"What is it?"

The room was silent when Frances took Charlie upstairs for a bath after they'd eaten dinner. Thomas had joined them that evening which, over the past week, had become a regular occurrence.

"What's what?" Blair asked, pushing her plate away from her and setting down her glass of wine in its place. Drinking had become more of a regular occurrence in the past week, too.

"You haven't looked me in the eye once since I walked into the room. What's wrong?"

He was right. Blair hadn't been able to bring herself to look at Thomas the whole day. After hearing what Frances had told her that morning, she had done her best to avoid him around the house once he returned home from work, though it became harder when he sat down opposite her at the dinner table that night.

She sighed, swirling the wine around in the bottom of her glass, her other hand sat neatly in her lap, resting on her thigh. She'd debated bringing up Lizzie Stark all day, remembering the day her name had been mentioned when Blair accompanied Thomas to an event last minute.

She'd stayed curious about the woman, naturally, though over time, Blair's mind had become more than occupied with other things to spare a thought about a woman who's name she'd heard once.

"Nothing."

Thomas scoffed, "Don't be like that. I can see right through you, what's wrong? Is it because of last night?"

She shook her head, her eyes fixed on the bouquet of flowers on the table, still fresh and blooming beautifully.

"Then what? What is it, Blair?"

Blair sighed loudly before forcing herself to look up at him for the first time that day. She almost forgot to breathe, feeling breathless at how handsome she thought he looked. His blazer was a navy blue and he wore a matching tie. His hair had been pushed back that morning, though the force of the day had taken a toll, a few strands falling loose across his forehead.

"Who is Lizzie Stark?"

Thomas didn't speak, nor did he move. He stayed perfectly still, his lips sealed and his eyes frozen on Blair, his hand clasped around a stein filled with ale, as if he were in a portrait hung on the wall.

"How do you know her name?"

"You didn't answer my question."

He kissed his teeth, drawing in a sharp breath, looking up at the ceiling for a brief moment before looking back at Blair.

"She's a woman I was seeing, before you started living here. Once I saw your face I..."

He paused, looking down at his drink, his other hand in the air, posing a question as he pursed his lips, his chest rising and falling heavily.

"I knew I couldn't see her again. Because how could it be fair of me to live with the woman I love and see someone else?"

Blair felt furious. The blank expression on his face told her that he had no idea about the hurt his words had caused her, that he thought his heartfelt speech was nothing but fairytale romance, love at first sight, when in reality, it was sickening.

She rose to her feet and quickly walked out of the room, ignoring the calls of her name from Tommy that soon faded into nothing as she ascended the stairs, her feet light as she ended up running down the hallway to her room, slamming the door closed behind her and sliding a lock across it.

Blair was shocked. She couldn't comprehend why Thomas would boast to her about doing the same thing to another woman that he'd done to her, as if it would make her fall at his feet.

The pain in her chest was soul-crushing. She began to feel guilty, as if it was her fault that this had happened again. Empathy ran deep in her bones and it was crippling for Blair to think that another woman was suffering the same pain she had done, at the hands of the same man.

"Blair open the door."

The knock was hard and loud, the handle moved once as he tried to open it himself, his voice cutting through the wood as if he was in the room with her.

She stayed perched on the edge of the bed, hugging her knees to her chest as she tried to shake the sick feeling in her stomach, though it wasn't lessening at the sound of his voice, only growing more fierce.

She hadn't cried, not yet, but the anger she felt inside of her was pushing her close to the edge of shedding tears.

"Blair," he said, knocking again, "I will kick the door down, and you know I will."

She bit her lip, knowing that he was right. Walking over to the door, Blair pulled the lock, opening the door a crack before resuming her spot on the bed again, staring out of the window as she heard the door close and footsteps approach her.

"How could you?" Blair whispered, narrowing her eyes to stop them from spilling tears.

"I stopped seeing her as soon as-"

"No," Blair interrupted him, turning her head to face him with an expression fuelled by anger, "How could you hurt another woman the same way you hurt me. How could you make me the reason that she's broken inside now, how could you make her suffer like you did to me? Was ruining one woman's life not enough for you?"

Thomas was speechless. Nothing that Blair had said had even lingered on the edges of entering his brain. He was narrow minded at times, seeing things in a straight line rather than the unpredictable cycle that it always turned out to be.

He thought Blair would've been happy that he'd cleared his life of any women to be with her, though listening to her reaction, he suddenly came to the realisation that he perhaps wasn't always right.

"What did you want me to do? Keep sleeping with her? Have her round the house in front of your face?"

Blair scoffed, "What kind of confidence do you think that instills in me, Tommy? How do you think that makes me feel, hearing that you've dropped a woman for someone else out of nowhere, again?"

"God, Blair," Thomas sat down beside her, taking both of her hands into his own and pressing them to his lips, his eyes looking into hers desperately, "I would never do that to you, not again."

"Why should I believe you?" She said softly, pulling her hands away from him and wrapping them around her knees.

It hurt her to hear the word again have to be used, each time a reference to the past got brought up, it was like old wounds resurfacing that Blair had taken so long to care for and heal.

"I love you, Blair," he swallowed, "Is that not enough?"

She raised an eyebrow, "You told me you loved me before, why would this time be any different? How long before another woman comes along that perks your interest, till I no longer please you well enough, till you have to go searching for someone that doesn't bore you like I will. How long do I have you for, Tommy?  You might say forever but if it's anything like our last forever, I don't want it."

Blair grabbed a jacket and her car keys from the dresser, rushing out of the door with Thomas just a few paces behind her.

She had hot tears running down her cheeks by the time she reached the top of the stairs, ignoring the call of her name from Charlie's small voice as he watched her head towards the front door, his father chasing after her like the mad man in love that he was.

Rain was falling hard when Blair stepped outside. The summer had been mostly hot and dry but that day, grey clouds had rolled over the hills and ascended upon the manor, drowning the fields in heavy coats of water with a wicked wind echoing through creaky windows and old bricks.

The place had felt haunted all day, offsetting the happiness that Blair usually felt there. Perhaps it wasn't a coincidence.

"Where are you going? It's not safe to drive in this weather, come back inside!"

Thomas was stood on the porch as he called out to Blair, watching her hair and clothes soak through with the treacherous downpour, a loud clap of thunder almost shaking the landscape.

"Blair! For fuck sake."

He ran out after her as she walked towards her car, instantly having his vision blurred by the flurry of rain blowing in his face and wind pushing him back, almost telling him to not bother.

He grabbed her arm, spinning her round and pulling her back into him, taking her face into his hand and pressing their lips together. She lingered for a moment before using all her force to push him off, sending him stumbling backwards.

"Please, Blair. I love you, I've loved you since the moment I saw you and I was a stupid fucking boy who didn't know what he had until it was gone. But I know now, just believe me when I say that I love you."

Thomas was soaked through to the bone, the water dripping from his hair made him look even more desperate than he had done beneath the oak tree in the sunshine. The rain made him look like a man who'd lost everything, who'd exhausted all options after having his world snatched from him in one cruel sweep.

The way he looked reminded Blair of what she saw when she looked in the mirror after he'd broken her heart.

"You loved me before, too."