At the mansion, Steffy, Liam, and Wyatt chatted on the sofa while Ivy cleaned up after the party. As Ivy carted off a tray, Steffy asked if Rick had fired all the help. Aly descended the stairs in time to see Steffy feeding Liam a cupcake. Darla's dark-haired spirit appeared and said Steffy had to be stopped.
Aly sat on the stairs, staring at Steffy's modeling pictures. Steffy noticed that Eric had already taken off for the airport without saying goodbye. Aly said that Steffy should be the one saying goodbye and that they had been happy without her. Steffy claimed she hadn't heard it that way.
Aly said that Rick might have made her serve him ice cream in bed once, but Steffy loved showing off her body every chance she got. Steffy noted that people dressed in bikinis when by the pool. Aly griped about Steffy putting her hands all over a man in public, but Steffy replied that the mansion wasn't public. Liam told Aly that she'd said enough.
Aly called Liam a disappointment. To her, he'd been better with Hope, and he was better with Ivy. The two women had drawn good out of Liam, but it was obvious to Aly what Steffy drew out of him. Not wanting harsh words between himself and Aly, Liam decided to leave with Steffy. Grinning, Steffy said she had a surprise for him, and Aly grumbled that she didn't want to know about it.
As Steffy dragged Liam out of the house, Ivey asked if he was leaving. "Apparently," he said but offered to call her later on. To Wyatt, Ivy contemplated going to work -- since she had nothing else to do. Wyatt balked at the idea and said the world was her oyster.
Out of the blue, Aly said she didn't understand people or understand why they let themselves get walked over. Aly wondered why they let people like Rick, Maya, and Steffy take whatever they wanted. Ivy and Wyatt seemed perplexed by Aly, who ascended the stairs to go to her room.
Ivy asked Wyatt why Aly didn't like him. Wyatt joked that it was because he wasn't very nice. Ivy thought it was because of Hope. Wyatt believed that people could make others feel less than they were, but he asked Ivy not to let Liam or Steffy make her feel that way.
Wyatt and Ivy recalled that Liam had turned Steffy down twice before, and Wyatt guessed that some people, no matter how many times one slammed the door on them, still wouldn't get out of one's system. He said his mother was like that in his personal life, but he didn't want Ivy to feel like second best. Wyatt said that she was a star. Ivy told him that he was great, too, and she kissed his cheek.
Ivy glanced up the staircase and wondered if Aly, who'd been spending a lot of time in her room, was okay. Wyatt assumed Aly was regressing to an earlier time when she'd had her mom and when things like sexiness hadn't existed.
Upstairs, the dolls inside Aly's miniature dollhouse sat on their sofa. On their faces were circular cutouts from pictures of Thorne, Eric, Aly, and Stephanie. On her bed, Aly told a doll that people laughed at Aly. Darla stated that they knew Aly was right. "Those women, showing off their bodies. What are you going to do about it?" Darla asked.
On the grounds, Steffy led Liam to his surprise. In the grass were two massage tables, and masseuses waited to serve them. As Steffy and Liam received massages, one masseuse pressed Liam's head into the cushion on the table. Steffy sneaked over and began massaging him. The other masseuses slipped away.
As Steffy massaged Liam, she moved to low beneath the sheet, causing him to spring upright on the table. They laughed when he realized it was Steffy and not the masseuse. She teased that he liked it, and they kissed each other.
Later, Liam and Steffy walked to the front of the house by the water fountain. She knew that he still hadn't fully forgiven her, and he wasn't sure he wanted to give up what he had with Ivy. Steffy said she was trying to remind Liam of what she and Liam had had, and she felt they belonged together. She asked if he knew that, and Liam said he did.
Steffy and Liam kissed, and time transported them back to the kiss on their wedding day in that same spot. After the kiss, he stared wondrously at her.
In the kitchen, Brooke asked Rick what Vivienne was like. Rick didn't know much. He said Vivienne had located them, using a map to the stars, and Brooke grimaced. He added that he'd sent the Avants to the guesthouse to talk in private. However, Vivienne had shown up for only one reason, and that reason was to take Nicole home.
Brooke asked if Rick wanted Nicole to leave. Rick didn't, but there was only so much say he had about the situation. Brooke advised Rick to be careful of what he said about the issue because relationships between mothers and daughters were delicate.
