tissue and threw it in her purse before grabbing a new one. If anyone was looking at them from one of the neighboring tables, they probably thought Blaine was an asshole who was breaking up with a pregnant woman. "But that doesn't make sense. Who could want to hurt Cooper?"

Blaine hesitated, but now that he had told her part of the truth, he knew he had to be completely honest with her. He couldn't choose which parts to tell her and which to hide. So, in a careful whisper, he told her about the whole deal with Jacob Taylor.

"Coop was the one who found proof of Taylor's side business, according to Kurt," he said, after explaining to her what had happened in the warehouse. "He was with Kurt the night Taylor got killed."

Joanna wrapped her hands around her cup, but that didn't help her hide the fact that they were shaking. "Cooper never mentioned being involved in something so dangerous."

"Apparently, it happened before he met you. But, if it makes you feel better, he didn't tell me, either."

For a moment, Joanna looked down into her coffee, that was quickly going cold. Then she lifted her eyes to him. "What you're telling me is that everything that's happening now is Hummel's fault."

Blaine sat up, back very straight. "That is not what I'm saying at all. I'm just saying that there might be a connection between Cooper's disappearance and that investigation they conducted a few years ago."

"Investigation," Joanna scoffed. "That's a very innocent way of describing something this terrible. Someone was killed, Blaine. Shit, shit, shit. Everyone knew Hummel was a dangerous man. Even Cooper told us so. You never should have married him, Blaine. I should have stopped this insanity. I know you wanted to save the company, but this isn't worth it."

"Please, will you take it easy?" Blaine murmured. He slanted a meaningful glance to a couple sitting at the nearest table, sipping espresso. "Everything's under control."

"Nothing's under control," Joanna said. She looked very agitated. "Blaine, listen to me. This is getting too scary. I think you should file for divorce at once."

Blaine was stunned by this. "Why on earth would I do that?"

"We need to get Kurt Hummel out of our lives," Joanna said urgently. "He always made me nervous but now I'm straight up terrified of the man."

Blaine shook his head, hoping to sound reassuring. "Joanna, he's not dangerous. I know he's not the most open person in the world, and he has some communication issues, but he's not a threat to me or to Anderson Unlimited."

"I don't think this is worth taking any more risks. Something is going on here." Joanna's eyes were wide and pleading. "I think you should get out of this situation immediately. Just divorce him, Blaine. It's the only right move."

"I'm perfectly safe," Blaine insisted calmly. "I'm sorry to have upset you, Joanna. I just wanted you to know what was going on. But I promise there's nothing to worry about. Everything's under control."

"That doesn't reassure me one bit," Joanna said grimly. "You're in over your head. Please, think this through. A divorce is the only way to go now."

Blaine smiled at her, hoping she could see he wasn't worried at all about that. "Don't you see, Joanna? Kurt is not the problem. He's the solution."

By the grave look Joanna gave him, he didn't think he had convinced her.


When Blaine walked into Extravaganza later that day, Tina was entertaining herself by moving things around on the window display. There was some music playing softly in the background and it smelled strongly of coffee, which meant she had just made a fresh pot.

"Hey Blaine, how was the sonogram?" She asked with a smile.

"Everything's perfect," he said, forcing a smile on his face. He wasn't going to tell her it had been a bittersweet experience that only helped to highlight Cooper's absence. "How were things here?"

"I sold that large glass parrot you ordered last month," Tina said with a big grin.

"That's great."

"Oh, and you have a visitor waiting for you in your office," Tina added, like it was nothing but an afterthought. "She's been here for over half an hour. I told her I didn't know when you'd be back, but she insisted on waiting. She said it was important."

Blaine glanced curiously at her. "Who is it?"

"Your mother-in-law," Tina said. "I offered her some coffee, but she seemed a little nervous, so I made her some chamomile instead."

Blaine frowned and made his way to his office. He found Carole sitting with a bleak look on her face. She was wearing a lovely red dress, matching coat hanging over the back of the chair. She was an elegant woman. It made him wonder if she had always been like this, or if it was a change occurred once the Hummel-Hudsons got insanely rich.

"Carole, hi," he said, forcing a smile on his face. He felt unsure around her sometimes. "What a nice surprise."

"Hi, Blaine," she said, and smiled back, but it didn't look particularly cheerful. "I'm so sorry to bother you at work. Your assistant was very nice letting me wait for you here. I hope I'm not intruding?"

"Oh, no, not at all," he replied and went to sit behind his desk. He took another look at her. "Is something wrong?"

"I don't know yet. I need to talk to you. I heard the rumors and I got so worried. I needed to come see you and ask you if they were true."

Blaine was certainly confused. "Rumors? What rumors?"

"I'm talking about the rumors of your divorce," Carole said.

Blaine blinked at her a couple of times, bewildered. "My divorce."

