Jackson finally turned then to face the others in the room, eyeing Ezra seriously.

Why did it suddenly feel like it was Ezra, not Blair, who was in need of Jackson's approval for this marriage, Ezra thought in shock.

"And how do you know him?" Jackson asked suspiciously.

"We met a long time ago," she said, telling the lie they had rehearsed, "though I didn't know who he was at the time. Runs in the family, apparently? He showed up at my presentation at work recently... turns out he's my CEO. Nearly ruined my boss bitch display when I realized who he was. Rude, really. I tried to explain I'm a train wreck - but he is as stubborn as you are."

Blair moved easily through the lie, smirking at the old man in challenge.

Jackson scoffed.

"Liar. No one can trip you up when you're working, no matter how shocked you are."

He knew she was lying about far more than the small details, but he also had a feeling the lie was no longer meant for him. The performance was for the others - like Sofia.

She would tell him the truth when they were alone, he had no doubt.

"Shush you," she teased, immediately aware of the look that said 'we're going to talk later' and simply nodding as she continued, "it doesn't sound as romantic when you ruin it with facts."

He smiled at her and shook his head lightly, before his face fell slightly - his suspicious gaze returning to Ezra.

"If he ever fails you, you come to me," he said firmly, holding Ezra's startled gaze as he spoke, before turning back to Blair and adding with a huff, "I do think he's quite the step up, though."

His attention returned to the board, and his brow furrowed again as he stared at it.

"You never did approve of Ryan," she laughed, shaking her head and smirking at him as he thought through his next move, "and you haven't even met him!"

"He didn't deserve you," Jackson gruffed, "didn't need to meet him to know that fact."

Dropping his voice, it remained just loud enough to be heard when he added, "and look at that, I was right. As usual."

She studied him warmly for a long moment, genuinely surprised at the way things had gone but beyond thrilled at the outcome regardless. Being here with him again... had she known this kind of peace since she returned home? She doubted it.

She let him have a moment to study the board before she let her smirk grow.

"So? Is it here?"

His eyes snapped up from the board, locking with hers as a sly grin grew across his face.

"Of course. Down the hall, second room on the right."

A choking sound echoed through the room.

The room no one in the family had been allowed near in the past two years - even the cleaning staff wasn't allowed to enter it.

"Well? What are we still doing here catching up?" she said, standing and straightening her clothes before walking around his wheelchair and putting her hands on the handles, "Don't think that just because it's a year ahead of schedule you aren't going to show me your progress."

She looked down at him knowingly and he just nodded, excitement clear in his eyes as he gestured forward.

Pushing his chair forward, Blair ignored the sounds of argument that threatened to break out in the room at their departure. Clearly the shock was wearing off and Sofia had questions.

A hard glare from the man in the chair was enough to end it before it began.

Blair wasn't bothered by any of that, though, pushing Jackson down the hall as if they were the only ones in the house.

Ezra hesitated for a long moment, exchanging a confused glance with Blaise, before following behind - clearly forgotten, but more curious than he'd been in a very long time at the direction everything had taken this evening.

If he was honest, he was still reeling from it all.

Ezra kept his distance, aware of the other three following closely behind. Even Jorge's curiosity had been peaked, and he was not-so-casually trailing after the group.

Everyone had wondered what was in that room, and the entire conversation between Blair and Jackson had left them all off balance - they couldn't help but understand what it was that these two shared.

Jackson slipped the key out of his jacket pocket and into Blair's hand easily.

Too easily, Ezra thought as his eyebrows met his hairline, as if there wasn't a single secret between them.

Blair, unaware of the spiral Jackson's trust in her had caused, unlocked the door and returned the key to the old man without a second thought.

When the others all gaped at what the door swinging open revealed, Blair didn't react. She had obviously already known what was in this room long before Jackson handed her the key.

Instead, she simply pushed the chair into his art studio where the paintings were in various states of completion around the room.

The thick maroon curtains were closed tightly - likely to avoid curious eyes - so the room was lit by many lamps instead of the natural light she knew they both preferred.

She noted everything - the half-hazardly arranged canvases around the edges of the room on the floor, the supply corner that looked like a child had raided the paints at some point, and the pile of splinters in one corner that Blair suspected were the remenants of one of Jackson's bursts of frustration when things weren't going his way.

It was a cluttered space - not pristinely maintained or opulent like the rest of the mansion - and it felt... right.

Blair focused on the piece on the easel, leaving Jackson in the center of the room so she could walk up close and study it for a long moment.

Ezra had never seen Jackson so nervous - staring at Blair, clearly anxious for her thoughts.

