"Truth without love is brutality, and love without truth is hypocrisy."

Warren W. Wiersbe.

Mrs. Waldorf Vs. Mr. Bass

Blair sat sipping at her tea, looking intently into Bart's eyes. She couldn't help but think how much their lives resembled a bad soap opera sometimes. She couldn't help but let her mind wander back to that day Chuck had almost killed himself jumping from a rooftop. Not jumping, she corrected herself; people like Chuck Bass didn't jump from rooftops, they let themselves gracefully fall as the symbol of decay they were made out to be.

She had almost lost Chuck that day. She knew, better than anyone else, how close it was. Her love had saved him back then and, she swore to herself, her love would save him once again. The man sitting in front of him was the unique responsible for that terrifying experience. Chuck had felt unworthy, unloved, alone and guilty. He almost let himself die out of grief for a man who didn't even die.

"Start talking Mr. Bass, I think you have some explaining to do."

Bart Bass shrugged, a triumphant smile on his face. He was the very image of a predator and, next to him, Chuck was almost a teddy bear.

"I am afraid the simplicity of it all will disappoint you, Miss Waldorf. The reality is nothing like the stories an avid reader such as you enjoy."

"Oh, believe me Mr. Bass, reality constantly outperforms fiction; specially in the Upper East Side."

Bart smirked before keeping up his narration. "I was being followed. I am a very powerful man, Mrs. Waldorf, and therefore a man perpetually in danger. I knew their plans before they could carry them on so I saved myself."

"By faking your own death?"

"Alas, a trick as old as the earth itself. There is no need to kill a dead man, after all."

"Who was after you?"

Bart chuckled loudly. "Who wasn't? This time it was a rival company but I am sure many others celebrated my death, didn't they?"

Blair nodded, conscious of the truth in Bart's words. She also suspected the danger he had been in was deeply connected to all the dirt that lied in his business but, if she ever found out, it wouldn't be from Bart Bass himself.

"Why didn't you let Chuck know? You surely could have let him know."

Bart sighed. "Ah, young love. Mrs. Waldorf, every person that knows is a liability. When feelings get involved, people become a mess surprisingly fast. Letting Chuck know would have multiplied the danger."

"Your son isn't a liability. He is a strong businessman. You've simply never believed enough in him."

"Oh Blair, don't you see? Letting Chuck know wouldn't have multiplied the danger only for me but also for him. I was protecting him as much as I was protecting myself."

Blair wanted to protest but she couldn't oppose to the logic of such a statement. Chuck had indeed been safer not knowing.

"He almost killed himself. He almost self-destroyed."

"But you were there to stop him and I knew it. Things have changed however, haven't they?"

Blair looked up to Bart who always knew more than the characters involved.

"Chuck and Serena, I must say I was surprised. I personally prefer you, Mrs. Waldorf. I believe a strong and intelligent young woman like you is cut out to stand next to someone as Chuck. However, if I am not wrong, you were the one to abandon him, weren't you?"

"Are you trying to make a point there, Bart?"

"It's just that you sit there accusing me of not caring enough for my son but you hurt him as bad as I did."

"I am afraid that such a thing would be impossible, Mr. Bass."

Blair swallowed and fought internally against the injustice of such words. She and Chuck had made enormous mistakes with each other but they still had each other's backs, didn't they? She was there today, confronting Bart, as she had been there that day on the rooftop.

"He sold the company to Jack."

Bart sighed. "I know, what a stupid move."

"Explain it to me."

"People in love make stupid things Blair, don't they?"

Blair nodded. "Absolutely but Serena must have known something to suggest such a stupid thing."

"She was never the brightest, was she?"

"She was never the stupidest, either. To do what she did, she had to believe she was helping Chuck. Why did she believe so, Bart?"

"I guess Serena can lie extremely well. She must have inherited from her mother, after all."

Blair tried not to vomit and thanked the gods and goddesses right there for how different Chuck truly was from his father.

"What do you mean?"

"Jack plotted with Barbara to get the company, deceiving Serena was part of the plan."

"Who is Barbara?"

Bart sighed. "I guess there's no much reason to cover up the truth anymore. Barbara Mansfield was the daughter of one of the most powerful families of the Upper East Side."

"The Mansfield, the family owning half of the oil of South America?"

"Those, exactly. She was also Jack's sweetheart back then. The Blair and Chuck from the time, if you'd like."

"Continue, please."

"It was a tremendous relationship. They loved each other deeply but they rip each other apart like none other. They went back and forth, back and forth in an eternal dance of impossibility. It was painful to watch."

Blair swallowed, trying hard not to trace the similitudes between that relationship and her love with Chuck.

"What happened?"