Rick agreed and said Vivienne probably thought he was a deviant and was probably wondering how he could love the daughter she'd thrown away. Rick claimed he got the same type of treatment from anonymous people online, but he didn't know how someone who knew Maya could treat her that way.
In the guesthouse, Vivienne complained about being in there because she wasn't a houseguest. Maya stated that she and Rick were having guests, so it was more private to talk in the guesthouse. Maya said that, believe it or not, she had missed her mother. Vivienne asked who was staying in the guesthouse, Maya or Nicole, and Nicole said Eric stayed there when he wasn't traveling.
Vivienne told Nicole to get her things from wherever they were because "this" was no environment for her. Vivienne assumed that they partied at the mansion every day, but Maya said it was just a party for the holiday. Vivienne claimed to know what happened on college campuses, but Nicole informed her mother that she was no longer in school.
Vivienne asked if Nicole could ever finish anything, and she wanted to know what had happened to all the money Nicole had gotten for graduating high school. Maya stated that Nicole could enroll in college again at some point, and Nicole added that she had a job and a place to stay. Vivienne quipped that the place to stay was in Nicole's parents' house.
Nicole stated that she was old enough to be on her own. Vivienne asked if Nicole called "this" being on her own. Nicole asserted that if Maya would let her stay, then she wanted to stay. Vivienne doubted that Nicole would give an answer like that in front of her father and asked what Maya had done for Nicole that had made Nicole want to be there instead of with her parents who loved her. Nicole said that Maya loved her and forgave her when she didn't always do the right thing.
Vivienne noted that Maya had never taken an interest in her sister before, but Maya claimed that wasn't true. She recalled visiting Nicole for her birthday, and their parents had refused to let Maya return. Vivienne said they couldn't have that in their father's home. Maya asked if she was a "that" to her mother.
Vivienne expressed that Maya was the precious child that Vivienne had prayed for angels to help her save; however, she'd failed because the selfish will inside of Maya had been too strong. Nicole didn't see Maya as a failure but as her big sister.
Vivienne knew that the Forresters designed clothes. Maya asked if her mother had been reading up. Vivienne said people took it upon themselves to show her certain headlines. She didn't mean to hurt Maya, but she didn't see it as a stable situation for Maya or Nicole. Maya claimed that she and Rick were in love, and Vivienne asked how long it would last "now that he knows." Maya stated that the world knew, and she was still there with Rick.
Maya asked her mother to stay a few days to see how things were. Vivienne said their father wouldn't allow it, and the sisters didn't want him to show up in person. "Not that he ever laid a hand on either of you, but you know how your father can be, Maya," Vivienne said. Maya stated that she remembered, and Vivienne implored Maya to help her get through to Nicole.
Maya said she wasn't afraid of the father anymore because she had survived the worst parts of her life. Maya wanted to have her parents back in her life. Seeing Vivienne had returned Maya's awe and love for her mother, but she refused to turn her sister out of her home as her parents had done to her.
Vivienne said she had never turned Maya out of the house. Nicole asked why they hadn't been able to say Maya's name. Vivienne said that every house had rules that one needed to abide by. Nicole asked what rule Maya head broken. Maya stated that it was the laws of God and nature, as their father had put it. Vivienne replied that Maya had broken her father's heart.
Maya recalled that her father had called her repugnant. Vivienne tried to explain that people only had their beliefs and values that they had been raised with. Maya declared that if she had a child, she wouldn't let a belief stand between them.
The statement made Vivienne think of a little girl she'd read about, and Maya explained that it had been Jesse's and Maya's daughter. Vivienne had seen photos in the paper after the accident. She said she was sorry because the most terrible thing was to lose a child. She touched Maya's face, looked pained, and decided she had to go.
Vivienne didn't know what their father would do. Maya asked "mommy" not to go, but Vivienne was set upon leaving. Maya offered to call a cab, but their mother said she'd learned to take care of herself, too. She closed the door behind her, and the sisters hugged.
In Rick's office, Maya said that she wished her mother had been able to be more of a mother to her. She noted that it was not the first time her mother had turned her back on Maya. It stung, Maya said, because for a brief moment, Maya had thought it would be different -- that her mother would reach out and care about her. "I knew better. I knew she couldn't," Maya said.
