Chapter 1

"Dan!" Serena yelled, frantically searching her closet. "Have you seen my formal black pumps? I need them! I'm meeting with this woman in thirty minutes, and I'm still not ready."

Her husband laughed, coming into their bedroom and cupping her cheeks.

"Serena, calm down," he coaxed, pecking her lips quickly. "You don't need those stupid pumps for the meeting. I think you'll look hot no matter what you wear."

"Yeah, well you're a guy, of course you'd day that," she said, rolling her eyes. But then she smiled and covered that up, "But of course, I appreciate everything you say. You make me feel worshipped and loved, Mr. Humphrey."

"I feel old when you call me that," he commented, and they both chuckled. "Are you meeting with a client?"

She nodded her head and explained, "It's this girl that's all the talk in Pennsylvania. She went missing for two years when she was a teenager, and was found alive. People are going crazy over her story. If you write about her, it will become huge. It's great for your publicity."

He smiled and asked, "How did I get the best publicist in the world?"

"Hmm, I don't know, but when the publicist is your wife, it certainly has its perks," she flirted, and kissed his lips.

Although Dan enjoyed their deepening kiss, he pulled away and said, "As much as I love making out with my publicist, I think she has some work to do. Get dressed fast, I've got breakfast in the kitchen. I'm not letting you work on an empty stomach."

"Okay, father," she joked, and pecked his lips before he left their bedroom.

Serena finished getting dressed as quickly as she could, and then went downstairs to the kitchen to join Dan.

"Bacon and eggs? It's good to know that my husband can cook really well," Serena said, giggling and pecking his cheek.

"I live to please," he said, and then put his fork down. "Serena, I've been thinking about this for a while, and let me just start by saying... you're the best publicist I could ask for. But... I don't think you should be my publicist anymore. And before you go crazy on me—"

"What?" Serena asked, shocked. "Dan, I thought everything was going great when I was your publicist. Why would you want to change that?"

"You're amazing, and you do such an amazing job!" Dan frantically tried to explain. "Look, I love having you as my publicist, but it just can't be that way. You've truly got talent at what you do, but it's hard when I have to pay my own wife. It lowers the money we make when the money you make comes out of the money I make. Do you get what I'm saying?"

She sighed and said, "I guess, but I've already got this thing going on with that Pennsylvania client, and I don't want to start looking for a new job—"

"There's no rush," he told her, cupping her cheeks. "All I'm saying is that in time, you're going to have to find somebody else to work for. It's not that I don't love having you work for me, it's just that we could be making even more money if you had a different job."

"You know that money isn't a problem for us," she reminded him.

He stared at the floor and said, "I know. I don't like to be reminded of how I married into a rich style. Honestly, Serena... I married you because I love you, not because I wanted your money."

She smiled at him and gazed into his eyes.

"I'm thinking about a future for us," he explained to her. "Chuck and Blair didn't waste any time with their little Henry Bass."

"Wait... you want kids?" Serena asked, smiling, but was still a little bit shocked.

"I don't know, I mean, of course I do, but I didn't want it to sound stupid because, you know, I thought that girls found it a bit weird when guys get all optimistic about a future with children, and—"

"God, we've been together for like a million years, and you have never dropped that habit of rambling, have you?" she said, smiling as widely as possible. When he smiled back, she didn't waste another second before kissing him passionately. "I love you, Daniel Humphrey.

"You know I hate it when you call me that..." he whispered, his nose touching hers.

"I know."

He bit his lip as he gazed into her eyes, but then he glanced at his watch.

"Oh, um, you've gotta get going," he told her, pulling away. "You've got that meeting with the crazily popular Pennsylvania girl, right?"

"Right! I almost forgot," she said, and grabbed her purse. "Well, I'm going to get going now. Love you."

"Love you, too," he said, and pecked her lips before letting her go.

33 minutes.

Serena was beginning to feel hopeless. She should have known that someone with such power for publicity wouldn't show up. But, she didn't want to fail Dan. What would he think if he knew she couldn't even get him the minimum publicity he wanted?

She was about ready to text Dan and tell him that she didn't show up, so she could ask him to stop his writing and spend his afternoon comforting her in the bedroom...

