In the Forrester corridor, Pam continued to grill Othello about the changes he was referring to at Forrester. Ivy interrupted and asked where Maya was. Pam explained that Rick had called Maya into the meeting. Ivy decided that she couldn't contain the secret any longer, and she was telling Caroline.
Othello said it might be too late, and Pam asked what secret he and Ivy were talking about. Ivy revealed the kiss secret to Pam, and Pam swore herself to secrecy about it. Ivy wanted to tell Caroline, but Pam said to wait to see how the meeting played out. Ivy was upset at herself for not speaking up, but Pam reasoned that Rick had threatened Ivy's job.
In the CEO's office, everyone expressed outrage at Rick's declaration that he'd run the company with Maya. Eric said it hadn't been what he'd agreed to. As Caroline sobbed, Carter surmised that Rick had tricked Eric while secretly with Maya the whole time.
Eric insisted that the deal had been made under the "pretense" of Rick remaining with Caroline. Rick said he wasn't breaking any rules of the contract, which contained nothing about Caroline, and Caroline wasn't Rick's problem anymore. Eric demanded to know how Rick could play them all -- including his own father. Eric intended to have the deceitful act reversed. Rick said the document had already been signed and witnessed.
Eric couldn't believe Rick had betrayed everyone "for this." Rick said Eric had given him a year to prove himself as a CEO without interference from Ridge, and Rick and Maya would prove themselves with soaring profits. Maya added that Rick was the same son Eric had trusted with the business regardless of Rick's personal life. Eric apologized to Caroline and said he wouldn't have signed if he'd known.
Ridge accused Rick of being a spoiled, petulant brat. Rick quipped that Caroline could have the kids she wanted with Ridge and asked if she'd really thought she could get away with her betrayal. Caroline yelled that Rick had said he'd forgiven her. Rick retorted that she had said she'd be faithful. "I guess we both lied," he concluded.
Ridge suggested that Eric find a loophole in the agreement. Rick responded that the papers were clean-cut, and Ridge had better tread lightly under fear of termination. Eric told Rick that he wasn't going to fire anyone. Rick rasped that designers were a dime-a-dozen, and he could get them anywhere. He suggested that the designers think of that the next time they held hands by a sketchpad.
Rick suggested that Eric go on vacation while Rick ran the business. Rick asserted that he expected everyone to treat his new partner with respect. Eric understood Rick's pain, but Eric declared that no CEO or son of his behaved the way Rick had. Ridge accused Rick of using Caroline to get what Rick wanted. Caroline glared at Rick. "You made me choose," he said.
Maya claimed that she and Rick were committed to Forrester and each other. Rick asked Eric to teach and travel while Rick carried on Eric's good deeds and, as Eric's son, made Eric proud. Rick told Ridge and Caroline that they were free to work together and to give in to their feelings because what they did no longer affected him. "So go be free," he urged them.
Throughout the argument, Ridge and Eric were enraged, Carter was in disbelief, and Maya was complacent. Caroline and Rick seemed to be the only tearful and hurt people in the room.
Rick sadly but bitterly informed Caroline that he'd hired someone to pack her things, and he'd send them wherever she directed. He added that Maya was moving in. Caroline burst into a ball of anger and declared that it was enough. She ordered everyone out of the room so she could talk to Rick. She screamed at Maya to get out, but Maya didn't move until Carter called her to the door.
Once Rick and Caroline were alone, Caroline asked if it had all been a put-on. "Yeah, from the moment you turned to Ridge," Rick answered. She felt sick. He said he'd felt that way; he'd felt empty, betrayed, and as if his whole world had been taken from him. She figured that he'd wanted her to feel the same, but even if she deserved the feeling, "I do not deserve this!"
Caroline had never been more stunned or hurt in her life. She'd genuinely thought they'd been working on the marriage. She'd known that something hadn't been right, and she'd questioned herself as Rick had slept beside her night after night. She'd berated herself for hurting him so badly that he couldn't bear to touch her. She yelled that the truth had been that he'd been sneaking around with Maya. "Congratulations. You got me," Caroline hopelessly uttered.