Maya grabbed Rick's hand and acknowledged that it wasn't her fault that her mother couldn't love her. Rick agreed. They embraced. Rick remembered they had a meeting with Caroline and Ridge.
In Steffy's office, Steffy teased Liam. She said she had spoiled Liam with the couples' massage. Liam agreed, but he reminded her he had spoiled her many times before. They flirted and laughed.
Ivy entered and talked about her jewelry line and decisions that had to be made. Steffy agreed, but she had to leave for a meeting. Steffy encouraged Liam to choose the pieces for the new line. "He can handle whatever you need to discuss," Steffy said. Steffy left.
Liam looked over all of Ivy's pieces and said that he like all of them. Ivy giggled that it would be her biggest collection ever. Ivy suggested dinner with Liam. She said they hadn't spent any time alone together in a long time. Liam worried that he had to check with Steffy to see if they had to work, but Ivy pointed out that it was about time Liam took a break from working.
Ivy suggested that they kick back and have a boring evening and take time to reconnect and get back on track. She recommended dinner and a walk on the beach. "Just like we used to," she said. "I'd like that," Liam replied.
Liam apologized that things had become complicated. Ivy worried that her citizenship issue had changed things between them. Ivy noted that she didn't want to waste another minute of time. "I still believe in us, and I think if you give us a chance, you will too," she said. They kissed, and Liam embraced her.
In the CEO office at Forrester, Ridge and Caroline worked on designs for the new California Freedom line. Aly interrupted and wondered if they were working on designs for Maya. Aly groaned and sneered at photos of Maya on the desk.
Ridge and Caroline reminded Aly that Maya was the lead model. Aly sniffed that it was because of people who had latched on to social media and felt sorry for her. Aly maintained they shouldn't give credence to "trolls like that." Ridge and Caroline chastised Aly, but Aly maintained that Maya had only gotten her job back because of public opinion.
Ridge disagreed with Aly. He pointed out that Maya was very good at modeling and was the face of Forrester. Aly was disappointed. Ridge told Aly that he and Caroline had a meeting. Aly wanted to attend, but Ridge scoffed at her attending another meeting after her last outburst. It was too late to prevent her attendance because Steffy entered followed by Rick and Maya.
Aly didn't want to meet with Maya, and Steffy said she thought it was a meeting of the executive team only. Aly insisted that she was family and had every right to attend the meeting. Ridge and Caroline discussed the direction of the new California Freedom line. Aly said the focus was all wrong because it focused on sex and lingerie.
Maya, Caroline, and Steffy defended the California Freedom line and explained to Aly that it was not about lingerie but about what people went to California for -- to be themselves and follow their dreams, Caroline explained. Steffy added that it was about confidence, and confidence was sexy and empowering.
Aly was disgusted. She couldn't believe that Ridge wanted to see his daughter dressed in skimpy outfits in magazines and on billboards. Aly continued that people would ogle Steffy's body in clothing that let everything hang out all over the place. Caroline insisted that Aly had missed the point.
Caroline explained that women could be provocative and still be tasteful. Aly argued that Forrester had become the Steffy and Maya show. Aly launched into her lecture on how Forrester had always been about quality and class when her grandmother and grandfather had been in charge.
Ridge countered that he was in charge, and they would move forward. Rick chimed in that the company had experienced one of its most successful quarters. Aly seethed that it was all about sex and greed. "My grandmother wouldn't have approved of this," she said.
Ridge told Aly to calm down, or he would ask her to leave. Steffy advised her to leave if she could not be respectful. Aly was shocked. She said that Rick and Maya had treated her like a servant. Maya apologized, but Maya wanted to move forward. "Big surprise! Maya doesn't want to talk about the past," Aly mocked Maya.
Steffy stepped in and insisted that Aly change her attitude. She noted that she loved her cousin, but "I don't have time to babysit here," Steffy said. Steffy ordered Aly to stop preaching if she wanted to stay in the meeting and at Forrester. Steffy recommended that Aly move to Paris with her father if she couldn't be a part of the Los Angeles team.
Aly stammered that she wanted to be a part of the business and the family. She wanted to stay at Forrester. She seemed embarrassed and sorrowful. The meeting ended.
