Starting Over: rewrite

Party Likes It's a W Party

I love writing this book so enjoy another update.

Serena's POV

"Mr. Forrester is ready to see you." I nod as I enter Colin's office.

"Serena, welcome." Colin greets me.

"Hey, Colin. Sorry for coming here unannounced."

"It's no problem. My afternoon meeting was pushed back an hour. Would you like something to drink?"

"No, thank you. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something kind of important."

"Alright." Colin sits at his desk, and I sit across from him. "Is this about Ella or..."

"It's actually about your cousin Ben." Colin tenses at just the mention of Ben's name. "I don't know if you're aware that he got released on parole and..."

"Serena, this...I don't want to talk about this."

"He's innocent, if you were wondering. He was falsely accused, so he did nothing wrong, but he does need help getting back on his feet, so I thought since you're family, you could give him a job or something." I smile at him, but he's not smiling back. "Ben is a good man, and he deserves to have a good life." I defend someone who did so much for me.

"Does a good man coerce his sister into a revenge plot that causes her to put her reputation on the line and lead her to lose everything?" Colin questions me, and I give him a look.

"What Juliet did was on her. That wasn't Ben. He had no part in the..."

"Drugging you? If that's what we want to say, he's innocent of fine, but he did orchestrate the revenge against you for putting him in jail. Juliet had a bright future ahead of her, and he used her love for him to get her to do what he wanted."

"He didn't have anything. And...I don't want to get into this par..."

"How it was your mother who falsely accused Ben on your behalf?" I look at him in shock. "Ella finally came clean about everything."

"You know this, yet you're still unwilling to help Ben?" I ask in disbelief.

"I don't owe Ben anything."

"He's your cousin."

"Who I've never been close to. I did what I did for Juliet out of respect for my aunt Cynthia, but that respect ended once Ben tried to frame me for sleeping with the student as part of his revenge plot."

"That was Juliet who..."

"Who was instructed by Ben to do whatever it took to get you expelled from Columbia." Colin reminds me. "I acknowledge that Ben was innocent of rape, but he's not guilt-free."

"So you're just going to let him stay at a halfway house and...what struggle for a job?"

"If that's what he has to do then. Sure."

"Wow." I stand up, not believing what I hear. "You're family. You're supposed to be there for each other no matter what. And Ben needs you more than ever." I try one last time

"I have boundaries, Serena. Ben crossed mine, and I'm not letting him back in. And worse than that, he tried to hurt Ella, and that's not okay with me. Family or not, that's not someone I want in my life." Colin stands firm in his decision. I grab my things and show myself out. I quickly make another call, needing to do something to get Ben back on his feet.

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3rd Person's POV

The W party is in full swing when Chuck arrives, spotting Blair working the guest list. "Chuck Bass and no guest. You may enter." Blair tells him.