Caroline was angry with Rick for lying to her and carrying on with Maya; however, she knew that he'd done it because of his pain and history with Ridge. Rick said it wasn't about Ridge. Rick declared that he wanted to be with Maya, and he wanted to be CEO with Maya. Caroline didn't think he believed that. He sank into the desk chair and said she could believe what she wanted.
Caroline hated making excuses for Rick. Balling her fists and gritting her teeth, she revealed that it was taking everything within her not to slap him; however, she was willing to swallow her pride for their marriage and the children that they might someday have. She still wanted everything they'd signed up for, and she knew he wanted it, too.
Caroline told Rick to look at her, but he wouldn't. "Look at me!" she screamed and banged her hand on the desk. With tears streaming down his cheeks, he faced her. She decided to give him one more chance. She said she was sorry for hurting him, but he'd hurt her more than anyone ever had.
Sobbing, Caroline yelled that she knew Rick didn't love Maya or want a life with Maya. Caroline said that she loved him, and he still loved her. She felt that they'd each made mistakes, but it wasn't too late to save the marriage. At the top of her lungs, she cried that he had to tell her that he was willing to try. She begged him to say that he was. Rick shed tears, but his mouth remained stubbornly shut.
At the sky lounge, Maya grinned and flashed back on her and Rick's relationship. Ivy arrived, and Maya announced that Ivy was too late -- Rick had told Caroline the truth about him and Maya. Maya said he'd done it right after securing control of Forrester. Ivy said she should have known that Rick and Maya were not only kissing behind Caroline's back but also scheming a takeover.
Maya liked to refer to it as actualizing a man's dreams. Ivy doubted Ridge and Eric would stand for it, but Maya said the contract was iron-clad. Ivy asked if Maya was just as sure of her and Rick. "Do I look like I have any doubt?" was Maya's placid response.
Ivy advised Maya to be concerned that she was a rebound. Ivy added that Rick had the power, but he couldn't feel good about his actions. Ivy said Maya shouldn't either, but Maya said not to worry about how she felt. Maya was looking forward to the world finally knowing that she, not Caroline, was the woman in Rick's life.
In Rick's old office, Carter pored over a copy of the contract, searching for a loophole, but the document contained no stipulation about the marriage. Ridge said Carter should have added it, but Carter noted that Chris, Rick's lawyer, had drawn it up.
Eric piped up that he hadn't taken the decision likely. He'd based it upon Rick's work and had thought the marriage was solid. Carter said that Eric had thought that Rick still loved Caroline. "He does love her. That's why he's doing this," Ridge interjected.
Eric urged Carter to find something, but there was nothing to find. Eric had voluntarily given up the control. Ridge dismally concluded that they had to listen to the power-hungry idiot for a year. "Anyone who wants to work here," Carter added. Eric decided that he wasn't leaving town. Ridge said Eric might as well, and there was nothing Eric could do. Carter reported that the move had been Maya's desire all along, and she'd been targeting Rick for months. Eric stated that Rick had known exactly what he'd been doing, Maya aside. Ridge conveyed that Maya was Rick's pawn, but she didn't know it yet.
At Forrester, Rick and Caroline emotionally discussed their marriage. Rick lamented that Caroline had turned to Ridge. Caroline argued that she had remained faithful to Rick. Rick regretted that everyone wanted marriage to last forever, but no one had actually made it work.
Caroline disagreed. She pointed to her mothers. She promised to make their marriage work because she knew how to do it. Rick insisted that he couldn't turn back the clock "and love you like I used to," he said tearfully.
Caroline countered that Rick had promised to love her till death, and she intended to hold him to it. Rick tearfully said that it was too late and too hard. "I don't care that it's too hard. Don't leave," Caroline commanded.
Rick asked Caroline to stop talking because she seemed clueless and knew so little about him. He recalled that Caroline had defended her actions with Ridge as just a few kisses, but the actual translation was that she had no idea how many kisses.