After the meeting, Steffy met alone with Ridge. She said that Aly could no longer attend their meetings. Steffy said she had been hard on Ivy, but Ridge said it had needed to be done. Aly could no longer shoot down ideas because of her personal beliefs.
Steffy regretted that Aly had been through so much, and Steffy worried that she had been offensive. "You were annoying but not offensive," Ridge teased. Ridge changed the subject to Liam. He wanted to know what was up. Steffy said her future was with Liam, and Ridge shook his head.
Steffy maintained she and Liam had reconnected. She said she had spent a lot of her life looking back, but she realized her life was filled with amazing possibilities. Steffy told her father not to worry about her because she was happy, and she would be with Liam.
Ridge smiled at Steffy and left. After he left, Steffy flashed back to when she and Liam had had their first wedding in Aspen then she flashed back to their more recent wedding in which she had worn all black. She smiled.
In Steffy's office, Liam sat smiling after Ivy had left. Liam read the news release about Steffy's new position as president of Forrester Creations. He smiled.
At home in her room at the Forrester mansion, Aly lamented that no one wanted to listen to her opinions. She felt she had to save the family business. Aly pulled out stacks of pictures of family and Maya and Rick. She angrily drew all over the faces and had an evil look on her face.
At Forrester, Ivy and Wyatt worked with models and jewelry. They all enjoyed the mini fashion show, and Wyatt admired one of the necklaces. He said Ivy should wear it, and Ivy laughed. Katie interrupted, and Wyatt left.
Katie noted that Wyatt seemed to really like Ivy. Katie was happy to see that Ivy spent time with someone other than Liam. Ivy lamented that Liam spent all of his time with Steffy.
Katie recommended that Ivy should not accept Liam's behavior. Katie said that Steffy would never let Liam out of her sight. Katie praised Ivy as gorgeous and smart. "Keep your options open. Someone else in this building could be right for you," Katie advised.
Ivy noted that Wyatt was also interested in Steffy. Katie refused to let Ivy be a doormat. Katie encouraged Ivy to date Wyatt. Ivy admitted that Wyatt had made her laugh, and she didn't know where she'd be without him.
At the Forrester mansion, Aly was in her room and continued to destroy pictures of her family. The talking head of Darla ordered Aly to save Forrester. "This is your mission, Aly. You must stop them. No one else can save the goodness of Forrester. It's got to be you," Darla said. Aly tearfully agreed.
In Steffy's office at Forrester, Steffy and Liam discussed that they still felt the good effects of the massage they'd had. Steffy said she felt they needed a permanent massage room at the company, and Wyatt said she was the president and could do whatever she wanted.
Liam asked about the meeting Steffy had attended, and Steffy said that Aly had gone off the rails again. "She still talks to her mom," Steffy said. Steffy worried that Aly had isolated herself from the real world and had a lot of extreme opinions and reactions. She worried that Aly was still suffering from her mom's death and Taylor's involvement in Darla's death.
Steffy turned the conversation back to business, and she wondered if Liam had fun working at Forrester. He admitted that it was fun. Liam said he enjoyed working with his "hipster, rocker ex-wife." They kissed. Aly entered.
Aly apologized for her previous behavior. She knew what she needed to do better, and she promised to do anything for Forrester Creations. Steffy and Liam were surprised. Aly vowed they would see a new side of her. "I think you'll be surprised," she said.
Aly left, and Liam and Steffy agreed it would be nice to see a new and improved Aly. Steffy joked that perhaps Aly would no longer yell at her for wearing a bikini. Liam encouraged Steffy to put on a bikini right away, and Wyatt interrupted.
Wyatt worried that Steffy and Liam were back together. Steffy teased that Wyatt and Liam were "like an old married couple." Wyatt didn't think it was funny. "Have a little respect for Ivy," Wyatt said. He felt Liam and Steffy were getting cozy, and he demanded that Liam be honest with Ivy rather than string her along. Liam looked confused.
In another office at Forrester, Maya met with Nick and worried that her mother would never accept her. She explained that her mother had tried to take Nicole away from Los Angeles and away from Maya. Nick congratulated Maya for forgiving Nicole for sharing Maya's secret. Maya said it hadn't been Nicole's fault.
