After The Divorce: Blair's Rise To Power

Where the Past Finds You

"I'm going out for a bit," Blair said to her mother as they had just returned from the courthouse.

Elizabeth looked at her daughter with concern etched across her face. "Are you sure, sweetheart? You look exhausted."

Blair nodded weakly, her shoulders sagging under an invisible weight. "I need some fresh air, Mom. Maybe I'll meet up with some old friends."

Elizabeth finally nodded, though doubt flickered in her eyes. "Alright, but don't come home too late. And let me know if anything happens."

Blair managed a thin smile, pressing a gentle kiss to her mother's cheek before stepping out of the house. She didn't really have plans to meet anyone. What she wanted was simply a place where she could forget all her problems, even if just for a moment.

Without conscious thought, her feet carried her toward The Blue Note, a jazz bar she used to frequent during her college years. The place remained exactly as she remembered—dim lighting casting long shadows across worn wooden tables, soft jazz music flowing through the air like silk, and the rich aroma of coffee mingling with the sharp scent of alcohol.

Blair settled herself onto one of the bar stools, the leather creaking softly beneath her weight.

"What can I get for you, miss?" the bartender asked with a friendly smile, his weathered hands already reaching for a glass.

Blair's gaze swept across the array of bottles lined up behind the bartender like colorful soldiers. "Whisky. Neat."

The bartender nodded and immediately began preparing her drink. Blair surveyed the bar around her, observing the scattered patrons who were lost in their own conversations and private worlds. Perhaps she was the only one sitting alone here tonight, drowning in her own thoughts.

"Here you go," the bartender said, placing a glass of amber liquid before her.

Blair sipped her drink slowly, feeling the liquid burn its way down her throat. She rarely drank hard liquor, but tonight felt like she needed something strong to numb the pain that had taken residence in her chest like an unwelcome tenant.

One glass became two, then three. Blair began to feel her head spinning slowly, the world around her becoming slightly unfocused. The jazz music that had initially sounded crystal clear now seemed muffled and distant in her ears. But at least, for this brief moment, she could forget about Finn and all the messy complications of their divorce.

However, the more intoxicated she became, instead of banishing all thoughts of Finn and their divorce, she found herself remembering even more vividly the man who would soon be her ex-husband.

All the events from when she was still married to Finn began replaying in her mind like a broken movie reel, missing puzzle pieces suddenly fitting together with painful clarity. She remembered how Finn had treated her so wonderfully in the beginning, showering her with affection and promises, only for that treatment to gradually transform into something dark and cruel. She had even frequently endured violence from her husband, along with harsh words that cut deeper than any physical blow could.

The marriage she had believed would be her happily ever after, like something from a fairy tale, had instead become her worst nightmare.

Her chest suddenly felt tight, constricted as if invisible bands were wrapped around her ribs. She had never wanted any of this to happen. She had never wanted to leave Finn, considering how deeply Blair had loved him. But if she continued to allow Finn to do all these terrible things to her, her life would only continue to crumble into dust.

Blair couldn't hold back her tears any longer. She felt like the most pathetic person in this entire place, maybe in the entire world.

"Miss, are you alright?" the bartender asked, his voice filled with genuine concern. He was worried because he could see Blair struggling to stand from her seat while sobbing uncontrollably, her body swaying dangerously.

"Do you need help? I can call someone to help you get home. Can you give me a friend's number, or your family's?" he offered gently.

Blair shook her head frantically, her hair falling across her tear-stained face. She didn't have friends anymore after marrying Finn—he had gradually isolated her from everyone she cared about. And she didn't want to worry her parents any further. She had already caused them enough trouble with her divorce proceedings with Finn.

"No, thank you," Blair said quickly, her words slightly slurred as she stumbled away from the bar stool.

She couldn't walk steadily, her legs feeling like they were made of rubber, but she forced herself to make her way toward the exit, using the wall for support.

Once outside the bar, she collapsed in the alley beside the building. Her body gave out completely, and she found herself sobbing uncontrollably once again. She could no longer hide her overwhelming sadness, the grief pouring out of her like water from a broken dam.

She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering from the cold night air. She had even forgotten where she had left her coat, her mind too foggy to remember such details.

"Miss, are you alright?" someone asked, but this time the voice was different from the bartender's—deeper, more familiar somehow.

"You left your coat inside..."

Blair looked up through her tears, her vision blurry as she tried to focus on the man standing before her. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, making everything appear hazy.

"Blair?" the man called out, his voice rising with surprise and recognition.

Blair was equally shocked, and her surprise quickly morphed into deep embarrassment. She looked absolutely wretched in front of someone she knew, someone from her past.

Blair immediately lowered her head, not wanting this man to see her swollen, tear-stained eyes and the broken state she was in.

"Blair? What's wrong with you? Why are you here..." The man suddenly realized that Blair was avoiding his gaze, deliberately looking away from him. He crouched down in front of her, gently draping the coat over Blair's trembling shoulders, causing her to look up at him again in surprise.

"It's very cold out here," he continued with a gentle smile that seemed to warm the frigid night air around them.

Blair fell silent for a moment, studying his face in the dim light from the street lamp. She remembered exactly who the man in front of her was. Jonathan Evans, her ex-boyfriend from seven years ago, before Blair had met Finn. He's the CEO of Evans Group, and everyone in their social circle knew that Evans and Harrison competed fiercely for the second position after Spencer Corporation in the business world.

The irony of the situation wasn't lost on her—here she was, at her lowest point, being rescued by the man she had left behind for what she thought would be a better life. The man whose heart she had broken when she chose Finn over him, believing that Finn represented her future while Jonathan was just her past.

Now, as she sat in this cold alley, broken and vulnerable, Jonathan was the one showing her kindness. The contrast between his gentle concern and Finn's recent cruelty was stark and painful. She wondered what her life might have been like if she had made different choices, if she had stayed with Jonathan instead of being swept away by Finn's charming facade.

"Jonathan," she whispered, his name barely audible in the quiet night, carrying with it years of regret and what-ifs that she had buried deep in her heart.