Rick continued that Caroline had justified that Ridge had been mentoring her and that he hadn't been able to draw. Rick was convinced that it had been a series of lies that had become public humiliation of Rick for everyone's entertainment.
Rick further insulted Caroline. He said that if she'd "hiked that skirt up for the mailman," he'd have been able to forgive her. Caroline shot back that Maya had engineered the public humiliation. Caroline added that she'd been sincere in her effort to help Ridge because he'd been injured.
Rick said that women who'd been involved with Ridge never forgot him. Rick warned that Ridge had broken hearts his entire life, and Rick had needed to dry too many tears since he'd been a kid -- all because of Ridge. Caroline insisted she and Ridge were over, but Rick maintained that women were never done with Ridge Forrester.
"Are we done here?" Rick asked. Caroline angrily advised Rick that she wasn't like any girl he'd ever known, and she wasn't the "standard issue wife." She shouted that he'd insulted her with his comments about hiking up her skirt for the mailman. She realized that she'd hurt him to his core, but she wanted a life with the man she loved. She knew him better than anyone else, and she knew that he was not happy.
Caroline didn't believe that he was proud of himself for what he'd done to the people he loved. "You made a fool of your father," she said, declaring, "You win. You proved you are the meanest, and you got us all."
Caroline maintained that Rick could change it all. She demanded that Rick undo what he'd done. He'd earned respect, and he'd been a leader at Forrester. "You can't just throw that away. I won't let you," she shouted. Rick sorrowfully shook his head.
On the rooftop at Forrester, Maya told Ivy that they should be friends. Ivy was surprised, but Maya suggested that Ivy had been "besties" with the boss's wife. Maya said she would soon be the boss's wife. Maya added that she'd almost felt sorry for Caroline. Ivy scoffed. Maya said she had things to take care of at home.
In Ridge's office at Forrester, Eric lamented that he'd made a huge mistake in signing the contract. Carter said that there was no way out of the contract. Ridge said there was -- because of fraud. Rick had fooled everyone with what he had done to Caroline. Carter said it wouldn't hold up in court, but Ridge insisted it was a family business, and Rick had misrepresented what he had planned.
Eric disagreed. He refused to appear before a judge and admit that he'd advised Rick to get back together with Caroline or lose his job. Eric lamented that he'd had no right, and it had been foolishness. "It was an invitation for Rick to lie to me," Eric said.
Ridge angrily said that Eric was making excuses, and Rick had scammed them. Ridge advised Eric not to say it was only for a year. Eric claimed he wasn't excusing Rick, but Ridge shook his head. Carter promised to file a petition to nullify the contract, and he left.
Ridge accused his father of creating a monster. "Rick would say the same about you," Eric shot back. Eric and Ridge engaged in a dramatic exchange that recycled a lifetime of past arguments. Ridge accused Eric of having a guilty conscience and giving Rick power because Eric had spent more time with Stephanie than with Brooke, Rick, and Bridget.
Ridge insisted that he and Eric had been rivals for Stephanie's attention, and Eric said that Ridge had always won that battle. Ridge reminded his father that Rick had stabbed him in the back. "As if you never did," Eric replied.
Eric asked if they wanted to resurrect that tired argument. Ridge shook his head. Eric noted that Ridge and Rick had never gotten along. Eric pointed out that Ridge had flirted with Caroline for all the wrong reasons. He hadn't liked being impaired, and he hadn't liked that he'd needed her help, so "he exerted power over her, and it worked a little too well," Eric said.
At Eric's, Ivy prepared to enter the house, but she flashed back to Rick's threats that she would lose her job if she opened her mouth about Maya and Rick. Ivy flashed back to Maya's warning that Maya and Rick had history long before Caroline had been in the picture. Ivy opened the door, and the foyer was filled with boxes.
Maya directed movers to place furnishings in Rick's study and the master bedroom. Ivy was shocked that Maya was not only moving in but kicking Eric out of his bedroom. Ivy asked if Maya had even asked for Eric's permission. Maya replied that she had Eric Forrester Junior's permission. Ivy was surprised.
