Rick insisted he's not manipulating Steffy; he loves her. Stephanie was not convinced and asked Rick to stay away from Ridge's daughter. He couldn't promise to keep his distance from Steffy. "How do you sleep at night?" asked Steph of Rick's complicity in Phoebe's accident. "I don't sleep at night!" he cried, insisting the guilt still plagues him. "How does anybody end something so beautiful, so pure?" he mused of his relationship with Steffy. Stephanie pointed out how Taylor and Ridge would react to Rick's forbidden love affair. "Let Steffy go," she urged. She explained to Rick that his love is "destructive," and that he'd be forcing Steffy to choose between her and her family. Rick countered by explaining again that he hadn't meant to hurt anyone. Nonetheless, Ridge would be "so consumed with anger," Steph warned, pointing out Steffy wouldn't be happy or at peace with her father miserable. Rick kept insisting his love was "right and real." Stephanie breathed a heavy sigh, remembering how she'd loved Rick as a child: "You were the sweetest boy...where did that boy go?" She asked him not to turn him and Steffy into a "tragic little love story," and asked again, "Let her go."

Back at Forrester, Ridge swore to Steffy he'd never forgive Rick for what he'd done. "Some wounds are just too deep," he said, as Steffy comforted him. Brooke directed Ridge away to handle some Forrester business and then commiserated with Steffy over Ridge's mental state. Steffy gazed at a photo of her and her sister, and Brooke praised her for supporting Rick in the wake of losing her twin. Steffy insisted she and Phoebe both understood what Rick had done and neither blamed him. Ridge came back in the middle of Steffy's love fest and reiterated his Zero Tolerance policy on Rick. "I wish I could turn back the clock," he sighed, wistful for better times with his daughters. "I'm always going to be your little girl," promised Steffy, before leaving. Brooke marveled at Steffy's strength and then she and Ridge kissed. Alone, a tearful Steffy pondered a way to be with Rick.