She turned toward Jackson slowly after a long moment, before her stoicism broke and a broad, genuine smile broke across her face like sunshine breaking through on a rainy day.

"You've improved."

Her voice was warm, and there was a depth of emotion behind it only Jackson could understand.

"I've been practicing," he puffed up with obvious pride at the praise, adding excitedly, "finally mastered blending my own colors. You made it look deceptively easy."

"I knew you'd be phenomenal at it," she says warmly, turning back to the halfway completed sunset over the ocean, "and I was right. As usual, of course."

He snorted, rolling up beside her and stopping in front of the painting.

They forgot the world as they discussed the painting and techniques, him pointing at different areas where he'd struggled while she offered different solutions for next time.

Ezra simply watched in confusion from where he leaned against the doorframe. He had no idea his grandfather had taken up painting - never having shown a single artistic interest in the entirety of Ezra's life, as far as Ezra was aware.

"How have you been, Jackson," Blair finally asked softly, turning to the man to look at him meaningfully, "Really."

"Better," he said, his smile fading and his eyes going distant, "I... I still think about her every day. But I'm no longer rushing to meet her like I was back then. I'll see her again, when it's my time."

She nodded solemnly, placing her hand on his shoulder. The memories of their time together were bittersweet - heavy and dark, yet tinged with the light of their new friendship.

Her love and respect for Jackson was clear in the way she looked at him, in the way she held herself beside him.

She saw him as a grandfather, it was clear, just as his own reactions made it obvious that the feelings were mutual.

"I've missed you, you old coot," she says quietly, studying him affectionately, "and I'm glad you're well. I've worried."

"Silly," he said, feigning dismissiveness despite her words warming his heart, before admitting quietly, "and I've missed you too. I didn't get involved, like I promised... but after I sent you back, I had a hell of a time keeping my distance. I've been counting down the days until our date, just to know if you were alright."

The pieces clicked together for Ezra then, and his eyes went wide in understanding.

A little under three years ago his grandfather insisted he go away for a trip. 6 months, he had said. He didn't say where or why, and didn't tell anyone anything except that he needed some time for himself.

When he left he wasn't okay... depressed, pale, losing weight. Everyone was terrified he wasn't planning on coming back. When he returned nearly a year later, though, he was different. Lively. Focused. Like he had a new perspective.

He had the very room they were standing in redone, then, and locked it. Ever since he'd lived with a new fire that had nearly been extinguished after his wife had passed away.

Ezra's gaze flicked between the two and put together the pieces from Blair's own story.

The old man she'd met oversees when she'd escaped her mother. The very same one that helped her set up her new identity, and sent her home because she couldn't hide forever. The date Blair mentioned in a year with that same man.

Ezra's grandfather had clearly spent some, if not all, of that time away oversees - with Blair. He didn't understand the details, but it was clear they'd become quite close during that time they'd spent together.

It also meant that Jackson knew about Blair, her past, and her situation.

Reality sank in, then, that Jackson likely knew that Ezra and Blair weren't previous acquaintances, among other things - but he decided they would address that later, when Sofia wasn't around to cause problems.

"Looks like we're going to be painting together sooner than we planned," she said lightly, patting his shoulder and looking toward the half-completed sunset, "time to move on from landscapes soon, I think. Observational painting - make you paint what you see. Fruit, perhaps?"

"Ah, immediately resuming your torture of me, I see," he sighed in mock-weariness, "I suppose I could only avoid it for so long."

"You managed to dodge for two years," she scoffed, side-eyeing him playfully, "that's impressive, honestly. You're lucky I didn't hunt you down sooner."

"No time like the present?" he offered, nodding toward the supplies to the side and clearly not wanting to wait even a second longer than he had to.

She smiled at him with a nod, pulling her hair back easily. She tossed the jacket she was wearing aside, letting the pretense fall away completely as she tossed on a spare apron and started going through the paints and brushes available to her.

"Let's see what you've learned while you've been away," she agreed as she looked through jars, bottles, boxes, and cartons filled with various supplies, getting things prepared without delay.

Some were splattered in color, clearly heavily used in the past two years, while other supplies were completely untouched. It was clear Jackson had been experimenting, and Blair's pride was obvious as she sorted through things.

"Prepare to be impressed!" Jackson bragged, smirking at her as he rolled to the door and held Ezra's gaze for a long moment before slamming the door closed in his face.

Ezra scoffed in disbelief when he heard the door lock from the other side.

"Oooookay," Blaise breathed, his eyes as wide as saucers, "I'm going to need a drink... and someone to explain to me, exactly, what just happened."

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