Outside….

"Dad" Thorne called out when he approached him by the pool.

"I'm fine" Eric lied.

"You are" He asked concerned?

"I don't know why I'm surprised" Eric said out loud.

Thorne remained silent hoping his father would continue. He knew his father was holding in a lot. He never seemed to talk anymore.

"I asked your mother if once the divorce was finalized if she would marry me and she said no" Eric blurted out although he knew it was not exact it was what she meant.

"I'm sorry dad" Thorne said feeling badly for him.

"I did not think she would say no. I really did not…but I see now that she doesn't trust me anymore" He continued.

"Because of Donna" Thorne asked?

"I thought that was what it was but, I think it's more than just about Donna. I don't think she feels she can rely on me" He continued.

"No, dad, come on. You have been here with her this whole time. I'm sure she sees that" Thorne said not believing what his father said was true.

"Yes, but I think she doesn't think it will last, that I will stay" He said as he looked at his son.

Thorne heart broke. His father eyes were filled with unshed tears.

"Mother loves you dad" Thorne said hoping it would help.

"Does she" He asked? The tears fell down his cheeks.

Late evening…

Stephanie laid in bed awake. She was waiting for Eric so they could talk. She told Felicia to have Dino with her tonight. Felicia for once did not have a cheeky response. And, by the look on Thorne face, Stephanie knew Eric was not in a good place. As time passed, she realized Eric was not going to join her. She got up, put on her robe and went to find him. She found him in his home office on the couch. A blanket over him as he lay uncomfortably.

"Eric…" She called out as she closed the door and approached him.

"Stephanie…go back to bed" He said not turning around.

She stopped for a moment but then continued towards him. She sat beside him and touched his arm. He pulled away.

"Talk to me Eric" She begged him.

Angrily he sat up making her stand as he threw the blanket off and stood up.

"What is there to talk about? I asked you to marry me and you said no. I reach out to you and you pull away. I am here Stephanie! What else can I do to show that?! To show you that you can trust me" He blurted out, his tears springing out of his eyes and down his cheeks. He could no longer control them. He found that he could not stop crying which was why he hid in this room. He did not want this to happen and now it was.

"I do trust you" She said hoping he believed her.

"No, you don't" He said breaking her heart.

"Getting married and being intimate…it's not about, not trusting you" She admitted as she sat. She knew she had been hurting him, but she did not realize how badly until this moment.

He sat after a few moments waiting for her to continue.

"Marriage doesn't work for us Eric and divorce, is painful. I do not want to go through that again. And I am not blaming you. I think it's both of us, too much has happened which is why I don't want to do it again" She explained.

"You don't want to do it again meaning, you want to just shack up together so that when things get hard, I can walk out and spare you from a divorce. That is what you mean right" He challenged her?

"Eric…why are you picking a fight" She asked confused?

"Why are you willing to settle for this? You do not think we deserve to celebrate our love, our lives" He asked?

"I don't need a celebration to know what we have" She said getting upset.

"What do you need? Because I don't feel that you need me" He said honestly.

"How can you say that" She asked confused?

"You don't want me, not as a husband, not as a lover…" He said his voice cracking with emotion.

"I do want you Eric…I…I'm not rejecting you" She tried to explain.

"It feels like you are" He admitted. The hurt reflected in his eyes preventing her from getting upset by his position on this.

She looked at him lost for words.

"I touch you and I can see how you don't want me to" He said as he looked at her with hurt eyes.

"It's not you" She tried to reassure him.

"Isn't it" He pushed?

"What are you saying" She asked confused?

"I see you with Massimo and you have no problem with him hugging you, touching your hand or your arm, in fact you return his affections. Why not me" He asked shocking her?

"Massimo? Eric…I really do not know what you are suggesting but, we have a friendship there is nothing romantic about it. That is the difference" She said upset as she stood up now wanting distance from him.

"You say you aren't rejecting me but, I want our relationship to be romantic and you do not want that. How is that not rejection" He asked?

"The problem is that I…she looked around lost for words and feeling as if no matter what she replied it would hurt him.

