Eric isn't surprised at the object of Stephanie's wrath.

Stephanie arrives home and finds Eric there. He tells her that he came by to see Felicia and stopped up for a soda. He hopes she doesn't mind. He notices she's not in the best of moods and asks what's wrong. Ridge and Taylor! she replies in frustration. Eric asks if Taylor is still upset about Ridge missing New Year's Eve. As usual, Stephanie says, he's ten steps behind. Then what's the problem? he asks. Brooke! Stephanie spits. And what else is new? Eric sarcastically asks. Stephanie rants that Ridge and Taylor's marriage is in trouble, and Brooke already smells the blood in the water. That's why she is frightened for Ridge. Eric shakes his head in disbelief.

Stephanie considers Eric's advice.

Stephanie tells Eric that Brooke has been responsible for all the family's problems. But she, Eric points out, and not Brooke, is the one on the war path. Stephanie says that he and Ridge have never seen the true Brooke. She insists that Brooke is scheming to destroy Ridge and Taylor's wonderful marriage, which is why she has to stop Brooke now! Eric thinks it's sad that she thinks her manipulations have held the family together when they've actually only made matters worse. It's her lies that put Ridge in this position, Eric advises, which is why he thinks she should stay out of Ridge's life. He thinks they should let Ridge make his own choices, since that's what a good parent would do. Stephanie considers Eric's words.

Nick admires Brooke's concern for Taylor's kids.

On The Shady Marlin, Brooke keeps trying without success to reach Ridge before he ends his marriage to Taylor. Ridge could be doing that right now, Nick guesses. Brooke wonders how Taylor could justify keeping her affair with James a secret. Nick reminds her how Taylor passed judgement on her, but Brooke is more concerned about how Thomas and the twins will react to losing their family, just after they got their mother back. While she doesn't know if Ridge and Taylor should be together, she knows those kids need stability, and she doesn't know how Ridge could look at his kids and tell them that his choice is right for them. Nick thinks it's admirable that she cares so much for Taylor's kids. She replies that the kids have been through so much, so she doesn't want to make any waves in their lives. That's why she has to find Ridge and convince him that getting back with her is not an option. Going on deck, she tries to call Ridge again but only gets voice mail, so she leaves him a message not to do anything until they talk. Nick suggests that the signal in the mountains might be bad, so Brooke thinks she should go up to the cabin. At first, Nick thinks that's a bad idea, but Brooke insists that she has to do this to save Taylor's marriage. In that case, Nick says, she should be careful -- driving. Brooke tells Nick that even though he is married to Bridget, she'll never forget or regret their time together. They hug and she's on her way.

At the cabin, Ridge comes up behind a somber Taylor, who is looking at a photo of them. He puts his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. Ridge looks outside, because the kids will be there soon. Taylor asks how she;s supposed to explain to the kids that her marriage is over when she doesn't understand it herself. Ridge says they'll just have to be honest. Then she'll have to tell them that she doesn't want the marriage to end, Taylor responds. She wishes there was another way, but she has to admit that she felt all along that she just couldn't pick up where they left off, like nothing had changed while she was gone. She wanted so badly while she was gone to get back to her family, but once she returned, she saw how deeps Ridge's feelings for Brooke were. She probably should have accepted his relationship with Brooke and moved on, but she couldn't. Ridge says that his love for her hasn't changed, but he just can't accept the hypocrisy of how she and his mother treated Brooke. Taylor looks away from Ridge, who says they still have to find a way to be united for their kids' sakes. Taylor asks if he wants her to tell their kids that she's accepted the destruction of their marriage; yes, Ridge replies. He thinks it will be hard enough for them to accept this without their watching their parents fight, which is why they have to assure the kids that they are still a family. It just won't be in the way that they'd hoped.

The twins are confused about why their parents called them.

Thomas and the twins arrive, confused about why their parents called them up here to the cabin. Ridge says that he wanted them all together to talk about something important. Above all, he wants them to remember that he and Taylor love them and always will. Thomas says that Ridge only says things like that when something's wrong, so he asks what it it. Ridge tells Thomas and the girls that they've always been so sensitive, so they must sense that things haven't been right for him and their mother for some time. Phoebe says that they understand that he had to be away on business for the holidays. It's not like it was a big crisis, Steffy chimes in. Thomas asks his dad if this has anything to do with Brooke. Ridge replies that when Taylor came back, they were all ecstatic to have their family reunited. But he had another family with Brooke, RJ and Hope, one that Thomas and the girls were a part of. He still loved Taylor, but he also shared a life with Brooke, a life that was thrown away like it didn't matter. Now he sees that it did matter, and he needs to go back to that life. He tells the kids that he and Taylor love each other and always will, but their marriage is over.

Thomas asks his dad how he could break up with his mom.

The twins ask Taylor to tell Ridge that he's wrong, while Thomas asks his dad how he could do this to Taylor, after she fought so hard to get back to them. Taylor tells Thomas that she came back home, expecting everything to go back to the way it was. She had an image of their family frozen in her mind, but the reality was that they had moved on. She has to admit that she would have wanted that if she really left forever, so she can't fault Ridge for moving on with Brooke. Then Brooke had RJ, who is now without a father, all because she [Taylor] didn't think about the ramifications of her return after so long. She wanted to pretend that things could go back to the way they were, but that's not how life works. That's why, even though she and Ridge will always love them and each other, they just won't be married anymore. Phoebe says she doesn't understand. Taylor says that there will be plenty of questions once they get home, so she sends the kids on the way. As they leave, Thomas tells Ridge that he can't agree with what Ridge is doing, but he can still understand that his dad sometimes has to make decisions that will hurt the people he loves. He has to admit that having his dad only half-heartedly in the game wasn't good for his mom, so he hopes that this decision will be better for both of them. The kids say their goodbyes and head home.

Ridge and Taylor discuss his decision.

Ridge thinks the kids took that well, but Taylor thinks it could be years before they see the effects of what they just did. The kids should understand, Ridge says, since they lived with Brooke. What they understand, Taylor says, is that Brooke never let go of him and caused all the turmoil in their family! She claims that Brooke always held RJ over Ridge's head and was willing to blackmail her about Hector. Brooke didn't make her keep her affair with James a secret, Ridge reminds her. Even if she has to accept her marriage being over, Taylor says, she will never change her opinion about Brooke. She says that she needs some time alone, so she gives Ridge his dry cleaning ticket and sends him on his way. As Ridge turns to leave, he stops and turns to embrace Taylor, who recalls how wonderful their marriage was. She should never have put her ring back on, she says, taking off her wedding band. Ridge touches her cheek and then leaves, leaving her alone, in tears in the cabin.