"Look, you know I'd be the first one to understand if things aren't going well with Kurt. I know how difficult he could be," she said, sounding a little desperate. "But you've been such a great influence on him. When I saw him at Rachel and Finn's engagement party, I thought my heart was going to burst. He's not quite who he used to be, but I saw a little glimpse of him, at least…"

"Wait, wait, back up a second," Blaine gestured wildly to stop her. "What divorce?"

"Kurt is quite a public figure, especially in the business world, and so are you, since your brother's disappearance was all over the news, as well as your marriage. It was impossible to keep it quiet," she shook her head sadly. "I know this is going to sound crazy, but I was hoping I could get you to reconsider."

"Reconsider what?" Blaine repeated. "Carole, I'm not getting a divorce. At least not that I know of, and I'm pretty sure Kurt would at least let me know in advance if he was thinking about filing for it."

"I don't understand," Carole murmured. She eyed him closely. "Are you saying the rumors are false?"

"Definitely."

"But they're all over town."

Blaine smiled a bit. "I doubt that. What you probably mean is that everyone in your small social circle is talking about it, but I guarantee that's a very tiny part of this city's population."

Carole still looked unconvinced. "Are you sure? Let's be honest here. We both know your marriage was based on business reasons, at least in the beginning. I'm aware of the fact that Kurt wanted Anderson Unlimited very badly."

Blaine arched an eyebrow. "He did?" He remembered Kurt's comment about how unimportant Anderson Unlimited was in his financial scheme. He had mostly supported it at the beginning because Cooper was his friend. It was also partly the reason he had accepted to marry Blaine and save it. "I think you have it backwards. Kurt stepped in because I asked him to."

Carole gave him a sad smile, like she thought maybe Blaine was too innocent, still. "Look, I don't care why you got married. That's your business, not mine. But I was hoping it would be a permanent arrangement. Kurt's changed for the better since he married you. We would like to keep that change."

"We?" Blaine tilted his head in further confusion.

"The family," Carole clarified quickly. "He's been so much more understanding and sensitive lately. And you're the reason for it. I think, if you leave him, he would go back to his old ways."

"Carole, I promise this is all unnecessary. We're not even talking about divorce," Blaine tried once again to reassure her.

"I know he's a difficult man, but you're so good for him, Blaine. It's selfish of us, I know, but we want the marriage to work."

Blaine smiled patiently. "I appreciate the good wishes, Carole. We're okay."

She sighed. She still looked concerned, but it seemed she wanted to believe Blaine's words.

It was the second time today that someone mentioned his potential divorce. He didn't think Joanna would agree with Carole's desires, though. Joanna definitely wanted to push him in the opposite direction.

He realized neither of them had asked him what he wanted.


Later that evening, Blaine spooned couscous onto a large platter and ladled the piping hot vegetable stew over the top. He watched Kurt out of the corner of his eyes, hoping to catch him off guard. He was pouring wine into two glasses. He waited until he finished with the first glass and moved to the other.

"I wonder why there are suddenly rumors about our impending divorce," he said, conversationally.

The wine bottle made a very loud sound that echoed around the kitchen when Kurt put it down on the island rather forcefully. It was surprising the glass didn't break. He spun around, his eyes icy blue. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Blaine didn't know there had been a certain tension pooling in his belly until right now, when he felt it dissolve. "Carole told me she heard rumors, very insistent ones, that we were filing for divorce. Maybe they started after we attended the engagement party? I don't know. We're not out in public very often."

He could see Kurt's jaw tightening. "And that's exactly why I don't attend those stupid events, if I have a choice. There's always a lot of stupid gossip."

Blaine simply hummed in response.

"And it is just a lot of stupid gossip, right?" Kurt asked, his tone as icy as his eyes.

Blaine smiled gently. "Believe me, Kurt, if I was thinking about filing for divorce, you'd be the first to know, and I'd hope you'd extend the same courtesy to me."

His expression was fierce. "I don't see why we even need to talk about this. Things are working out fine."

"Are they?" Blaine asked innocently.

Kurt scowled. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Blaine rolled his eyes as he carried the platter over to the table and set it down. "Forget it. I'm just wondering where the gossip came from, that's all."

Kurt brought the wine to the table. "You wondered if it started because of something I said or did?"

Blaine started to serve the meal on the plates. He really liked making dinner a couple nights a week, being alone with Kurt. It seemed such a married couple thing to do. It made him feel like their life was normal. "I'm just curious about who might have started them. Aren't you?"

"No." Kurt sat down, expression a little sour. "People always talk, but that doesn't mean you always have to listen."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Blane sat down too and began to eat, only for Kurt to reach across the table for his hand.

"Blaine?"

He put the fork down, hazel eyes fixed on his. "What?"

"If you ever have any problems with the idea of being married to me, come talk to me about it first, okay?" Kurt said quietly.