Ivy told Maya that she and Aly didn't want to live with Maya and Rick. Maya reminded Ivy that it was a big house. Ivy promised to find solutions. "Aly and I are Forresters, and you're still a wannabe," Ivy fired back.
Movers carried Caroline's clothes from the guest house into the main house, but Maya told them to remove them. Maya insisted that she wanted to be Ivy's friend. "And I usually get what I want," Maya said.
At Forrester, Rick and Caroline continued to discuss their marriage. "Why did it have to be Ridge?" Rick shouted. Caroline insisted that they could go away and put it all behind them, but Rick said he had a company to run. "I'm trying save a marriage," Caroline countered.
Rick professed that he had loved Caroline so much that he had regretted his deception. "I loved you that much," he said. He had wanted to reach out to her. He'd thought of how their future would include kids, getaways, and more. They would have run the company together. "That was my plan -- our plan. I knew that you shared that with me," he said.
Rick lamented that the one thing he'd needed most from her was loyalty. "You broke that pact. You broke it," he said. Caroline countered that Maya had made it all seem worse than it was. Caroline demanded to know if Rick loved Maya. Rick was silent. "You don't," Caroline said. She reminded Rick that Maya was just a rebound who had targeted him from the start.
Caroline begged Rick not to destroy their marriage. "You wanted to have children," she said. Rick admitted that he'd wanted a family with Caroline, and he seemed to soften for a moment, but he said he could never forget. "It is over," he said and he removed his wedding ring.
"Our marriage is over, Caroline. I can never trust you again. Goodbye, Caroline," Rick said. Caroline picked up his ring and left. Caroline stood outside the office. "It's not over," she said, and she clutched Rick's ring.
In Ridge's office, Eric lamented that he should never have given Rick an ultimatum about Caroline. Ridge discouraged Eric from making excuses for Rick. Ridge said Rick had been thinking like an angry little boy. "And now he has control over every single one of us." Ridge said.
Eric doubted that Rick would remain with Maya, but Ridge advised Eric not to underestimate Maya because Maya was the only person Rick felt he could trust. Eric acknowledged that Maya had been a help to Rick, but Eric had been convinced that Rick still loved Caroline. Eric believed in Rick and Caroline.
Eric lamented that he had planned a trip with John and had to leave. Ridge encouraged his father to enjoy his trip. Ridge promised that he would find a way to get along with Rick.
Caroline had returned to her office. Ridge entered and asked if Caroline had spoken to Rick. She explained that Rick had ended things. Ridge worried that it was his fault. Ridge said that Rick had behaved like a child. Caroline said he'd been hurt.
Ridge believed Rick would get over Maya, but Caroline disagreed. She said that she'd felt she had gotten through to him at one point, but he refused to forgive her. Ridge said she was impossible to forget. Caroline thanked Ridge.
Ridge said he was going to spend some time in Paris to escape the drama, but Caroline said she needed him to draw. Ridge said he needed her, but they could communicate over the "Interweb." He teased that he couldn't hold a pencil without her, and she laughed.
Ridge said he loved her laughter, and part of him wanted Caroline to leave Rick and join him to start something somewhere else. But he knew that her commitment to her husband was extraordinary.
Caroline said that Ridge was every woman's unattainable dream, so handsome. She sighed. Ridge was sure Rick would return to her. Caroline lamented that it might happen someday, but not soon.
In his office, Rick paced, and Eric entered. Eric angrily told Rick that he'd scammed everyone. "You never would have signed it if I hadn't done it this way," Rick said.
Eric laid into Rick." I'm sorry. I'll make you proud," Rick stammered. Eric told Rick that he doubted that Rick would remain with Maya. Rick said that she was the only one he'd trusted. Rick said he had not been using her. Eric was unhappy.
At the Forrester mansion, Ivy watched Maya move boxes, but Maya stopped to take in the splendor of her new home. Ivy suggested that Maya should wait until Rick showed up before she moved more boxes, but Maya told Ivy she and Rick would be living her dream. "Everyone can be a part of it," she said.
