Hi guys, and sorry for the delay again but I have some real life problem that make my inspiration suck. Hehe. Hope you'll like this chapter!
….
The flight back to New York was turbulent.
Chuck hadn't been able to sleep right and had kept looking at his phone in the hopes of getting updates about the situation. He didn't know why it made him so anxious. He thought that he was okay with seeing that woman again, if she would ever show up.
In his heart, he knew that she may come back just as Jack did every once in a while. The difference was that he had clarified things with his uncle, while with this woman... he really wondered why did she come back for.
He passed the entire flight back to their hometown thinking about it.
Blair had tried to sleep, on the other hand. She had successfully drift off for a couple of hours. She was surprised and worried that he was still up and he had clearly his head somewhere else rather than there with her. She wished she knew what to say and how to help, but Elizabeth's reasons were unknown to her too and she couldn't even imagine the matter.
They arrived to their penthouse after a seven-hour flight. It was afternoon there. It really felt as if they had gone back in time.
The guys at their building brought their luggage upstairs while they met with Lily in the foyer. Chuck had asked his stepmother to bring their daughter there so that they could decide what to do later – if they wanted to do anything at all.
He was happy to see Lexie playing with her favorite toys on the floor when Blair beat him and called Alexandra's name before he could. The baby turned abruptly and she started screaming. She seemed happy they were back.
Blair knelt down uncaring she would damage her new shoes and stockings, and she hugged the baby. "I've missed you so much, honey. Did you miss mommy too? Give a kiss to mommy" she asked kindly and the baby seemed to do as she asked.
He smiled at them and then asked Lily what he needed to know. The two went in the kitchen and left Blair and Alexandra alone.
"She didn't say anything to me" she started to explain. "She just said that she would be in town for a few days until she could talk to you."
"I won't talk to her" he said firmly.
Lily smiled. "I understand. But you should give it a try. You can't know why -"
"She is not my mother. She is not related to me at all. She said it herself. I won't meet with a woman who deceived me. I don't want to see her."
"I know how are you feeling. That woman played you. But I think is not bad to give second chances. You might be surprised." She said as she gave him a pat on his shoulder and then left. "Let me know how it goes."
….
When he went back to the other room, he found it empty. Blair and Alexandra had gone upstairs and they were on their bed and playing when he got there. Blair startled when he entered the room.
"Did I scare you?"
"A bit" she admitted. "I think I was too distracted."
He sighed. "I'm sorry. I've had a bad day."
"Why don't you sleep? You could take a nap with us" she suggested with a smile.
"I don't think I can sleep, to be quite honest."
"Are you afraid she might come here when you're asleep?" she asked out of curiosity.
Chuck looked at her with confusion. "She won't come here" he said with conviction. "I'll ask the doorman not to let anyone visit. We could spend the day just the three of us."
"It would be a good distraction, I like it" she smiled.
He smiled back at her, not fully convinced, and he hoped she didn't notice his false grin. He was thinking about something else and he couldn't help it.
"I wonder why that woman is back in New York" he said all of a sudden. He was getting out of his clothes to change into something to sleep. Blair sighed and kept listening to his words from their bed. "She told me she wasn't my mother and I accepted I had been fooled by one of my father's concubines. Why she wants to see me again? Why?"
He couldn't think of a reasonable possibility and he was right. Elizabeth had arrived briefly in his life, pretending she was his mother. All of that had happened over five years before and he had promised himself he would never believe he had other living parents. Jack was his last and only living uncle. His mother had died giving birth to him for that matter.
Would it be a question of money? Could she want to ask for one of Bart's properties just because she had slept with him some times in the past? Would she want to fool him again?
"You're over thinking. I don't think the matter is big. She isn't your mother after all, right? She can't get to you if you don't let her. But you should probably give her a chance to explain herself before jumping to conclusions" Blair gave her two cents.
He didn't seem to agree. "I can't let that woman fool me again. You know what they say, fool me twice shame on me. I can't let this person try to play with my family."
