1988 (#8) - Caroline's Eye on Fashion direction and betrayal with Ridge

Although Caroline is married to Thorne, and he is now officially engaged to Brooke, Ridge continues to be tied as if by an invisible thread to Caroline, from whom he cannot and does not want to separate himself. And it is precisely for this reason that, at the end of the Forrester fashion show, Ridge proposes to Caroline to come and work in the family business. Proposal that, ironically, a few hours later is also Thorne and formulate him. Finding herself in obvious embarrassment, and not wanting in any way to fuel the nascent diatribe between the two brothers, Caroline for once decides to follow her father Bill's advice and refuse the offer to go instead to devote herself to the family business, publishing. The powerful Bill, however, continues to look up to his daughter and, in order to see her happy, has reserved for her the position of director of his new and promising project, that of the emerging and already very popular fashion magazine Eye on Fashion. This was an assignment that greatly appealed to Caroline, who was eager and highly motivated to take on this new professional adventure, assisted by art director Valerie Cooper, who soon became her confidante and friend. With the release of the first issue of the magazine, which is a huge success, Caroline decides to have some fun for once, organizing a pool party to celebrate the promising start of her project. However, a very tired Caroline who is not used to having a few too many drinks soon retires to her room before the party is over. And taking advantage of the fact that Thorne is busy making himself a sandwich in the kitchen and exchanging a few moments of goliardia with his friends, Ridge, partly as a joke and partly out of madness, ends up following Caroline to her bed. Here, before a naked and highly embarrassed Ridge can announce his presence, he is engulfed by a lusting Caroline, unaware that it is Ridge and not Thorne presumably due to alcohol. Overwhelmed by desire, Ridge soon finds himself responding to his ex-girlfriend's passion, and so the two end up making love. The next day Caroline, talking to Thorne, who amusedly thinks that the woman has dreamed it all, realizes that she has not made love to her husband; and realizing the whole truth, almost remains breathless with dismay. In the grip of remorse and guilt, Caroline decides to confide everything to Stephanie, who immediately blocks her and makes her desist from her intent to reveal everything to Thorne, sure that if she found out the truth she would be capable of any gesture. Caroline and Ridge, meanwhile, both acknowledge the mistake of that night, declaring themselves bitterly regretful. Ridge reassures Caroline by promising her that he would respect her marriage to her brother, but for Caroline this promise comes too late: the woman in fact, unable to forget what happened, soon finds herself unable to make love with Thorne, who, more and more impatient, pushes his wife to let go. A brief respite, for Caroline, arrives only when Thorne is forced to rest for the recovery of a minor appendicitis operation; but the woman is well aware that she will not be able to put off for long the moment when she will have to come to terms with her ghosts. Ridge, on the other hand, decides to forget the incident by focusing on his relationship with Brooke and asking the woman again to move in with him. This time Brooke, determined not to let her Ridge slip away, accepts without a second thought; all under the eyes of an increasingly thoughtful Caroline, who silently observes Brooke and Ridge sharing happy moments together from her bedroom window.