"Jack did something atrocious and Barbara wanted to hit back. Missy wanted a child hopelessly and I wanted to give Missy anything she desired. Sadly, it was impossible for her to conceive any children. Barbara, aware of the situation, offered herself one night."

Blair scoffed. "Couldn't you have adopted, like everyone else?"

"In the Upper East Side we do nothing like everyone else, as you well know."

"What's the rest of the story?"

"Barbara wanted to destroy Jack, she wanted to torn it apart as badly as she had been torn by him. She thought having a child with his brother would be good enough."

"And you had not a problem taking advantage of her."

"Mrs. Waldorf, Barbara came willingly. That's what a certain kind of relationship does to you."

Blair sighed sadly at how well she could picture Barbara's hurt, her desire of revenge and her ultimate betrayal.

"We did it the old fashioned way. It wasn't pleasant for either of us but it was the fastest possibility. She was pregnant within two weeks."

"What did Jack do?"

"At first, he believed the child was his and was ready to assume it. He even proposed to Barbara."

Blair didn't really need to hear the rest of the story; it was too predicable.

"You told him the truth."

"I couldn't lose that child. Missy was getting sadder everyday and that kid was her only light. Moreover, I couldn't let my little brother to live in a lie."

"How can you be so cynic?"

"My dear Blair, don't be biased here. Jack and Barbara constantly played with the limits of their relationship until one of them took it a step too far. I am not to be hold responsible for it."

"He never forgave her, didn't he?"

Bart nodded. "He hated me almost as much as he hated her. Our parents send him to Asia, far away from Barbara."

"What happened to her?"

"Her family sent her to South America during the pregnancy in order to avoid the scandal. She came back discreetly to give birth to Chuck. I instantly took him to Missy and she loved him better than Barbara could ever have."

"Did she and Jack see each other?"

Bart shrugged. "I never asked. Jack was forced to come back for Chuck's birth so I guess they talked. A few days after giving birth, Barbara went back to South America and married conveniently a few months ago. Jack went back to Asia."

"What happened to Missy?"

Bart sighed and Blair was able to catch an emotion of his face made of stone. It didn't last soon enough to be studied though.

"She became ill soon after Chuck's birth and died leaving me with a child I had no idea what to do with."

Blair shook his head, trying to focus on the present consequences of such a story.

"So Jack is seeking revenge?"

Bart nodded. "So ordinary, isn't it? Money, success, status... People's motivation is still much more human: revenge, love, hate. It's so basic it hasn't changed in the last couple of thousand years."

"Why is Barbara here?"

Bart shrugged. "Some years after Chuck's birth, they started their going back and forth once again. It was never the same though; there was too much hate underneath. In the end, they are still magnets. I guess Jack has promised Barbara a new chance, a real one."

"She makes up for her ancient mistake and they move on."

"Always so smart, Mrs. Waldorf."

"What did they tell Serena?"

Bart chuckled slightly. "A stupid story about Chuck being Barbara and Jack's kid. Apparently, Chuck has discovered some very nasty things about me and I have become a danger to my own son so they want to protect him."

"Chuck sells the company to Jack so he can stop you and Jack gives it back."

"Yes, very beautiful in theory. Of course, it won't happen like this."

"How do they know you're alive?"

"Jack has his sources. Or maybe he's been the one planning my death all along. Now, it's my turn to ask one question Blair. How the hell could Chuck believe such a story about his upbringing?"

Blair shook his head while all the pieces made finally sense. Serena, the night of the ball, asking her if you should lie to protect someone you love.

"He didn't."

Blair & Chuck

Chuck sat at home, bored. He wasn't used to this vacancy on a Monday morning. The bell rang and he got up, curious to get a visit at such an hour.

"Blair? Shouldn't you be in class or something?"

"I have more important matters. In fact, we both do."

Chuck observed her warily. He recognized the expression on her face; it was the one she wore the day before any fundamental battle.

"Sit down Chuck."

Chuck obeyed, frowning at her. "What's happening Blair?"

"I am so sorry about everything you're about to hear."

One hour later, Chuck sat on his sofa dumbfounded.

"It was not my place to tell but I guessed it would be less brutal."

Chuck nodded, aware that Blair knew as well as him that such knowledge couldn't be anything but brutal.

"We'll win this, Chuck."

Chuck shrugged. "I guess there is nothing to win, Blair. My father is alive, therefore the company goes back to him and I am the heir once again."

Blair cast her eyes down. "Chuck, do you have something on your father?"

"Would it be okay if we talk about this some other day? I am a bit... overwhelmed right now."

Blair nodded and got up, walking towards the door. "Just so you know Chuck, I'll be there when you're ready."

