Monday, October 13, 2008, Episode #5417

Taylor scoffs at the notion that she is still in love with Ridge.

At the Bel Air mansion, Brooke asks Taylor if she'd rather be with Ridge or with Rick. Taylor scoffs at the notion that she is still in love with Ridge, asserting that she only told Brooke to "give me back my husband" because Brooke baited her. Brooke thinks Taylor's words revealed hidden feelings that Taylor may not have even realized were there, but Taylor claims she had Ridge on her mind since she talked to Steffy about Ridge earlier and insists that she is not pining away for Ridge. She accuses Brooke of again trying to come between her and the man in her life and vows not to let Brooke do it again. Brooke tells Taylor that she should not marry anybody if she still has feelings for her ex. Taylor laughs at that comment, amused by Brooke's pathological need to make her unhappy. She recalls how Brooke tore her marriage apart by using R.J. after Taylor "came back" from the dead. Brooke states that she was just fighting for her family, but Taylor counters that her family and her marriage to Ridge, the love of her life, were destroyed by Brooke. Brooke finds it interesting that Taylor calls Ridge, not Rick, the love of her life and accuses Taylor of trying to replace Ridge with Rick. Taylor points out that Rick is the one man Brooke can't seduce, leading Brooke to accuse Taylor of pursuing Rick for revenge on her. Fed up, Taylor tells Brooke that she just wants to be happy with a man who loves her and only her and orders Brooke to leave. Brooke tells Taylor that they both know Taylor is still in love with Ridge and urges Taylor to think long and hard about that before marrying Rick.

Eric tells Stephanie that she was right about Donna.

At the Forrester mansion, Stephanie consoles Eric, who is still hurting over the fact that his marriage to Donna is over. He tells Stephanie that she was right about Donna. Stephanie tells him that he gave his relationship with Donna his best. She admits that his doing that hurt her, but it didn't surprise her, since that's just the kind of man he is. That's why she never gave up on him and kept believing that some day, his heart would lead him back to her - although she has to admit that it hasn't. "Yet," Eric qualifies.

Stephanie tells Eric that whatever happens is up to him.

Stephanie tells Eric that whether it happens is up to him. Eric laughs as he asks when she ever left anything up to him. Stephanie chuckles that he always says that. She reminds him that he's alive and is here with the family, and that's all she needs for now. Eric thanks her for understanding. Stephanie asks if he'd like some time alone and he says he would.

Owen is shocked that Donna ended her marriage.

Donna drops by Ashley's house, which Owen is subletting while Ashley is in Paris working at Forrester International. Owen sees that she seems upset about something, so she tells him that it's over for her and Eric. Owen assumes that Eric ended the marriage, but Donna explains that she ended it. Feeling uncomfortable, Donna says that she shouldn't be here and turns to leave, but Owen asks her to wait and open up to him. Donna cries that she can't, but she sees that she has no one else to turn to. Owen tells her that she can count on him and tells her to relax and breathe. Donna does. Owen then tells her to explain what happened with Eric, so she tells him about the visit she had from Pam, who is responsible for all the bad things that happened to Donna's family lately. Owen wants to call the police, but Donna tells him that Pam threatened to keep hurting her loved ones unless she broke up with Eric.

Donna tells Owen how she broke things off with Eric.

Owen asks what she told Eric to convince him, since she had been so gung-ho about trying to win Eric back. "I told him I broke it off because of you," Donna sighs. Owen offers to call Marcus for her, but Donna doesn't want to be around her family, as she fears that they'll figure out that something's wrong. Owen then invites her to stay there with him, especially since that will back up the story she told Eric. He bets Pam is still watching her, so he thinks her staying there will convince Pam that she really has ended her marriage. Donna agrees and accepts his offer for her family's sake. Owen assures her that he's there for her through this and gives her a big hug.

Steffy feels guilty about voicing concerns about her mom.

At Forrester, Steffy sighs at how upset she is getting about her parents being apart and asks her dad if he thinks it's dumb. Ridge says he doesn't think it is. Steffy adds that she feels guilty bringing these things up to Taylor so close to the wedding, but she feels like it might be too late if she holds her tongue and fails to say something now. She knows she agreed to be Taylor's maid of honor, but she thinks she'll be hurting inside if she has to stand up for her mom with a big fat smile on her face. Ridge tells his daughter that her mother just doesn't have those feelings for him anymore. Steffy apologizes for laying this on him, but Ridge tells her that she can always come to him when she has something on her mind. Even though they're not living under the same roof, he wants her to know that the two of them, her siblings and her mom are still family, and he assures her that they'll always love each other.

Brooke tells Ridge about her talk with Taylor.

After Steffy leaves, Ridge walks around the office reflecting on the conversation they just had. Brooke comes in and is glad she found him, since there's something upsetting she has to tell him. Ridge asks what's wrong, so she tells him about her conversation with Taylor. She explains how she went over to reason with Taylor about how wrong it is to marry Rick. Ridge asks her to consider that Rick and Taylor might actually be right for each other, but Brooke tells him that Taylor doesn't love Rick the way he deserves to be loved. Ridge reminds her that she's been saying that all along, but Brooke says that she now knows that Rick is just a band-aid on an old wound for Taylor and is actually Taylor's second choice for the man she wants in her life. "Second to whom?" Ridge asks. "To you," responds Brooke, telling Ridge that Taylor is still madly in love with him. When she tells him that Taylor called him the love of her life, Ridge thinks those are just words, but Brooke thinks there is more to it than that. She adds that the conversation started with Taylor blurting out, "give me back my husband," and that's what led her to find that Taylor was not fully in love with Rick. She begs Ridge to talk to Taylor, since she thinks he might be the only person Taylor might listen to. Ridge agrees to go and pulls Brooke into an embrace.