Blaine smiled. He lifted Kurt's hand and kissed his knuckles. "Okay."

Kurt's expression softened. "Thank you, Blaine."

Blaine waited. Now would have been a perfect moment for Kurt to say those little words Blaine longed to hear. But Kurt simply smiled, left his hand in Blaine's, and began to eat.

The tension that had vanished from his stomach just a handful of minutes ago seemed to be back.


Even though he wasn't inclined to admit it, there were days when Blaine wished he had his husband's patience. Sometimes, when he had a particularly difficult client, he wondered how Kurt managed to exert such discipline and self-control to stop himself from slapping some sense into people.

He was currently having a hard time keeping the smile on his face as he nodded politely. The man who was inspecting the contents of the boutique had apparently just received a big raise that came with a gorgeous apartment overlooking the park, and he was looking for artwork to decorate it. He was pretentious and indecisive, and though he seemed to know exactly what he wanted, he couldn't precisely tell Blaine what that was. Which resulted in a lot of rambling that was starting to give him a headache.

Blaine could see Tina, standing behind the counter, trying to hide her smile with her hand as she pretended to be working. He was glad she was entertained by his misery – it meant he would feel absolutely no remorse making her take the trash out today. And maybe he was going to make her work early on Saturday so he could stay home with Kurt and be lazy in bed a little longer…

Blaine was determined to make a sale, mostly because the man had entered the boutique forty minutes ago and he refused to have spent all that time only for him to walk back out empty-handed. Right now, they were looking at a trompe l'oeil mirror Blaine had acquired only last week.

"Don't you love the way the painting on the mirror fools the eye and makes you think you're looking through an open window?" Blaine asked him. "It's very effective and very unique."

"Shouldn't a mirror be a mirror?" The man said, doubtful. "I mean, I would want to look at myself when I look into it. Why would I want to see the painting of an open window? That's sort of weird…"

"Your guests would find it fascinating," Blaine insisted. "It's a wonderful conversation piece. Everyone will comment on it."

"My guests mostly come over to eat pizza and watch the football game," the man shrugged.

Blaine forced himself to keep smiling. "But didn't you just tell me you got a big promotion and a gorgeous apartment? I'm sure you'll have people from work over, and even your boss would be impressed with this piece…"

This seemed to give his client pause. He considered what Blaine had just said. "But is it art? My girlfriend said I should get a piece of art for the hall."

"It's a bold statement of artistic whimsy," Blaine said, and his face hurt from how hard it was to keep the smile up. "A one-of-a-kind piece that will spark the rest of your interior design and add interest to your hallway."

"I don't know… my girlfriend warned me not to get anything tacky…"

"This mirror is definitely not tacky."

"But is it art?"

Blaine wanted to knock his head against the wall until he went unconscious. Lucky for him, Tina called him from the counter. She had the phone in her hand, which Blaine, in his frustration, hadn't even heard ring.

"It's for you, Blaine!"

At first, he thought it was a little white lie just to get him to walk away from the annoying customer, so he excused himself, relieved, and headed towards her with a grateful look on his face. But then it turned out there was actually someone on the phone for him.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Hummel-Anderson?" A woman's voice said. "This is Stacy, I'm Sugar Motta's assistant."

"Hi, Stacy. Is everything alright?" He asked.

"Yes, yes, I'm just making a few of miss Motta's calls, she's busy with some other work that your husband gave her," she explained kindly. "But apparently something important came up, and he wants you to meet him at home."

"Kurt wants me to go home now?" Blaine frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no, no, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to give you that impression," she said at once. "He just wants you to meet him there as soon as possible. He's already on his way."

"Alright," Blaine nodded slowly. He wondered if this had anything to do with the fact that Santana had left on a little trip last night to see if she could find anything on Jacob Taylor or Wally Thorpe. "Thank you so much."

Tina was looking at him, a little concerned, when he ended the call. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, as far as I know," Blaine said, already grabbing his coat from the rack behind the counter. "But I've got to run home. I'll try to be back before five, but if I'm not here, just go ahead and close for the day." He lowered his voice. "And take care of our customer, will you?"

Tina grinned at him. "My big chance. I'm going to try to sell him that damn elephant."

Blaine nudged her playfully on his way out. "Tell him it's art."


It was less than half hour later when Blaine opened the door of the penthouse and dropped his keys in the bowl on the table at the foyer. He took his coat off as he looked around. The apartment seemed deserted.

"Kurt?" He called.

He listened intently, but only silence ensued. Apparently, he had made it home before his husband.

Just in case, he decided to go check if Kurt was in his study, where sometimes he was so focused on whatever document he was working on that he wouldn't have noticed if the world ended around him. As he made his way down the hallway, a sense of uneasiness took over him, not unlike what he had felt when he had been to Wally Thorpe's home a few days ago.