In the office where Nicole was working as an intern, Wyatt entered and congratulated Nicole on becoming a full-time intern for the summer. He wanted to clear the air about what had happened between them. "Is it a secret?" Maya mocked him.
Nicole reminded Wyatt that he had used her and manipulated her. He had pretended to care to get information on Maya and had used it against her, but Wyatt said he had not pretended to care about Nicole.
Wyatt worried that Nicole wouldn't forgive him. Nicole said she didn't care anymore. Zende listened at the door, and he entered. Zende greeted Nicole and met Wyatt. He wondered if he had interrupted, but Nicole said Wyatt was leaving. Zende said goodbye to Wyatt, and Wyatt hoped that Nicole believed him. He left.
Zende quizzed Nicole about her relationship with Wyatt. Nicole thought it was cute that he was jealous, and Zende asked if she had kissed Wyatt. Nicole dismissed his questions, and Zende offered to take her out as long as she wasn't too busy with Wyatt.
Maya entered and asked if Zende had had a good time at the Fourth of July party. Zende said he had, and he left. Maya said that Zende and Nicole made an adorable couple. Nicole noted that Wyatt had apologized to Nicole, but Maya didn't trust Wyatt. She thought Nicole would be better off with "a nice guy like Zende." Maya thanked Nicole for staying with her instead of returning home with their mother.
Maya admitted she'd felt rejected all over again. Nicole sympathized that it had to have been awful for Maya as a child. Maya confessed that she'd felt completely alone in the world and vulnerable. She added that it had made her push people away and isolate herself.
While Maya spoke about isolation, a video of Aly showed that she was sitting in her closet, glaring at pictures of her family.
Maya continued to discuss that people could become consumed by their own thoughts and obsessed with negativity. "I was lucky I had a counselor to confide in and trust," Maya added. She worried about kids who made bad choices, but she acknowledged that people became depressed and felt their families had abandoned them. "Bad thoughts take over," Maya said.
The screen flashed back to Aly and to Darla's death along the road when Darla had fallen into traffic and Taylor's car had hit her. Darla's screams echoed in the dark.
At a coffee shop, Julius Avant arrived at Vivienne's table. Greeting her with a kiss, he declared that the nonsense stopped that day, and Nicole wouldn't spend one more night under Maya's influence.
Vivienne loved Maya but didn't know how to be around Maya or wrap her brain around what Maya expected her to understand. Julius asked how Vivienne could understand when it was unnatural. He didn't want the one innocent child they had left to be around it or for Nicole to be corrupted.
Vivienne didn't think Nicole seemed any different due to Maya. Julius pointed out that Nicole had uncharacteristically defied her mother, and he insisted that they'd get her out of there that day.
At Forrester, Nicole expressed embarrassment for the way she'd set out to use Maya's pain as a bargaining chip when she'd first arrived in town. Back then, Nicole hadn't thought about all Maya had gone through. Maya explained that she'd left home to get away from their parents' disapproval.
Nicole thought their father would be livid when their mother arrived home without Nicole. Maya murmured that she was the bane of her father's existence. Nicole complained that their parents had judged Maya without reaching out to see who Maya really was. Nicole didn't understand how their mother had touched Maya with such love but then walked away.
Maya assumed that people feared what they didn't know, but the touch might be a step toward acceptance. Maya revealed that, when Vivienne had arrived at the mansion, Maya had thought it could have been for her. Shrugging, she said she'd hoped the motherly instinct had kicked in.
It amazed Nicole that Maya still wanted their parents' acceptance. Maya replied that they'd been the first people she'd loved. She wanted them to love her as she was. Nicole wished they'd see Maya for the inspiration she was, and she hated that they made Maya feel bad. Maya said it had only been for a second because Nicole was there. Nicole said Maya could always count on her.
Nicole received a call from her mother. Vivienne explained that she was at a coffee shop in town and wanted Nicole to meet her there right away. After the call, Nicole wondered why their mother was still in town. Maya figured it was for one more chance to get Nicole to return home. Maya didn't want Nicole to be estranged from their parents. Though their parents weren't as embracing as Maya and Nicole wanted them to be, Maya felt that they deserved acceptance, too.
Later, Rick was with Maya, who explained that Vivienne might be trying again with Nicole. Maya didn't think Vivienne would succeed and was worried that her father wouldn't accept Nicole's choices. Maya didn't want Nicole's relationship with their parents to suffer due to her.