"Well, well, well," a blonde said, sliding into the booth at the café, "it is such an honor to meet the infamous Serena van der Woodsen! I've heard so much about you."

Serena's eyes lit up, and she asked, "Alison?"

"That's me," she said, nodding her head. "Sorry I'm a little bit late. You know me, life is busy. It's an honor to finally meet the most notorious of the van der Woodsens."

"Actually, I don't go by that anymore. I'm a Humphrey now," she proudly told Alison.

"Honey, excuse me!" Alison said, laughing. "I almost forgot. How could I even forget that epic love story between you and Dan Humphrey... aka Gossip Girl."

"That's in the past," Serena mumbled. "How do you even know about this? You weren't here when all of that drama happened."

"Oh, come on!" Alison scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Don't pretend like you don't know. You're a real subject to people all over the country. Maybe even the world. I don't think anyone was more shocked than I was to discover that you said your vows to Gossip Girl. Part of me just believed that maybe that love story with Nate would reopen the doors."

"Nate Archibald?"

"Don't play innocent!" Alison smirked. "You don't remember hooking up with your best friend's boyfriend? I know I was rooting for that Scandal way more than Team Gossip Girl."

"Look, Dan is my husband, and I don't need you judging me for the choices I've made in life," Serena angrily said, folding her arms. "I don't know who you think you are, but your judgment means nothing to me. I'm happy with my life. This was stupid. I can find another client to help Dan with his publicity."

Alison grabbed her arm before she could leave and said, "Sweetie, I was just playing with you. Don't get so pissed yet, you haven't even seen the worst of me. You should know that I support your romance with Lover Boy, unconditionally."

Serena rolled her eyes and said, "You don't even know me."

"I know more than you think I know," Alison said, smirking. "You say your life is perfectly happy, but don't you think that Mister Humphrey has changed you? You've given up the scandalous glamor life. You could have had it all."

"I do have it all... with Dan," she confidently told her. "You have no right to tell me what I want. That partying lifestyle is one I left years ago! One that I left way back in high school. I'm never going back to that place again. I'm finally happy."

"Oh, sweet Serena, we're going to have a lot of fun together," Alison said, proudly smiling. "Whatever offer you have, I'm accepting. I'd love to be a subject for Dan. I'm sure that he'll appreciate all the publicity he gets."

"I think he can find another subject," she whispered, staring at the floor.

"What a shame!" Alison cried. "He'll be so disappointed to know that his sweet wife lost him the publicity opportunity because of her selfish motives."

Serena sighed and gave in.

"Fine, we have a deal. I'll give him the details."

"That's how I thought you'd see it."

"She had the nerve to tell me that she was rooting for me to end up with Nate!"

Dan laughed, kissed his wife, and then asked, "Was it that bad?"

"You clearly haven't been listening very clearly," she said, groaning. "It was terrible, but I told her we had a deal because I know that you want this."

"Serena," he said, pressing his nose against hers, "I'm not going to write about this Alison girl if that's not what you want me to do. I don't even know her. If she bothers you this much, then I don't want her anywhere near us. There will be other opportunities. She's one that isn't worth making my amazing wife unhappy."

She bit her lip for a moment, and then closed the distance between their mouths.

Pulling back shortly after, she asked, "Are you sure? I really don't like the idea of you giving up an opportunity because of me."

"She's not worth it," he said. "She seems toxic, anyways. I'd hate to have you go back to your old ways because of the influence, too." He grinned at her, and she grinned back at him.

"Oh, is that right? You think I'm exactly that wild girl I was a long time ago?" she teased, yanking at the collar of his shirt. "You should search the house. I have a bong hidden somewhere."

"Serena! Are you kidding?"

"I can't believe you would even think I would go back to that lifestyle!" she exclaimed, laughing against his chest.

"You're unpredictable," he whispered into her ear. "Remember when you asked me why I love you when we were teenagers? Well, I just added another reason."

"You still remember that day?" she asked, smiling.

"How could I ever forget?"

His hands lowered to her waist, and their lips met. They started kissing in full force, Dan's hands squeezing all over her lower body.