But there was nothing wrong, he told himself. This was his home. He had nothing to fear, even if he was a little anxious over whatever Kurt had discovered to make him come home so suddenly. Had Santana uncovered new information? Were they closer to understand what had happened to Cooper?

"Kurt?" He called once more, as he stuck his head around the study door. The room was in darkness, but he thought he could see the leopard's green eyes reflecting the lights of the city. "I'm home, where are you?"

"Sorry, Blaine," a voice said from the shadows. "I'm afraid your husband's not home yet."

It took a few seconds for Blaine to actually process that this was Noah Puckerman standing in his husband's study, holding a gun and pointing it at him, smirk in his face. He had a pair of old jeans on, with tears in the knees, and a worn leather jacket. He looked more like a juvenile delinquent than the young executive Cooper had trusted with his company.

Blaine could feel his heart pounding wild with fear against his ribcage. "Puck. What… what are you doing here?"

"I'm waiting, Blaine, what does it look like I'm doing?" He said. "I've been waiting for a long time, actually. More than you can imagine." He gestured for Blaine to move. "Let's go up to the greenhouse."

Blaine stood frozen at the doorway. He was wondering if he would be able to reach the front door and get out of the penthouse before Puck could shoot him. "Why?"

"I haven't been able to stop thinking about that ridiculous greenhouse since the moment I found out Hummel had it. So out of place for a guy like him, don't you think?" Puck said with a chuckle. "But I think it'll be perfect for the little domestic quarrel I have planned."

Blaine frowned, still not sure where Puckerman was going with this. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, it's not that fun if I spoil it, but I'm actually pretty proud of myself for planning this, so what the hell," Puckerman shrugged, still smiling. "It's not like you're going to be around to see how things turn out…"

Blaine felt like he was going to be sick. "Puck…"

"Picture this: you have discovered that Hummel married you just to get his greedy little hands on your brother's company. You're hurt. You're humiliated. So you plan to file for divorce immediately…"

Blaine gasped as something dawned on him. "You started the rumors, didn't you? About Kurt and I getting a divorce."

Once again, Puckerman shrugged, like it was obvious. "I needed to lay down the groundwork for today's activities, yeah. So, Hummel is furious and threatens you. He's a dangerous man, everyone knows that. Even your brother knew that. It won't be a surprise that Hummel would bring a gun out in the middle of a marital argument. You two struggle for a little while and then you shoot him in self-defense…"

"That's insane," Blaine blurted out. He was divided between rage and fear. "No one will ever believe that."

"I'm sure they will. Hummel actually killed someone once, remember? He's that kind of guy…"

"I'll deny everything," Blaine replied vehemently.

"Sorry, dude. I'm afraid you won't be in a position to do that." Puckerman glanced at his wristwatch. "Alright, let's get moving. No time to lose. Your dear husband should be home in about an hour, so I want us to be ready for him by then."

Blaine lifted his head, hoping to look braver than he felt. "Someone from his office actually called me and told me he's on his way home, already, so…"

Puckerman chuckled again. "You mean Stacy, Sugar's assistant? Just some broke college kid I gave twenty bucks to get her to call you. Hummel has no idea that you're here. He thinks you're still at work."

"Puck, this is insane. There should be a way for us to talk things through…"

"I have no interest in talking, Blaine," Puckerman said, taking a few steps towards him. "Hummel will have no reason to suspect anything's wrong when he gets home. Your things are at the front door, so he'll know you're here. His weird lady bodyguard is on some business out of town."

"Kurt's going to come looking for me," Blaine said fiercely.

"And that's exactly what I want him to do. When he can't find you at the usual places, I'm sure he'll try the greenhouse. We'll be waiting for him there."

"I'm not going anywhere," Blaine said stubbornly.

Looking like he was growing tired of this interaction, Puckerman took a couple of steps towards him and backhanded him savagely across the face. Blaine stumbled out to the hallway, nearly falling, losing his balance and catching himself at the last possible second. He could feel the sting of the blow on his face.

Puck examined him critically. He seemed please. "Well, that wasn't in the plans, but a few bruises might make the story even more believable. No one should be terribly surprised that Kurt Hummel is into hitting his husband…"

Blaine began to protest, but Puckerman grabbed his arm and forced him down the hallway and towards the stairs that led to the terrace. It was always breathtaking, to see the city from up there. But today, Blaine felt breathless for a whole different reason.

He had no idea how, but he needed to warn Kurt. He needed to tell his husband that he was walking into a trap.

He just didn't know how to do that with someone pointing a gun at his back.


Pieces start falling into place? Or maybe you have more questions than you did before? Hope you liked this chapter!

Next week's update will be a little late because I have a doctor's appointment after work. But don't worry! It'll be up on Wednesday! I'm just asking you to be patient for a couple more hours :P

Have a great week and I'll see you then!

L.-