Rick asked what it had been like for Maya to see her mother again. Maya said it had been uplifting -- until she'd seen the look in her mother's eyes. Maya said she'd never stopped hoping to reconcile with her parents and for her father to stop seeing her as the son that never was.
At the coffee shop, Nicole sat at her mother's table to find out why her mother hadn't left town yet. Julius stepped up to the table and told Nicole that she'd be going home that day. Nicole refused, and he told her that she was a young, impressible girl who was in over her head. Nicole asserted that she was making a life there, and she had a job.
Julius found the fashion industry questionable and thought Nicole would land in a world of trouble. Nicole said it wasn't his call, and she was grown. He insisted that as long as he was the head of their family, he'd look out for her best interests. Nicole asserted that her father wasn't listening.
Nicole said she was building a life there and had met a guy while interning whom Julius might like. She conveyed that Forrester wasn't a shady business. She wanted to learn Forrester and get to know her sister. Julius asserted that Nicole's sister was a freak, and that was all Nicole needed to know.
Nicole exclaimed that Maya wasn't a freak, and Julius had never tried to know her. Julius declared that he never would, and Nicole's brother, sister -- or whatever he'd become and whatever he'd done -- Julius didn't recognize his son. Nicole replied that it was because a son was what he was looking for, but Maya was a woman. Julius declared that "that child" was lost to him. He refused to lose Nicole, too, and demanded that she return home that day.
In the CEO's office, Ivy admitted that the time Liam and Steffy could legitimately spend behind closed doors was unnerving. Katie believed Steffy wouldn't let go once she'd zeroed in on something. Katie warned that Steffy could pull Ivy into the mud, but if Ivy chose to move on, Wyatt was an option.
Ivy felt that Wyatt might act cocky, but he was also empathetic and understood her feelings without her expressing them. Katie found it to be a rare quality in a man. Ivy remarked that Hope had been crazy to let Wyatt go, but then Ivy considered that Hope had let Liam go, too. Ivy hoped that Steffy would follow suit, but Katie warned that Steffy was tenacious.
Though Ivy and Liam didn't share what he and Steffy did, Ivy felt that she was important, too, and she didn't want to be replaced so easily. Katie returned to talking about how eligible Wyatt was. Katie wanted Ivy to be happy. Ivy relayed that Liam did that for her. Ivy saw Steffy as a massive bump in the road, but Ivy wouldn't just hand Liam over.
In Steffy's office, Wyatt demanded to know if Liam was stringing Ivy along. Liam asked if his brother had become Ivy's protector. Liam claimed Ivy didn't need protecting from him, and Wyatt decided that he'd discern that after Liam answered him. Liam said he wasn't leading Ivy on and had been completely upfront since the beginning. Wyatt asked if Liam was still being up-front.
Liam asserted that he cared for Ivy, but the immigration thing had made him see that he wasn't ready to lose Steffy forever. "Why do you have to have all the women?" Wyatt argued. Wyatt said Liam was making eyes at Steffy while Ivy waited for her turn. "Pick a lane, dude!" Wyatt insisted.
Wyatt thought Ivy was a good person, but Liam exclaimed that Wyatt didn't need to sell him on Ivy. Wyatt ordered Liam to treat her better. Wyatt told Liam to be with Steffy and do what he had to do without dragging around Ivy, who deserved to be treated better than second best.
Wyatt left, and Steffy noted that the Spencer boys liked Ivy Forrester. Liam agreed and asked what there was not to like. Steffy mumbled that she might need to get to know Ivy better. Liam laughed at the thought of Ivy and Steffy being friends.
Steffy and Liam reviewed a sketch, and Steffy smiled amorously at him. She said she'd known "this" would happen. He asked her what would, and she replied, "Us." She elaborated that they were working together and bouncing ideas off each other. She thought it was fun.
Liam replied that Steffy was the most fun he'd ever had. Steffy said it hadn't always been fun, but he told her that they didn't have to go there. Steffy felt she was strong enough to reflect on it. She'd never considered herself a quitter, but she'd quit on him and left him to deal with the pain alone. She knew it had had a lingering effect, and he didn't trust her to stay.