"Dan!" she yelped, startled by some of the places he squeezed.

"When we were teenagers, that may have been inappropriate," he whispered, "but now... you're my wife."

Serena giggled and fell back on their bed. He crawled on top of her, and started to kiss her passionately again. Her hands ran through his messy curls, and her tongue was all over his mouth. She hadn't kissed him so hard in a really long time.

"Wow, we're doing this?"

He nodded his head, but was confused.

"Why? Is it weird that we are?" Dan asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "I mean, we consummated our relationship during our junior year of high school! Why is it so weird now?"

"It's not the sex part that's weird," she said, pulling back from him. "I mean, you're always writing, so I guess our teenage relationship had a much better sex life than we do now."

He took a step back and stared at the floor.

"Ouch, that hurt a little."

"Dan, I didn't mean that it's not good anymore, I just meant that we never have time together," she elaborated. "But we have now, don't we?"

He shook his head and said, "Serena, I'm not going to stand here and let you tell me that our teenage selves had a better sex life than we do now. I'm going to change that. It's just that... now isn't the perfect time. I can't prove anything to you if every time we sleep together, it's not special. I'll show you how special I can make it, you'll see."

"...or we could just continue what we were previously doing..." she suggested, toying with his tie playfully, biting her lip.

"You know I can't resist you, so I'm going to look away before I get out of control," he said, chuckling. He leaned over to peck her cheek. "I'm going to start cooking dinner. You hungry for spaghetti?"

"Anything is fine," she told him, and then her phone buzzed. After reading the text, she announced, "Dan, you know what? I think I'm going to go out with a friend for a few hours. Text me or call me when dinner's ready."

"Got it," he said. "And you just call if you need anything."

"Who are you? And what do you want from me?"

The girl— a short, hazel-eyed, dark brown haired beauty— sat across from Serena at the table. A small smile emerged on her lips. She didn't seem like a bad person or anything, and she definitely seemed nothing like Alison. Alison was a rude, snarky, bitchy person who thought she had the right to make those judgments about someone else's life.

"I just found out that you're doing business with Alison DiLaurentis," the girl began, "and I wanted to talk to you about that."

"Okay, well who are you?" Serena asked.

"Um, I'm Aria... Montgomery," she answered, biting her lip nervously. "I'm one of Alison's former friends. We went to high school together, and I was in her group of friends before she disappeared. The day she disappeared was the day that the whole thing started."

Serena smiled and said, "Well, I'm intrigued. Keep talking."

"I don't think this is a good place to talk," Aria told her. "The story is kind of long, so I was thinking we could meet up some other time."

"This is great," the blonde beauty said, still smiling. "I would love to meet up whenever you can... Aria. I'm Serena Humphrey."

"I know who you are," Aria quietly said. "Alison talks about you all the time. She's been waiting to meet you for a while. I didn't think she would ever get the opportunity to do so, but now she did, and I have to stop whatever business deal you're doing with her."

"If she did something to hurt you, I don't think stopping the deal is what will help us," Serena said. "I can have Dan publish the truth about whatever she did, and shut her up for good."

"Well, before we make any alliances we can't commit to, I think we should meet up again and discuss this in a better, more private way," Aria said, handing Serena a paper with her cell phone number on it. "Call me whenever you get the chance."

"Definitely."

"Chuck, I have a client coming in a few minutes," Blair Bass, formerly Blair Waldorf, whispered as her husband kissed down her neck. "You have to go. Get some work done."

"Isn't that all I've ever done throughout most of the years of my life?" Chuck asked, raising his eyebrows. "But whatever, I'm sure Dorota is getting lonely at home, taking care of Henry all by herself. You go fit some dresses." He smiled at Blair and said, "Love you."

"You, too," Blair returned the words, and pecked his lips briefly. "Have fun with Henry, Mister Bass."

He winked at her before leaving.

Just then, her client entered the building for the dress fitting.

"Hi!" Blair exclaimed, smiling at the gorgeous blonde in front of her. "You must be my new client. ...Hanna Marin, is it?"