Ivy wanted to wait for Rick to get home. Maya said that she and Rick had been waiting for their moment for a long time and had been stealing moments away in an apartment. Ivy agreed that they had been living a lie to hurt Caroline. Ivy said she would go to her room, but Maya stopped her.
"Ivy, you and Aly won't be staying here tonight," Maya said. Maya explained that it was the first night she and Rick would spend in the main house. They wanted their privacy.
Ivy couldn't believe she was being kicked out, but Maya promised to make hotel arrangements for the night. Ivy argued that Maya had moved too fast, but Maya disagreed. "Rick loves me," Maya said. She added that no one had ever loved her like Rick had. Maya said she had to change her clothes and wait for Rick so she could make him forget all about Caroline. "He loves me, Ivy. I know he does," Maya said.
Later, Rick entered and called out to Maya. He looked up at the portrait of Stephanie. "Well there she is -- Ridge's greatest champion ... if you could only see us now," Rick said. Maya welcomed Rick home, and he poured some martinis. Maya balked at the strong flavor, but she promised to get used to it. "I'm starting to feel at home," Maya said.
Maya wondered if Caroline had tried to talk him out of everything, and he said she had. He promised that he and Maya would run Forrester together. They hugged. Maya said it felt more like home. Rick noted that he had a present for Maya -- a new portrait of her had replaced the portrait of Stephanie. Maya was shocked.
Rick said Maya had earned it, but Maya maintained that she was a guest in the house and not an institution like Stephanie had been. Maya asked Rick to take it down until she felt she had earned it. "It just doesn't feel right," Maya said.
Rick credited Maya for his success. "This is our home. Good things happen to good people," Rick said. He added that they had worked hard for their dream, and it was time to enjoy it. Rick and Maya kissed, and the portrait of Stephanie sat nearby on the ground.
At the mansion, Rick awakened to Maya gazing at him. Maya couldn't believe their life together had started and said no one could call her a husband stealer or gold-digger. Rick promised that those names were behind her, and she was under his protection. Maya said the lifestyle was a dream, but she was there because she was completely in love with him.
Helping Rick get dressed, Maya wondered how long they'd have in the house. Rick figured the remodeling of the guesthouse would take a while, and his father would be gone a couple of months. He wanted her to be comfortable as the lady of house. Maya was excited that Rick was CEO and that they were in the mansion and running the company together. She wondered how it could ever get better.
Downstairs, Pam charged in with Ivy and Aly behind her. Pam asked if two Forresters had really stayed at a hotel the previous night because of Maya. Ivy cynically replied that Maya had moved herself in and was with a Forrester man "now." Ivy and Aly gasped, looking at the wall behind Pam.
"What the -- where is my sister?" Pam exclaimed upon seeing Maya's portrait in Stephanie's place of honor on the wall. Rick descended the stairs, and Pam asked if he'd seen "this." Rick admired the portrait and the twinkle in Maya's painted eye. Pam asked if that meant he'd known that the picture was on the wall, and he replied that he'd put it there. Pam asked how he'd dare disrespect his sister.
Rick claimed not to be doing such. "This is about me. It's about me running the company and running the family," he said. Pam asked if Eric had signed off on Rick sleeping in Eric's bed with a mistress or replacing Stephanie's portrait with Maya's. Rick declared that he wasn't his father, and while Rick was the man of the house, it would reflect him.
Rick said he didn't need anyone's permission to move in or do whatever he wanted because it was his family home. Pam retorted that Rick could sleep with Maya in every room of the house, but it wouldn't make his fling last. "Which is what makes that all the more upsetting!" Pam yelled, pointing at the picture. "You replace my sister's portrait with a home wrecker?"
Rick roared that Stephanie had played favorites with Ridge, who'd destroyed Rick's marriage. Rick didn't want Stephanie's portrait reminding him of it. He declared that upon Eric's return, Stephanie could go back on the wall, but until then, Maya stayed -- end of discussion.