Liam told Steffy that he didn't blame her for anything. She said she knew, and she wasn't running away. She told him that she was where she belonged -- with him.
In the CEO's office, Ivy was alone, studying a sketch, when she noticed Wyatt in the doorway, looking at her. He said he was appreciating her and thinking of her. He insisted she deserved better treatment from Liam. Ivy stated that he was displaying the protective streak that she'd just been talking to Katie about. Wyatt was impressed that he'd been the topic of conversation.
Ivy said she and Katie had been discussing Spencer men in general, and she drew his attention to the sketch that had her stumped. Wyatt made her step away from the easel and said the ideas would happen for her. Sitting down, Ivy figured that she needed a distraction. Wyatt guessed it'd be from Liam. Ivy said that Katie had all but said that Ivy had already lost Liam to Steffy.
Ivy and Wyatt worked on jewelry, and Wyatt griped about expecting to get to know Steffy that summer. Ivy replied that he could still see Steffy, but he quipped that Steffy couldn't see "through" Liam to see Wyatt. Ivy informed him that there were other women in town. Wyatt claimed to know it but wondered where he'd find a total package like Steffy.
Ivy said she felt the same way about the sweet, charming Liam. She wished someone would tell her where another guy like Liam hung out. "Yeah..." Wyatt murmured unwittingly. Ivy glanced at him and smiled.
At the coffee shop, Nicole refused to be dragged back to the cold house in Illinois, where they never discussed important things and pretended not to feel. She welcomed her parents to partake in her new life, but she refused to go back to the old one. Vivienne tried to reason with Julius, but he was adamant about protecting his daughter from Maya.
Nicole didn't like Julius to say Maya's name as if it was fake. "Well, isn't it?" Julius responded, adding that he'd rather not say the name at all. He asserted that he had only one daughter; he'd had a son, but the son was gone. Nicole asked if Julius' pride had made him think he'd failed as a father.
Julius didn't think pride was wrong. He said he and Vivienne didn't want to feel the stares in church or see people gossiping about them. Nicole asked what if the people were staring or gossiping about Maya's success. Julius asked why the people wouldn't just talk to him if it was the case.
Nicole claimed there was nothing approachable about her father and asked what neighbor would dare congratulate him on his daughter's modeling gig. Appalled, Julius said he couldn't talk about it to the neighbors and church members who'd watched Myron learn to ride a bike and drive a car. He stated that they'd watched "him" grow up. "Into the woman that she is today," Nicole added.
Nicole thought her parents should be proud of it. Her words resonated with Vivienne, who relayed that Maya's house was incredible. "So what?" Julius growled. Shocked, Nicole said Maya lived in Beverly Hills and might marry a Forrester. The statement meant nothing to Julius.
Nicole told her father that he should be impressed that Maya was the lead model at the top design house. Julius said he hadn't spent a bunch of money to fly out there and feel awe at a 90210 address. He'd done it to save the only child he felt he had left. Nicole claimed not to need saving.
Nicole wanted to get to know her sister. Julius scoffed, but Nicole said he actually understood it because he'd only called her sister Maya. He said he'd done it because Myron had shown up at Nicole's school in a dress, and he asked if Nicole thought he'd let her believe "that freak" had been her brother.
"Julius, please!" Vivienne exclaimed. Julius said Nicole's parents had agreed to use the Maya name to keep Nicole from asking questions. Vivienne said she'd had to remove all the pictures. Julius conveyed that when "he'd" gone to jail, it had almost been a relief. Vivienne told Julius not to say that, but he insisted that it had stopped the worry that "he'd" show up and confuse Nicole.
"Her showing up," Nicole corrected. Julius stated that the modeling business had cropped up, and they'd had to deal with people whispering. Nicole asked how he couldn't be proud that Maya was on fashion covers and living the life she'd been meant to. He replied that the fashion business had nothing to do with him or what he'd wanted for his son -- and "this -- this Maya Avant -- I don't even know who she is!" Nicole said he could, and they could move to Los Angeles when Julius retired.
Nicole's parents exchanged glances. Vivienne said Julius was looking for work again. He'd had a "seasonal" job, he claimed, but there had been a "sudden" turn. "Not because of Maya!" Vivienne exclaimed. Julius stated that the family had been intact. Everything had been good until Maya had done what she'd done.