"It is," she said, shaking Blair's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet the one and only Blair Waldorf-Bass, or whatever you go by. You're quite the talk at my Fashion Institute, so I couldn't have picked a better woman to get me a dress for my upcoming fashion show."

"I don't think you could have," Blair agreed, smirking. "Get in here, Hanna. We have a long day ahead of us."

As Chuck was walking towards the limo, he accidentally bumped into a gorgeous blonde. He was certainly committed to Blair, but he knew a pretty girl when he saw one, and sometimes, he just couldn't resist a little bit of flirting. He would never cheat on his wife, but that didn't mean he couldn't chat up pretty girls anymore.

"Well, hello there, lady," he whispered, taking a step back to get a good look at her face.

"Chuck Bass," she said, rolling her blue eyes. "Once a sleazebag, always a sleazebag, huh? I thought you got married to that bitch Blair Waldorf."

"DiLaurentis..." he mumbled, shaking his head. "I should have known. And don't talk about Blair that way. You know nothing about her, or me."

"Well listen here, Chuck Bass," she said with anger in her voice. "If you're so protective of your precious little wife, why were you trying to flirt it up with me? But of course, I get it. If I lost me, married a skank, and then saw me again, I would want me back, too."

"The only skank I'm looking at is you," he snapped, rolling his eyes. "You would have been lucky if Chuck Bass had any interest in you. All I was doing was saying a hello to a stranger, and then I found out that it was damn you."

"Okay, quit the games," Alison said, rolling her eyes back. "You don't need to pretend you don't want me back anymore, I already know the truth. But don't worry, Blair doesn't need to know a thing. You just get back to your perfect little family! Say hi to Henry for me, would you?"

Chuck flared his nostrils, brushed right past Alison, and then got into his limo.

Serena tried to avoid eye-contact with Alison when she saw the gorgeous blonde standing there, watching Chuck leave. She didn't want to provoke her and cause more obnoxious conversation to happen. She had spent most of her teenage life being judged by her peers, and now that she finally had the calm, drama-free life she wanted, she wasn't looking for more judgment.

"You didn't think I would let you get away, did you?" Alison asked, giggling and stepping up to Serena. "You look nice. Were you going out somewhere?"

"No, um, I was just meeting up with a new friend," she said, biting her lip. "Listen Alison, and I don't want to start anything right now, so—"

"Start anything?" Alison asked, furrowing her eyebrows. "Honey, I wanted to apologize for the way I acted in the café. It was totally inappropriate of me."

"Well, I appreciate your apology, but I don't think we should be talking when there's not any level of trust between us," she explained.

"Serena, I've always been an open book," Alison told her, smirking. "I would tell you anything you want to know. So, what do you want to know?"

"Okay... uh, how do you know Chuck Bass?" Serena asked.

"Old friend of mine," she answered. "We're not friendly anymore because we had a thing a really long time ago, and things just ended up badly between us. Anything else you'd like to know?"

"Why did you fake your death?" Serena asked.

"Ah, everyone is always dying to know about my disappearance. It's the most important part of my life," she said, smiling. "Well, sweetie, it's complicated. I got into a lot of big messes back home, and an associate of mine suggested that I fake my death. So, that's what I did."

Serena knew that Dan would be so successful if he wrote about that girl. People were dying to know her story since she kept it under wraps, and if she could get it out from Alison, she could bring such a success to Dan's career. She just wanted to make him happy.

"Look Serena, I'm willing to tell my scandalous story to both you and Dan if you'll just let me," Alison told her. "I'm not as bad as you think I am. I was obnoxious earlier today, but sometimes I'm weird, and that was one of those times."

"Okay, well I have to discuss anything business-related with Dan before I accept anything from you," she told Alison.

"I know, but this isn't about business," Alison said. "I want to make it up to you for how I acted earlier. Let me take you out for a drink."

"...I have to get home for dinner," Serena said.

"It'll take me an hour, and that's it," Alison told her. "All I want to do is talk to you. I want to be friends, not enemies."

"How about business associates instead?" Serena asked.

"If you want my services, come for one drink," Alison pleaded. "Only one, and that's it. I only want to tell my story to a friend, so if you want the story, become my friend tonight."

Serena sighed and gave in.

"Okay, let's go."