Rick stormed off, and by the time he returned with coffee, the ladies had gone. Maya entered and said she'd heard voices. He indicated that the ladies had been there, and Maya guessed that they'd been upset by the portrait. Rick explained that Ivy and Aly weren't upset, but Pam was.
Maya didn't blame Pam, who probably thought Maya was trying to be Stephanie or erase her. Maya didn't want the picture to cause trouble for his family. Rick said he and Maya could do what they wanted under their own roof. He liked the picture and didn't "give a damn" who disapproved.
At Forrester, Aly and Ivy discussed the portrait incident earlier. They were shocked by it, and Aly said Rick had been very cold. Aly believed that he was really changing. She didn't know how he could trick Caroline and Eric, and in Aly's opinion, moving Maya into the house and into her grandpa's bed had been "eww!" Ivy stated that Rick was doing it to get back at Caroline.
Ivy theorized that people who mattered the most could hurt a person the most, and Caroline had injured Rick deeply by her fascination with Ridge. Ivy believed that if Rick didn't care about Caroline, he could move on with his new life and new lady, but everything Rick was doing was calibrated to get a rise out of Caroline -- even down to the "shrine on the wall."
Ivy asked Aly to imagine how Caroline would react to the picture. Aly figured that Ivy was saying that Rick and Caroline weren't done. Ivy replied that she wouldn't bet against them.
At the cliff house, Caroline was curled up on the sofa, staring into space. Liam skirted past, moving boxes, to hand her a cup of coffee. She apologized for landing on him, but he appreciated the company. Caroline couldn't believe she'd been kicked out of her own house.
Liam didn't know what had gotten into Rick, but Caroline did. Caroline said it was the husband-stealing Maya. Caroline asked if she was foolish to not give up on her marriage. Liam said he was the last person to judge holding on past the expiration date, but Maya was the interloper. Caroline noted that underestimating Maya the first go-round had been a mistake Caroline wouldn't make again.
Liam admitted that Maya had fooled him, and she'd seemed innocent. Caroline replied that Maya had always been clocking everything until she'd zeroed in on what she'd wanted. "Rick," Liam guessed. Caroline corrected that it wasn't just Rick, but the accouterments that accompanied Rick. She declared that Maya was a social climber. "But not on my husband's back," Caroline decided.
Liam wanted to understand what it was between Caroline and Ridge that had railroaded her marriage. Caroline wasn't sure how to explain it. Smiling, she said that Ridge was a powerful man intellectually, creatively, and physically. She hadn't thought she'd be vulnerable because she'd been happy in her marriage. Liam asked what had happened. Caroline stated that it had been chemistry.
Caroline had felt it when Ridge had first touched her hand. She'd tried to convince herself that it had been the excitement of the collaboration, and being Ridge's drawing instrument had been breathtaking. Liam thought that maybe it had been the fan within her experiencing idol worship. She'd thought of that idea, but it had only been that up to a point. She wished she'd stopped it before it had gone too far and said she'd questioned herself about why she hadn't.
Liam asked for the answer to the question. Caroline candidly replied, "I didn't want to." She stated that she'd been all in, and she'd wanted to know what it felt like to kiss Ridge and be in his arms. Her marriage had been the last thing on her mind. Liam understood what it was like to not stop even though the action jeopardized the most important thing in a person's life.
Caroline claimed that it was behind her, and she was focused on getting her marriage back. Liam said there was something Caroline needed to know, and he and Ivy had debated about telling Caroline. He explained that Ivy had seen Rick and Maya kissing in an apartment building, and Ivy had confronted Rick, who'd claimed that it had been a farewell kiss. Caroline's jaws clenched in silent anger.
Liam admired Caroline's desire to heal her marriage, but he said he'd learned the hard way that "you need to start standing up for you, your pride, your dignity -- and that might mean letting go." Liam said that it took two to save a marriage.
Caroline wasn't ready to accept defeat yet. She believed that Rick still loved her, and the feelings they had couldn't disappear overnight. Liam contended that a relationship could break down that quickly due to distrust, and though she wanted to save it, she had to know when to call it quits. Caroline said it was great advice, but she couldn't take it yet.