Nicole said Maya had merely become who she was, but Julius asked if Nicole knew how stressful it had been to have a child like that. "I mean, so disrespectful, self-centered, perverted, dressing up in women's clothing! It was an embarrassment!" he exclaimed.
Nicole corrected that Maya had dressed in her own clothes, and she asked if Julius still thought there had ever been anything male about Maya -- because there hadn't been. She didn't see why, as parents, Julius and Vivienne weren't thrilled that Maya was finally in her own skin. Julius replied that he couldn't be happy for what "he'd" chosen to do. Julius couldn't understand or accept it.
Nicole said it was why she wouldn't return to Julius' oppressive home. She'd found the sister that he'd been so ashamed to love. Nicole loved her sister and felt that, unfortunately, she'd be all Maya had. Nicole told them to go home, close the curtains, and never speak of the daughter they'd cast aside, but their shame and embarrassment had caused them to lose both of their children.
Later, Nicole had gone, and Julius questioned his bill, telling the waiter that he'd only had three drinks. She checked it and said it was correct. Vivienne told him to put it on the card, and they'd pay for it when he got a job. Julius griped that they'd spent enough, and it was time to go home.
Vivienne said they wouldn't until he'd seen his daughter. Julius wanted to see his son, not what his son had become. She said they'd leave after going to Maya's house, and he needed to see Maya.
At Forrester, Rick urged Maya to text-message Nicole. Maya figured that Vivienne and Nicole were bonding, and a text from Maya would kill the moment. Rick admired Maya for caring about the mother-daughter relationship. She said Rick knew what it was like to have a parent give up on him. She didn't have a relationship with her parents, but she believed that Nicole still could.
Rick asked if Maya was really sure there was no hope with her parents. Maya said that when she'd finally had the courage to stop hiding, her parents had turned their backs upon her instead of taking the opportunity to show her unconditional love. Rick wondered if time had changed things, and he said it was possible that Vivienne would want to know the child she had given birth to.
Maya didn't hold out hope for it after the way Vivienne had walked out. She'd worked hard to get away from her parents' disapproval, but she'd longed for their approval. She'd fantasized that her mother would go home and tell her father how beautiful she'd become and how she'd made something of herself. She was grateful that Rick believed in her, but she wished her parents would.
Rick offered to take Maya to see her parents, but she didn't want to do that after the last time she'd been at the house to see Nicole. She said she'd worn her dress to show her seriousness, and her parents had been polite until Nicole had gone upstairs. Maya said she'd no longer been alive to her father, and her mother, who'd never contradict her father, had just stared at her.
Maya said it had been hard but freeing, because it had enabled her to give up the wish. She said that when Rick had finally gotten his father's approval, it had meant everything to him. Maya said the person she'd become didn't matter to her father, and she'd always be second to Myron, who didn't exist. She exclaimed that she did exist, and she was waiting for her parents to see it.
Later, Rick was alone when Nicole arrived. Upset, Nicole ranted about her meeting with her mother, who'd had her father there as a reinforcement. Nicole was livid about her parents trying to drag her from her sister. She said it was sad about how ashamed and intolerant they'd been without knowing Maya. Rick thought that maybe her father should meet Maya again. Nicole dismissed it, insisting her father refused to accept Maya, and Nicole doubted he ever would.
At the Forrester mansion, Vivienne and Julius waited, remarking on how the maid had offered to get them tea. Vivienne gasped upon seeing Maya's portrait on the wall. Julius said it was a far cry from the family photo they'd taken when Myron had been in kindergarten. They laughed about how "eighties" it had been. Vivienne encouraged Julius to look at the view.
Julius didn't care to see the smog, but Vivienne marveled at the backyard. Awed by the life Maya had made for herself, Vivienne said they'd lost years with Maya, and it would be nice to start fresh and get to know their daughter. Julius said he only had one daughter, but Vivienne replied that Maya hadn't been their son for years, and they should acknowledge it. She again told him to look at the life Maya had made for herself and urged him to be open to the possibilities.
Maya arrived home and grew nervous when she saw her parents in the house. She asked her father what he was doing in Los Angeles. "I had to see my little girl," he replied. He mirthlessly hugged Maya, who directed a confused stare to her mother.