"If you don't put a stop to this, she will come looking for you again."
He shook his head "I'm not of the same advice. If I ignore her, she'll go away. After all, she's been living in Australia for all I know. And I know for experience is not nice to travel over twelve hours to come here. She let years and years pass before getting to me."
"People can be determinate if they want to see someone."
He glared at Blair without wanting to do it, but she didn't change her expression. "It has to be in two to let that happen. Unfortunately for her and luckily for me, I am determinate as well not to see her."
She sighed and turned at the baby. She didn't know if she should add more to what she told him. She knew he wouldn't change his mind anyway. Chuck had been hurt too much in the past, in that regards. He had believed his father had lied to him and hid that his mother hadn't died. His 'mother' had come but it turned out she was just playing a game for his uncle. She could understand well why he didn't want that person in his life anymore.
Even if she could possibly be related to him, how could she redeem herself with him?
She didn't know if she had to do something to help him find at least what did she want, or not. He could get really upset and things could turn out bad between them. But she felt she really had to do something... she had to find proofs and more informations about Elizabeth's return.
The three of them spent the rest of the day until dinner sleeping together.
Blair figured they needed two or three days to adjust to their normal, EST time schedule. It happened to them every time they went to Europe that the jet lag would make them sleep at the wrong hours.
She opened her eyes slowly to find the lights of the day now gone. She was relieved to see Chuck still there under the covers and fully asleep. She didn't think he would be able to fall asleep with all of his worries, and she was glad he had succeeded.
He looked particularly pleasant while sleeping. Without any concern. She thought he looked peaceful and hoped his mood would be cool when he would wake up.
Their baby was not asleep, on the other hand. She noticed Alexandra was turned towards her father but she was being silent for once. She looked over the baby's shoulder to see that she was actually gripping her hand around one of Chuck's long fingers. The sight of that made her melt. She could tell that their baby looked pretty attached to her father and that she probably felt he wasn't having a good time with his past and wanted him to feel her comfort.
She smiled happily. She wished her family would always be like that.
Chuck opened his eyes a few moments later and yawned.
"Hi" Blair said with softness.
"Hi" he echoed. "Have I slept for long?"
"Kind of. You've been away for a couple of hours" she said. "I'm glad you could sleep for a while. I hope it helped you."
He inhaled deeply. "I didn't dream anything but you two. It was the best dream I've ever had" he grinned for a brief moment. "I've never been better in my life. I'm serious."
"I'm glad you feel relaxed" she extended a hand to caress his cheek.
"I'm not relaxed yet, if I have to be fair."
She frowned, wondering if he would open up about something she didn't know of, which was really rare. She just wished he wouldn't close like he did few years before on the same occasion. He didn't let her in if not after weeks. It felt so sad for her not to be able to help.
He giggled. "I'm still jet lagged. I will try to sleep when it'll be time to do it. Now I'm hungry, aren't you too? We skipped lunch."
"I'll go tell the maid to prepare everything, then. Are you coming with me?"
He smiled and quickly dismissed. "I want to wash my face first. You go downstairs with Lexie. I'll come in a few minutes."
Blair nodded and took the baby from the center of the bed, then slowly got off it. She kept glancing at him until she was out of the room, but she could see nothing suspicions behind his expression. He had kept a calm face on that he wouldn't drop it so easily.
She was now worried for him. This wasn't like her possible pregnancy. She had believed she was expecting despite she still hadn't had her period. She realized now that she had worried for something she didn't have too worry too much, and he had worried with her too.
She knew Chuck just wanted her happiness, and she was happy now. She wasn't pregnant again, but she wasn't sad about it. It would happen again someday, she would really get to have another baby as beautiful as Alexandra and this time she would be confident about it. It wasn't just the best time now.
She also wanted his happiness now. After resolving her concern, she had to help him resolve his. What did Elizabeth want from him? He could just not let her go again. There must have been a reason why she had come back, and she thought he needed to know it.
….
