Lily stood in the hotel hallway, pinned against the wall as Rufus passionately kissed her. She reluctantly pulled away, gently cupping his face.

'Rufus, somebody could walk by at any moment.' he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

'I don't care.' he kissed her again, pressing her back against the wall. She responded, but then pulled away.

'Rufus, I don't want this day to end. I wish I could just stay here with you. But, unfortunately, I can't. And my children are probably wondering where I am.' she adjusted her jacket and combed her ruffled blonde hair with her fingers. 'I'll call you tomorrow, I promise.' she kissed him softly and put her key in the door, just as she was about to turn the key, he spoke six words that made her heartbeat race.

'I love you. I never stopped.'

'I love you too.' he kissed her again, something he would never get tired of doing. 'I will call you.' she promised, turning her key and pushing the door open. She treaded lightly, it was late and she didn't want to wake Eric. But Serena was seated on the sofa, browsing on her laptop. Lily smiled at her daughter and lay her miu miu jacket over the sofa along with her Fendi bag.

'Where were you?' Serena's eyes never left the screen of her Apple laptop.

'I was having dinner with Bart. I know, I'm late, but she service was terrible. It took them 45 minutes to prepare edamame.' Lily convincingly told her white lie, sitting herself down next to Serena. 'What are you doing?'

'I'm just writing a report on The Age of Innocence. It's for English lit.'

'Oh, I love that book. Edith Wharton was such an amazing woman.'

'Love triangles are so interesting, don't you think mom?' Serena finally made here eyes level with her mother's. Lily swallowed hard and looked down at the floor.

'Yes, of course. But I adore the dynamic of Ellen's relationship with Newland.' Lily smiled, memories of her favorite book washing over her.

'But what about May?' argued Serena. 'What bout her happiness? Should that have to be sacrificed for Ellen's?'

'May shouldn't have interfered with what was meant to be.' Lily's cheeks were turning crimson as the conversation steered away from the book.

'If they were meant to be then why do circumstances keep splitting them apart?'

'Maybe life just wanted to test their love!' Lily exclaimed, her cheeks burning red. Serena wordlessly handed her mother her laptop, which displayed Gossip Girl's homepage. Lily stared at the computer, and tears rolled down her face.

'You promised.' Serena's voice was small and it wracked Lily with guilt.

'Serena, I am so sorry.' Lily was so happy just being with Rufus that she hadn't considered the outcome of her actions.

'I thought you understood mom. I thought that for once you understood.'

'I did, I do.' Lily wished that it was as simple as when they were 17, when their biggest worry was finding a place to "meet".

'You don't mom. Do you ever think about anyone besides yourself?' Lily wanted to run away, she wanted to be at his concerts, sitting in the audience while he sang about her, feeling like they were the only people on earth.

'Serena, I love him' her voice was quiet and her eyes were clouded with tears, and for a moment her daughter understood. She understood that her mother's multiple marriages were because she kept looking for a love that compared to the kind she shared with Rufus. She just wished that her mother's happiness didn't interfere with her own.

'And I love Dan.' Serena left Lily sitting there, a combination of mascara and water staining her face. The sound of Serena's bedroom door slamming rung in Lily's ears. The sound was soon replaced by the buzz of her Blackberry. It was a message from Bart which read:

'Lily, we must speak.'

She felt helpless, too weak to fight anymore. She loved Rufus and yet all she could think was that Newland and Ellen's story did not have a happy ending.

Blair lay in her bed, thinking. Her day had gone perfectly, it marked the beginning of a comeback. But there was still so much work to be done. Tomorrow's agenda read:

Destroy Chuck Bass

Talk to Little Jenny Humphrey

Blair slipped on her purple silk eye mask and snuggled into her Egyptian sheets. Her dream consisted of her finally sitting down on her throne once again.

Serena entered Le Pain Quotidien and smiled when she saw Dan, kissing him and pulling out a chair for herself.

'Can I please have a Belgian Waffle and orange juice? Thank you.' she handed her menu back to the waitress and waited while Dan ordered. Dan wasn't going to wake any time, school started in half an hour and there was no time for small talk.

'I talked to my dad last night.' Serena fiddled with her Prada bear key chain, staring at its furry form.

'Really?' What Dan said next was so unexpected that it distracted Serena from her current activity. 'He really loves your mom.' it was a sentence Serena didn't want to hear. She didn't want to think of the pain that she was causing Rufus and her mother, she just wanted to think of all the happiness she was gaining. 'And I'm pretty sure that your mom loves him.'

'But what about us?' asked Serena, a confused expression settling on her face.

'According to my dad your Grandmother wouldn't let Lily be with my dad. And now you're doing the same thing. Do you really want to be the person who ends your mother's happiness?' what he was saying made so much sense yet she couldn't understand a single word.

'But Dan, if they're together then we can't be.'

'When did you get that idea into your head?' he was only being cold because he loved her enough to know what was good for her, and that was seeing her mother be happy. 'It's not incest unless your blood related. And if we don't care then why should it matter?' she didn't know the answer to his question. He was right, their parents weren't stopping them from being together, they were the only ones who could do that.

'I don't know.' her voice was small and squeaky, almost like a child's.

'Yes you do Serena. It's because of your public appearance. Kati, Is, Penny and all those girls will judge you. And I'm sorry but that's just not good enough.'

'I'm sorry if I disappointed you.' he couldn't stand being so cold to her. He walked over to her chair and wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head. 'You're right, about everything.'

'If I thought for a second that their being together would interfere with our relationship then I wouldn't let it happen. They deserve to be happy.'

'I know.' they remained in the same position while her waffle sat there and gradually lost its heat

Hi everyone! Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews! Sorry it took me longer to get this chapter up, I've been super busy with exams etc. Sorry if those references to 'The Age of Innocence' confused you. It's a wonderful book by Edith Wharton and I thought it kind of related to what was happening. In a weird twisted way!

So I just have some things to say:

lillianrose4: Don't worry, I have something in store for Jenny. It will happen much later in the story, but still! I'm pretty annoyed with her attitude lately.

Lylirium: There is much more Lily/Rufus to come. I think they are completely meant to be.

Palmer4President: Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews! I really appreciate them!! And I tried to make this chapter slightly longer than the rest.

Annie777: I completely agree. Nate has been treating her terribly! I just wanted him to finally realize that. And I think that it's about time Blair spoke up!

Well thank you to everyone in general! You've all made my day:o)