1987 (#15) - The discovery of Beth's nodules and the painful detachment from Eric

Despite Eric and Beth's stated commitment to break off their liaison born at the moment they found each other after so many years of separation, often the will of the heart is impossible to contain. And so, just a few weeks after their mutual pledge not to see each other again, Eric and Beth are forced to face reality and admit that they are unable to stay away from each other. Stephanie's suspicions and fears about Eric's possible new love involvement with some other woman become more and more concrete due to his continued and increasingly frequent absences. Determined to get information, Stephanie decides to start following Eric until she finds his car parked in front of a house that she doesn't know is the Logan's house. Eric's justifications about his alleged meetings with Caroline, who actually lives there, are of little use in understanding his real feelings towards their son Ridge; these excuses, in fact, only make Stephanie more aware of how her marriage is not as strong and long-lasting as she thought. When Stephanie learns that a certain "Liz" lives there and works in the same catering business that the Forrester family usually uses for their parties, Stephanie, unaware that the identity of "Liz" is none other than that of her old rival Beth, comes to the conclusion that she must come to terms with reality and admit that her marriage is at a point of no return. But just as she is about to discuss the matter with Eric, he surprisingly takes the floor and apologizes to Stephanie for being absent and distant in recent times, blaming himself for neglecting her and promising that from now on he won't have to worry since there is no longer any threat to their marriage. These words amaze Stephanie in the same way they shocked Eric just before, when Beth abruptly sent him away. What they both don't know is that Beth's sudden decision is motivated by her discovery of some lumps in her breasts that seriously jeopardize her health conditions and that Beth didn't want to talk about with Eric in order not to burden him. And while she goes to see Dr. Doug Russell to perform the biopsy, Beth curses once again that cruel fate that once again has distanced her from her one true love of her life.