Three weeks and few days passed. Chuck told her he would be working at home for a while. He wasn't sure the woman would be at the Empire, he didn't want to be easily found if he was out and working at the usual place. He just needed few days or weeks to spend as far as possible from the places he could meet Elizabeth casually.
Blair figured he was running away from that woman, but she could understand he didn't want anything to do with her after what happened few years before. She had betrayed him, and he wasn't keen on trusting her again. He had once did so and it didn't turn out well. He wouldn't risk again to be hurt.
She wanted to remain home with him, but she needed to check few things at the Palace. She had decided in fact to get back to work. She thought she needed a distraction besides the baby, she needed to do something to make her life meaningful. Alexandra was now seven months old and she could stay few hours without her. There would always be Chuck anyway.
When she got to the Palace, the assistant showed her the office. She hadn't had the time to use it fully since she was six months pregnant when the supervisor named her the new boss. She had now a space just for her and she had to get used to it and the papers she had to check everyday. She so hated bureaucracy but it was part of her job.
"Mrs Waldorf, do you want something to drink or eat?" the young woman asked.
Blair raised an eyebrow, she hated when people called her with her maiden name. "I've never seen you before" she started to say, checking the girl out. "You are...?"
"Kate, I'm Kate. I'm your new assistant Mrs Waldorf. I've been just employed, it's been few days I've worked here" she answered shyly.
"I'm sure you won't be working for long here if you keep calling me Mrs Waldorf anyway" she rolled her eyes. "You are dismissed now."
The girl smiled awkwardly then left the room. Blair sighed and laughed when she realized how she had treated the young girl. She felt almost as if she had got back to her high school days and that girl was one of her minions who didn't behave well.
Since it was the first day, she only gathered some papers and things she should know about the place. She wasn't sure she would be soon perfect with her job, but she felt she could try. After all, she had been chosen by someone for her talent and not for her name.
She spent one hour or two in her office, then she headed out and went to the reception to tell something to the girl who had to control there. She also had to pick up something she had to take home that was there.
"Where is that agenda I was asking for? I remember it's here" she asked while searching in the papers on the desk and the registry at the reception. The woman pointed a red book on the left and she took it to check something before deciding it was better she took it home to control it better. "I will borrow this for today. Can you keep the other one updated?"
She nodded. "I will, Mrs Bass. The one you took it's finished already so you can keep it as long as you want. I'm sure you'll find everything in place."
"I really hope so. Well, I'm going to get back here soon and I want to find everything fixed. Are we alright? I'm counting on you" Blair said with a rather bossy tone. She hated when she had to be like that, but she needed to be respected.
The woman smiled again and she smiled back. She then left the reception to head out of the hotel. She couldn't wait to get back home and start working.
She decided she would get back to her penthouse on feet. She had to run an errand before it would be lunch time, so she tried to reach the place she needed to visit very soon.
She wasn't aware that someone was probably following her.
She went in a boutique to buy a new pair of heels and after she was done, she was caught off guard when she met someone she was surprised to see... or not really.
She was petrified yet a bit excited and anxious to met that person again. She didn't know what to say nor wanted to say anything at all. She just stood there in silence until the other woman talked to her with her sweet but not maternal voice. It was almost a month after she had showed up at Lily's house and she was surprised she still hadn't left town.
"I guess you remember about me" she said.
Blair laughed. It was a bitter giggle. "I never forget who hurts the people I love."
The woman shrugged. "Can't say I am a saint, but I want to fix things."
"He doesn't want to see you nor talk to you on the phone. You are dead for him. Hell, his true mother is too" she said with a sharp tone.
"I know I've not treated him right. Like I said, I really want to fix things but I need to talk to him. If you can help me doing so, I would be glad."
Blair's expression became more severe. "When you came in our lives, few years ago, I was really happy for Chuck to have found his mother. He has never had a true parent. Bart had never supported him, not until his last days. Jack, the man with whom you betrayed his trust in you, made him do things I'm sure he would never dare to do. As much as I'm concerned, Lily is Chuck's real mother. No one ever treated him as a son like she does."