Caroline called Rick to talk. Rick told her that nothing had changed. She asked when he'd be at the office. Looking at the portrait, Rick asked Caroline to meet him at the mansion.
After the call, Caroline told Liam what Rick had asked her to do. Liam asked if Maya was at the house. Caroline said she wouldn't be surprised if Maya had glued herself to the wall, but it didn't matter because, once Caroline got her husband back, she wouldn't let him go.
Back at the mansion, Maya told Rick that she wouldn't be offended if he wanted to remove the picture. Rick reminded her that there was no more hiding, and the world would have to deal with it. He asked her to get ready for their big day ahead. She called it their first day as "the ruling class" and flounced off to get dressed. Rick looked at the portrait then cut his gaze away.
Caroline arrived to talk, and on the threshold, she asked Rick if Maya was there. When he said Maya was upstairs, Caroline offered to talk outside. Rick stated that, unless it was a drawn-out conversation, Caroline wouldn't encounter Maya.
Caroline agreed to enter the house, and Rick offered her some water. She faced the front door as he wished her well, just not with him. She urged him to help her get beyond the hurt for the sake of their vows. He asked if she'd thought about the vows while kissing Ridge. She promised not to make a mistake like that again. As she groveled for another chance, Rick entered the living room. She turned to follow him. Upon seeing the portrait, she shrieked, and her drinking glass shattered on the floor.
At the mansion, Maya looked through the bedroom window and saw Caroline's car in the driveway below. The glowering Maya flashed back to times that Caroline had been catty to her.
Othello called to check on how Maya was doing. Maya asked him to guess what Rick had done with Stephanie's portrait. Othello hoped Rick had taken the scary, eye-moving thing down. Maya said Rick had done more than that; he'd replaced it with picture of Maya.
Maya felt like she was living a dream she didn't deserve. Othello insisted that she did deserve it. He felt that Rick had made bad choices in women, but he'd found one who'd be committed and honest. He advised her to support Rick and enjoy it.
Downstairs, Caroline gasped at the portrait and asked Rick what he was doing. Rick taunted that he guessed he was about to get a broom so Maya wouldn't cut her tiny feet on the glass Caroline had dropped. Caroline asked how he could let Maya put the picture up there, and Rick haughtily revealed that he'd put it there as a housewarming gift.
Caroline deduced that Rick had invited her there so she could see the portrait. Rick claimed that Stephanie had always favored her Marone bastard Ridge, and Rick refused to live under the stare of her disapproving eyes. Rick liked Maya's photo; it reminded him that honest people still existed.
Caroline quipped that Maya would have lied to get into Rick's bed. Caroline asked Rick not to do what he was doing, and she asserted that he didn't love Maya. Rick stated that Caroline liked to believe that he was lashing out, but the truth was that she was suffering the consequences of her betrayal. She declared that he wanted her to suffer.
"You act like I care about your feelings. I don't," Rick replied. Caroline congratulated him on getting to her once again, that time through the photo. She told him that carrying on with Maya wasn't going to heal his pain. Rick yelled that Caroline had betrayed him, and she yelled back that "now" he'd hurt her. She reasoned that they were married, and it didn't have to be the end of them. All he had to do was break up with Maya, take that thing down, and return home.
Rick wordlessly strode out of the house, and Maya sauntered down the stairs, asking to what she owed the pleasure of Caroline's visit. Seeing glass on the floor, Maya asked if something had broken. Caroline said she'd been startled and glanced at the picture. Maya admitted that its presence had surprised her, too. She'd never expected to see herself displayed in a mansion in Beverly Hills.
Caroline scoffed, saying that if Maya had been so shy about it, she could have asked Rick to remove it. Maya replied that she'd done so. Caroline asked about Rick's reputation and what people would think. Maya asked who cared. Caroline noted that the married Rick had placed a giant picture of his mistress in the family home, replacing Stephanie Forrester.