"Say it Stephanie" Eric pushed wanting her to admit that he was right. She was rejecting him.

"I can't anymore Eric. I've told you that" She snapped upset since she felt cornered. She hated that feeling.

"You can't? You will not even try" He said upset himself. He was tired of holding back his feelings.

"How do you know I'm not trying" She asked angrily?

"You said you needed it to be the right moment. Yet, every time I think it might be the right moment, like the night we were talking about the cabin, you still pulled away" He said, and she could see that he was genuinely confused and hurt. Her anger subsided. She sat back down and sighed.

"I thought it was the right moment too" She admitted.

He sat down wanting to understand.

"It felt nice. You and I…alone and all those old feelings" She continued.

He felt his heart- beat faster wanting and hoping she would continue.

"But then I…I felt my chest tightening and I got scared" She admitted.

"Why didn't you say anything" He asked concerned?

"I did not know what to say, how to say it, explain it" She said honestly.

"Sweetheart, you need to tell me so that I know" He said tenderly.

"I know" She whispered.

"You can trust me" He promised as he sat beside her.

"I do" She promised.

"You can trust me with this too. With everything" He reassured her.

She looked at him with tearful eyes. She wished that were true. More than anything she wanted it to be true.

"You said your chest tightened and you got scared. What are you afraid will happen Stephanie" He asked needing to know?

"That I won't be able to catch my breath. I am so tired all the time. And sometimes…I feel like I cannot breathe. It is as if the air is being taken from me" She finally admitted, her tears falling.

He pulled her close and held her wanting desperately to give her love and support.

"Eric…I don't think I can…I don't think it will ever be the right moment…not when I'm like this" She admitted.

He could not speak, his heart broken as he just held her.

The next day…

Stephanie left early without telling anyone where she was going. She had to do this. Even if it hurt.

"What are you doing here" Donna asked when she opened Brooke front door?

"I'm here to see you" Stephanie admitted.

Donna let her in.

Both women stood in the living room.

"Are you here to try to threaten me into signing the divorce papers" Donna asked as she stood confrontationally with her arms crossed?

"No. I'm here to tell you that Eric proposed to me" Stephanie admitted.

Donna face shattered in disbelief.

"I'm not here to rub it in. I really am not. I came here to tell you that by not signing the papers you are hurting him" Stephanie explained hoping Donna would listen for once.

"How am I hurting him? I love him Stephanie" Donna defended her actions.

"He feels he is losing time fighting you on the divorce. Time, he wants to spend with me" Stephanie admitted.

"Of-course it is always about you and what you want" Donna hissed.

"No. It's not. Donna, I am sure Brooke told you about my health. It is true. Look, Eric wants to spend his time with me while we still have time" Stephanie forced herself to admit.

Donna looked at her as if it finally sunk in for the first time.

"Give him the divorce Donna. Let him be at peace. If you really love him…do not make him live with regrets" Stephanie said and then left leaving Donna to her thoughts.

Forrester….

Eric spend the day and evening at the company. After last night, he could not face Stephanie yet. He knew she was not alone, he felt okay about not being there. Although, he knew he would have to face her soon. The door opening surprised him. Donna walked in.

"What are you doing here" Eric asked upset?

"Stephanie came to see me" She admitted.

Eric stared at her in surprise.

"She's dying" Donna said as she looked at Eric for confirmation? She honestly was not sure she could believe Stephanie.

The look on Eric face told her it was true.

"Why didn't you tell me" She asked as she got closer to him?

"It's no one business" He said upset that Stephanie went to Donna behind his back.

"I know you're hurting right now" She said sadly.

"I don't want to talk about this with you" He said knowing he could not talk about it with anyone.

"You want to marry her before she dies" She said, and his heart constricted.

"I love her" He forced himself to speak against the knot in his throat.

"I know" She said as she looked down and that was when he realized she had an envelope in her hands.

"You signed them" He asked hopeful?

"Yes" She admitted as she looked at him sadly.

"Thank you, Donna" He said relieved.

"This does not mean that I don't love you" She explained.

"I know" He admitted.