After The Divorce: Blair's Rise To Power

The First Step Back

Blair left Jonathan’s house just as the sun was climbing higher, sweeping the sky with pale colors that seemed not yet fully confident of the day ahead. Jonathan had initially insisted on driving her home, but Blair certainly couldn’t allow that to happen.

The Spencer family’s black car waited for her at the end of the block. The driver said nothing, just opened the door as usual, but Blair could feel the unspoken questions hanging in the air.

When she arrived home, her mother was already waiting in the living room. The woman wore a cream silk dress, her hair styled neatly as always, but there were lines of worry on her forehead that couldn’t be hidden.

“Where were you all night? Were you really at your friend’s house? Are you okay?” her mother asked without preamble, her tone more anxious than angry.

“I was at a friend’s house and I’m fine,” Blair answered softly, hanging up her jacket and taking off her shoes. “I needed time to think.”

Her father emerged from his study, wearing a white shirt and knit vest, his eyebrows raised suspiciously. “Friend?”

Blair looked at both of them. This time, she wouldn’t hide her intentions.

“I’m going to attend the company anniversary party Saturday night,” she said, her voice calm but firm.

Her mother fell silent for a moment, as if unsure of what she had just heard. “A… public event?”

“Yes. Jonathan’s company. He invited me.”

Suddenly, silence hung in the room. Her father set down the book he had been carrying. “Jonathan Evans? That means you’re going to the Evans company party? Are you sure, Blair?”

Without hesitation, Blair nodded again.

“Finn might be there. I don’t want you to meet him,” her father said.

“I know.”

“And you’re still going?”

Blair nodded. “It’s time. If I really want to move forward, to take over Spencer Group someday… I can’t keep hiding. Dad, you know your time in that position won’t last much longer. I want to learn. But for that, I also have to be able to stand on my own.”

Her mother squeezed her husband’s hand. “Honey, we’re just afraid you’re not ready yet. We don’t want you to get hurt again.”

Blair smiled thinly. “I’ve already been hurt. Now, I want to become strong. You don’t need to worry, I think it’s time I get my revenge on them and resolve my guilt toward you both.”

Her parents looked at each other, smiled, and finally nodded. They were happy because Blair finally wanted to return to Spencer Group. They had always regretted that their brilliant daughter might not continue her position as heir to Spencer Group. But now, their wish seemed about to come true.

“Do you want me to accompany you, Blair? You could pretend to be my assistant,” Richard suggested, but Blair immediately shook her head while laughing.

“Dad, don’t you think our faces look very similar? I really look like your daughter, and no one would notice that.”

Richard immediately laughed and realized it was true—Blair looked very much like him, though she had some of her mother’s facial features as well.

“Your father is really foolish,” her mother snorted, but while laughing, and her father immediately hugged her. Blair watched her parents with a broad smile; they were truly sincere people to her. Perhaps only her parents. And Blair knew she would never be able to be like them. She couldn’t have the kind of love they shared.

“Blair! How about we go shopping and pick out a dress for you?” Elizabeth said cheerfully. She had never bought her daughter a dress for a formal event like this. Since her teens, Blair had always refused to participate.

Though shopping wasn’t really necessary, when she saw both her parents’ excited expressions, Blair nodded in agreement. Both parents immediately hugged her, and they walked together arm in arm.

Saturday night came quickly. Blair stood in front of the giant mirror in her room, wearing an elegant red dress with a low back and high collar that framed her face gracefully. Her hair was styled in an updo, leaving only a few loose strands framing her face. No flashy jewelry. Just a pair of small diamond earrings and heels that hugged her feet perfectly.

“You look absolutely beautiful,” her mother praised as she finished putting the earrings on Blair’s ears.

“That’s right, my daughter is so beautiful,” her father said, looking equally mesmerized as he continued to gaze at his daughter.

“I’m getting curious about how beautiful you looked in your wedding dress back then,” her mother’s words immediately made Blair’s body freeze, the guilt returning. Blair looked at both her parents in the mirror and could see the sadness in their eyes.

Blair turned around and looked at both her parents while forcing a smile. She wanted to cry, but couldn’t cry and ruin her makeup.

“Dad, Mom. From now on, I will never leave you. I will never exclude you from my special days. I will stay by your side, forever,” Blair said while biting her lower lip, holding back her tears. She kept trying to smile.

However, both her parents were already crying and hugging Blair. “You naughty child! You better not leave us again.”

Blair immediately laughed and tightening her embrace.

Finally, at exactly 7 PM, she left for the event. She didn’t want to come with the family car. Didn’t want bodyguards. Didn’t want Jonathan to pick her up. She wanted to be an ordinary guest that night—without a big name, without status, just herself.

The Langford Hotel shone magnificently when she arrived. The building was filled with chandeliers and the laughter of guests filling the main hall. Classic jazz music flowed softly from the corner of the room, filling the air with luxury that didn’t need to shout.

Blair entered slowly, slipping through the crowd, observing the guests who were laughing, talking, toasting. She recognized some faces from the business world, some had even sat with her in Spencer Group meetings years ago. But tonight, none of them knew Blair Spencer. And she was relieved.

However, that peace only lasted five minutes.

“Blair?”

The all-too-familiar voice made her heart pound hard. She turned slowly.

Finn Harrison stood there, wearing a fine-striped gray suit, a navy blue tie fastened with the precision she hated because it was too perfect. Beside him, Victoria—in a bright red dress and that insufferable smile that never left her face.

“Wow,” Victoria said, grinning like a cat finding a mouse. “Look who finally had the courage to come out of her cave.”