Elizabeth gripped her hands on her bag. The atmosphere was tense. "I'm really serious this time... I need to talk to him before it's too late."
"I think it's already too late" she answered with a cold voice.
Silence fell and she waited the woman to answer, but she didn't. She wondered why she wanted to talk so badly with him? What possibly could have changed after almost five years they hadn't seen each other?
"Look, I... I think he should know the truth. But I can't make that decision for him. I can't take you home without asking him if he wants to see you. You've hurt him very much the last time you saw him and he is protecting himself now. He's protecting our family. He's self-preserving who he loves. He doesn't want you to destroy him again."
The woman looked away and she seemed moved by her words. "Is it... really too late?"
Blair opened her mouth to answer but didn't know what to say at first. She wanted to be harsh and serious, but she felt that woman didn't deserve that much for the moment.
"If what you want to reveal Chuck is really important – then maybe it is. You don't let years pass if you really care. People can easily let go of you if you hurt them in the past. They can decide not to give you a second chance."
"There must be something you can do to let me see him. Please."
She looked away as to find the words. She was very conflicted. Whether she believed Chuck had to know the truth – however it was, she was also convinced that it was his choice to get to know it. She was his wife, she could influence him to change his mind, but that wouldn't be right... would it?
She found it really hard to look for an answer to her indecision. What should she do?
"I can't really promise anything."
She sighed deeply and looked her in the eyes. She looked as if Blair's words had caused something in her heart or body. At least that could mean that she knew she had wronged them. She managed a smile and then left without adding more.
….
When she entered the penthouse hoping to find Chuck and Lexie playing on the couch, she was disappointed. She could not hear any voices in the kitchen nor in the living room either. She thought they were doing few things upstairs, so she went to check.
She was right.
She found him in his studio upstairs. He usually came working there when he felt he needed to spend few time home with them. It pleased Blair a lot knowing that he would work there. Not that she couldn't survive without him, but having him there was different. The baby required lots of help and she couldn't take care of her all the time. Now that she had also decided to start working again, she wanted the baby to still have a parent keeping her company.
She opened the door slowly and peeked in before getting in the studio. He soon raised his head from the laptop and gave her a weak smile. She walked to his desk and reached him behind it then sat on his lap. The leather chair was big enough to keep them comfortable. He held her with one hand put behind her back, while the other still held the pen he was writing notes with. He wrote one last word on his paper since he was left-handed, and then dropped it on the wooden desk.
Blair looked at him carefully, trying to catch any glimpse of struggle but finding any. She thought he either was successfully deep in his work to think about that woman again, or he was just pretending to be okay.
"Had fun on your first day?"
She touched her forehead with annoyance. "The new secretary is already giving me headaches. She kept spelling my surname wrong."
He giggled. "How could she spell it wrong?"
"I was so fuming" she rolled her eyes. "She called me Mrs Waldorf for the whole day."
He frowned. "Interesting. And here I thought you were her. Damn, then I spelled your surname wrong all along" he smirked while she leaned closer to give him a peck on his lips. For some reason he loved when she got mad because it happened that some people still used to refer as her with her nubile surname. "I think you should fire her."
She shot him a glance. "You think? She may learn her lesson" she said proudly.
"You are the boss now. You decide" he smirked. "I'm just on of your mere helpers."
She chewed on her lip before she answered him. "Do you think I should show her who's the boss, huh?" She asked trying to tease him. She was next caressing the back of his head while leaning closer than before until her lips touched his forehead.
"I think you really should" he said with short breath as she dangerously got closer. He wondered why she was being so excited in the mornings.
Blair grabbed his neck with her hands and brought his face towards her. The two kissed feverishly and uncontrollably for a couple of seconds. He was already aroused by her sitting on his lap, it would be hard not to continue that rendezvous somewhere else.
He kept grabbing her thigh with his hand while she clutched on his hair with her fingers, feeling the urge to get undressed as soon as they could.