Maya said no one was replacing Stephanie, and Rick was merely adding his touch to the home. Caroline asked if Maya was too blind to see what was going on. Caroline asserted that Rick had refused to see her unless it was at the house because he'd wanted her to see the picture. Maya didn't see where Caroline was going with her musings.
Caroline declared that it verified that Rick's carrying on with Maya was all for effect. Caroline believed that Rick wanted to hurt her to get through his pain. She warned that once Rick had exhausted his anger, he'd have no use for Maya. "And then what are you going to do?" Caroline asked.
Maya agreed that Rick was angry with Caroline, who'd lied to him and fooled around with a man he'd never trusted. Maya didn't think it was unreasonable that Rick wanted to hurt Caroline and added that the picture could be part of the hurt. Maya claimed not to worry about the end of Rick's vengefulness toward Caroline because Maya knew how to meet his needs.
Maya said Rick needed honesty, support, and loyalty. "You failed in that department, and I am more than making up for it," Maya concluded. She laughed at the idea that the picture shamed Rick or ruined his reputation. In her view, Rick had proved himself and earned the right to put up a picture of the one woman who'd given him the respect he deserved. Maya claimed she appreciated him and his hard work. She asked if Caroline had appreciated Rick between her selfie sessions and kisses with Ridge.
Maya stated that Caroline wanted the picture to be about proving something to her, but she believed if it proved anything, it was that Maya was on track to being the next leader of the family. Shedding a tear, Caroline bellowed that the picture proved that Rick was desperate to push his feelings for her away, and the picture didn't make Maya the leader of the family.
Maya claimed that her actions and her devotions would make her so, and they'd make her a wife Rick could count upon. "A wife?" Caroline exclaimed. Maya declared that she'd be Rick's perfect partner and succeed where Caroline had failed. "Hear me and believe me, Caroline. I will be the next Forrester matriarch," Maya proclaimed.
At Forrester, Liam arrived with lattes for himself and Ivy. Ivy discussed being busy at work because Wyatt was in Italy. Liam wondered how the trip was going. Ivy said Wyatt had been checking in at work but that she didn't know anything about "the Hope situation." Liam hoped the couple was okay, and he noticed that Ivy was preoccupied. Ivy replied that Liam wouldn't believe what Rick had done.
Ivy revealed that Rick had replaced Stephanie's portrait with one of Maya. Ivy felt that Rick was just using Maya, and all Maya cared about was getting Rick's last name. Liam wasn't so sure. He said that Rick and Maya had been sweet together when they'd first met, and even though the pair had been devious, there was more to the relationship than Ivy or Caroline realized.
Rick entered to tell Ivy that he had to postpone a meeting they had scheduled. He asked Liam how Caroline was settling in at Liam's, and Liam replied that Caroline was doing fine. Rick offered to send more of her things to Liam's house.
Rick acknowledged that the picture replacing Stephanie's had probably thrown Ivy for a loop, but he asked if Ivy could help them all get along at the house. Ivy scoffed at the suggestion and stated that tossing Aly and her out the first night hadn't been a good start. Rick dismissed it as being just one night. Ivy replied that each thing Rick had done with respect to Maya said something to Ivy. He believed it said people needed to respect him and Maya. Ivy replied that it told her that he still wanted to be with Caroline.
Rick didn't know why he'd want someone who'd betrayed him. Liam said feelings didn't disappear overnight. Rick conveyed that his feelings had evolved into hate, anger, and disappointment. Liam said he knew the pain of a relationship ending, and Rick's hadn't ended. Liam relayed that Caroline loved Rick and was trying to make the marriage work.
Liam acknowledged that kissing Ridge had been wrong but said Caroline regretted it. Liam stated that she even seemed to be willing to forgive a lot worse from Rick. Rick didn't know why he'd spend his life with a woman who was so clueless to his needs that she'd turn to "that man."
Rick preferred the honest Maya, who supported his needs. Rick never had to question her loyalty. Maya believed in him, and she was what he needed after what he'd been through with Caroline.
