Ridge thought he was finally doing the right thing. After endless drama involving Brooke’s lingering hopes and Eric’s desire to reunite “Bridge,” Ridge was done with the tug-of-war. He made a firm declaration to them both: he wasn’t going back. He had chosen Taylor Hayes—calm, grounded, and free of manipulation. This wasn’t nostalgia. It was love born from clarity.

So Ridge planned a quiet proposal. No glitz, no audience—just the two of them at Taylor’s home by the ocean. He looked her in the eyes, ring in hand, and asked her to be his wife.

Taylor didn’t answer immediately. Her smile faltered. The tears came first, followed by six crushing words: “I can’t be second anymore, Ridge.” Her voice, raw and unsteady, cut through the air. She spoke the truth she had buried for too long—Ridge might be standing before her now, but a part of him still belonged to Brooke. Taylor had seen it in his eyes, heard it in the silence that filled the room whenever Brooke was near.

She explained that she could no longer ignore the feeling that Ridge would always be torn. Even this proposal, no matter how heartfelt, couldn’t erase the years of feeling like a fallback option. And Taylor wasn’t willing to live in Brooke’s shadow any longer.

Ridge didn’t protest. He couldn’t. Because deep down, he knew she was right. Taylor’s heartbreak wasn’t about blame—it was about truth. The very honesty he had admired in her was now the wedge between them.

As Taylor walked away, Ridge stood frozen—hurt not by her rejection, but by the realization that he might have finally lost the woman who gave him peace. The woman who no longer wanted a love riddled with “what ifs.”

Now, Ridge is left to face the consequences of a love triangle that may have finally burned both ends.