But she felt as if it wasn't right to do it. She needed to tell him about Elizabeth before he would find out from somebody else and she needed to tell him before they would be naked. The image she had in her head about that confession spilled in the wrong moment didn't please her. She had to be honest first and she wasn't in the mood for sex anyway. Just foreplay.
She recoiled back abruptly to catch air. She avoided his glances, he looked unpleased. When she finally met his eyes, she could tell he was disappointed a lot. He looked like a sad puppy.
"I thought you wanted to play" he nuzzled his nose against her forearm and started to kiss her there. "Dorota is not home and Lexie is sleeping. We could roleplay your favorites..."
"I need to tell you something" she said with a thick voice before standing up and walking away to stand in front of his desk.
He grimaced and followed her with his eyes, suddenly curious. "What is it?"
She stewed for a minute and then let it go. "I met her today" she said with a measured voice.
He already knew who she meant, and he tried to mask his emotions about it. "I hope she didn't brainwash you. You know how much she's good with words. She deceived me."
"She told me she wants to see you" she stiffened before she could continue. "I said that you weren't willing to do so and that it was too late."
He studied her for a moment, then his eyes drifted on the desk. "I won't meet her again. We don't have nothing to say to each other anymore. She lied, earned my trust for her own purposes. A person like this is not worthy of my attention."
"I can't forget what she did to you. But perhaps you can give her a second chance, Chuck? I know what she did to us. I wouldn't wish it to my worst enemy. Few years have passed since then... she came back to apologize. I think she recognized her mistakes and she wants to fix them. She wants to be on good terms with you."
She could tell he was trying hard to keep his patience and facade on. He was a loving man who had been diffident for most of his life. One mistake would mean make him less and less sure of who he had in front of him, and she knew that. It had happened a lot of times that they had had trust issues. It was really difficult for him to win that loyalty back, especially when his pride was wounded. He had been fooled. And he disliked being deceived, above all from family.
The muscles of his jaw jumped as he was considering her words. "I don't care what she wants. I don't care about her at all. That woman pretended to be someone she is not. She offended my father and my mother's memory by impersonating her. Would you still trust a person like that? Would you still give her a chance? She's obviously a poser."
"She looked sincere when we talked. She really wanted to see you."
"Or my money, perhaps? I don't need to see her again. I don't want to see her again." He said firmly. "Would you really risk and play her mind games?"
She shook her head. "Would you risk?"
"There's no risking here."
"You think? I think that's not entirely true. We know that it can go two ways if you put it on the line. You either lose again, or you win it all" she explained.
He narrowed his eyes. "Exactly... what would I win? Another female friend in my life?"
"Your mother! The parent you never had!" Her voice quavered when she talked.
"Mother? My mother's dead and the only parent I have left are Jack and Lily. Why are you convinced that harlot is family? My mother would never do that to me and I'm sure you would never do that to our daughter either. Am I correct?" he observed her reaction.
She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Mothers... they are not perfect. Of course I wouldn't do that to Lexie. Over my dead body. But not everyone is like me. Not everyone is able to express their feelings. They'd rather be hated by someone than being loved, because they possibly reason those people don't deserve them. You know Chuck, I think Elizabeth is exactly like that. She hurt you and she'd rather vanish and have you hate her than remain and fix the mistake she has done."
Chuck's eyes grew distant. He could not think that she would really come to New York for that. He still doubted it was for a reason besides money or something else. He remembered that she refused his money the first time. She had surprised him because he totally thought that she would disappear in a few hours, which she did not. She had also confessed him the truth about why she left him. She had confirmed she was his mother.
"She is a coward, then" he realized.
Blair managed a weak smile. "By any chance, yes. I think she is afraid of feeling something for you. Love you. She left you with Bart after you were born, she wasn't ready to take her responsibilities and maybe she never will. But you can try and see her."
"Or I could avoid myself some pain and don't."