Chuck nodded, grateful for the sheer truthfulness of such a statement. As the door closed, he kept on sating there, thinking. How did he feel? He felt mostly numb, to say the truth. He didn't know how to digest everything he now knew. It was simply too much. Nobody could take that much, could they? If he had, however, to pinpoint his deepest feeling with a word, it would probably have been "defeated". He felt defeated as fuck. Every person he had confided in had lied to him. His father didn't care, his biological mother abandoned him and has come back to destroy her, his uncle hates him and his girlfriend lied to his face. The only person who had probably cared was dead almost from the start. Chuck chuckled at the absurdity of it all; he had become the living caricature of the rich and unhappy boy. He gathered some things, caressed Monkey –the only creature he could be sure of his loyalty- and went out for a walk. He deserved as much.

Serena Vs. Chuck

Before opening the door, Chuck took a deep breath. He didn't want to see her. Seeing her was the last thing he wanted on earth right now. He had felt the impulse to take a ticket plane and fly himself out to Thailand or someplace like it. This time, however, he had decided it wasn't a valid option. He couldn't keep destroying himself for people who didn't give a fuck. He had to do this. No other options left.

He was greeted with a smiling Serena and nothing hurt as much. The expression on his face, of almost pure despise, talked fast enough. Then she knew; as easy as that. She knew the world had finally fell onto her shoulders, sinking her to the ground.

"So, are you going to try to defend yourself or not even that?"

Serena stayed frozen to the spot, knowing that nothing she could say would save her that night.

"I did it to protect you."

"They lied to you. Isn't it funny? They lie to you, you lie to me and I lose everything."

Serena swallowed, tears in her eyes. "It can't be. She was so emotional..."

Chuck chuckled cynically. "A very good actress, isn't she?"

"So she isn't your mother?"

"Oh, she indeed is. She simply didn't came back to protect me. She came back to gain Jack back with no regards for destroying me in the process."

"I don't understand."

"Long story short: Bart is alive, Jack and Barbara lied to you and I've lost my empire."

Serena shook her head, unable to believe what she was hearing. Her mother had been right, she had been the stupidest in this drama.

"I trusted you with the most important thing in my life, Serena. I almost don't trust anybody, for nothing but I trusted you. I put my life between your hands and you were lying it to me!"

"I thought I was protecting you! They told me Bart would kill you."

"If you had trusted me as I trusted you, I would have investigate and find out the truth."

"I am sorry Chuck, we'll find a way to get Bass Industries back."

"Forget about the fucking Bass Industries! This is about you lying to me in the most crucial of moments!"

Chuck's cries cut Serena deep down.

"What's your excuse, Serena?"

"I'm sorry." Answered Serena, unable to say anything else.

"So am I. You destroyed the only pure thing I've ever had."

It was impossible to tell which of them was the saddest about that fact.

"Leave, please. I'll send your things to Lily's house tomorrow, first thing in the morning."

Serena nodded, openly crying, and ran out with her purse. Once inside the cab she had stopped, she let herself completely break.

Serena Vs. Blair

"Are you happy?"

Serena's voice wasn't a surprise to Blair. She knew it was coming. She turned back and was sad to see the mess her blonde friend had become.

"Don't you dare turn this on me, S."

"You didn't have the right."

"Someone had to find out what was truly going on. Someone had to tell him."

"Yes, but you could have given me the chance to do it myself."

"You should have trusted him."

"I was protecting him!"

Blair sighed. "Now I understand why you asked me that question the night of the ball, do you remember?"

Serena nodded, shakily. "If you knew something pretty big about someone but it could mess up the person forever, would you tell her?" Said Serena, repeating word by word what she had said that night.

"Do you remember what I answered?"

"You do what it takes to protect her."

"Then you asked if you protect them by lying or telling the truth."

"And you answered that it comes down about how much you know the person you're trying to protect."

"I would never have lied to Chuck about that, S."

"I know, B." Serena admitted that painful truth and started crying again, accepting Blair's embrace.

"Shh, don't cry S. You were still trying to protect him."

"I was wrong."

"You were but it was still out of love. It was still out of love, S."

Serena let herself go into Blair's arms, none of them knowing where that mess was really going.

"Will's voice dropped. "Everyone makes mistakes, Jem."
"Yes," said Jem. "You just make more of them than most people."
"I —"
"You hurt everyone," said Jem. "Everyone whose life you touch."
"Not you," Will whispered. "I hurt everyone but you. I never meant to
hurt you."
Jem put his hands up, pressing his palms against his eyes. "Will —"
"You can't never forgive me," Will said in disbelief, hearing the
panic tinging his own voice. "I'd be —"
"Alone?" Jem lowered his hand, but he was smiling now, crookedly. "And
whose fault is that?"

Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Prince