She gave him a tolerant smile and leaned closer to his chair again, behind the desk. She put her hands on his shoulders and bend her back so that their heads would almost touch. "I know how much you've suffered and how much you had to endure alone. I'm sure you don't want to be hurt again. But if you don't go and meet that woman, maybe you will do it because you will be forever asking yourself why you didn't risk that time."
He was silently looking at her while she spoke. That was a hard decision to make and he was so unsure about it. He sure did not want to be caught in another scheme.
"You could ask yourself - why didn't I go and talked to that woman? And forever wonder who she could have been. If she came back, there must be a reason. Not necessarily venial... you can't really know if you don't ask her. Do you really want to live the rest of your life not taking the chance to find the truth?"
"What if the truth is what I don't expect" he quietly wondered.
She smiled again. She was relieved when he showed her his worries and let her in. "We go on. Together. In the bad and the good times, I will hold your hand. But you need to try or you'll never know." She said as her smile got warmer.
He stared at her for a few seconds. She knew he was probably thinking about the resolution of his indecision. He was pondering and was struggling with his stubbornness.
What would actually happen if that woman bore good news for him? He needed to try and be positive. Not everyone wanted to fool him as he thought. He had to have faith that it would turn out well and that he would have Blair and the baby by his side, if anything.
….
He had finally put his pride aside and decided to go to Elizabeth's hotel. Blair had wanted to come with him and asked Dorota to watch their daughter.
He was not hiding he was being cautious. She could see the millions of thoughts that could be passing in his head in that moment. He was imagining the moment he would meet that woman again and if she was going to tell him something positive or negative.
He did not ask Blair to come but she had decided to do it on her own will. She wouldn't left him alone in this situation. Like it happened few years earlier, she would stay by him and support him however it would turn out. He had not left her side almost a month before after she was anxious she might have been pregnant. And she would not leave his.
Blair was aware of how difficult and painful was Chuck's familiar situation.
He was the richest man of the Empire State, yet before she became his girlfriend again, he was so lonely. He had always been a young guy acting like a mature man, he was so used of being by himself and deciding for himself. No one had ever taken care of him the way she was doing now. No one had cared the way she did.
She felt honored to be his wife. She felt happy to care. She knew it was worth caring for a person like Chuck. He got the love inside of him and she had found the key to get it.
"Do you think she'll be in?" he asked with a shy voice.
"If she isn't, we'll be waiting in the lobby" she promised with a grin and held his hand tighter.
They went to the reception and asked about the woman. She was there apparently. The man behind the desk informed them to wait at the living room, she would come down soon.
Those fifteen minutes awaiting for her in the empty tea room seemed like an eternity. He didn't know why he felt so anxious and uneasy. His hands were wet and he couldn't stay put anywhere. He took that waiting time to walk back and forth between the couch Blair was sitting on, and the window.
They knew when Elizabeth arrived when they heard her heels on the carpet.
He turned slowly and didn't look at her until he allowed himself to. Blair stood up from the couch and smiled at the woman, then reached Chuck.
She decided to talk first. "I'm sorry we disturbed you" she said with kindness.
"I'm very happy that you came" she gave them a smile as well. "Shall we sit and order something to drink?" She asked pointing to the couch Blair was sitting on few seconds before.
"No drinking" Blair said "but I'll gladly sit down." She said as she went to sit.
Chuck followed her and sit next to her. It was a very awkward situation.
"I can't express how much I am grateful you came here today. I wasn't waiting for you. I thought you would never come, actually" the woman admitted.
He sighed. "Why did you want to see me again after all you've done to me?"
"Chuck" Blair echoed from besides him.
"Direct to the point" she made a light giggle. "But I'm glad you care for the reason, because I'm honestly willing to tell you everything. And the first thing I want to do is apologize for that last time we saw each other. I've realized a lot of things during these years."
"I accept your apology, but you'll have to prove you mean it" he said, not caring he would be rude. She had to know that he would be on defensive.
She nodded. "Of course. You have all the right to know."
He waited impatiently that she would start with her story. He was ready for the truth.
Was he going to find something new about his life? He couldn't wait to know.