At the club, Phyllis forces a smile and can hardly wait til Daniel finishes talking about his guitar lessons – she has news too, about Aristotle Dumas (a subject Daniel’s been trying to avoid)
Moping over a framed photo of Mariah, Tessa and Aria, Sharon lets Nick in. Blathering on about their trip to France, he asks if she’s OK. No, Sharon’s really worried about Mariah.
In the park, Tessa begs Mariah to tell her what’s weighing on her. What’s going on? she gently wipes away a tear. Mariah can’t – she’s so scared.
Amanda ‘procured’ an invitation to Aristotle’s party in Nice, Phyllis adds that all the heavy hitters will be there; the Newmans, Abbotts and Winters. Something big is going on; Phyllis will be there to watch it all go down – and will use it to her advantage.
Sharon tells Nick that she initially thought Mariah had a one night stand but it’s something bigger. She won’t tell anyone. Nick knows that Mariah’s resilient – after all she’s been through, she’s still standing – she’ll get to the other side of this, he’s sure. Sharon’s not so sure – I’m terrified for her.
Tessa can see that Mariah has a broken heart – I’m your person, your best friend. I love you. Is there anything I can say to make you feel safe? Mariah needs to protect Tessa. You won’t understand. I don’t understand it myself. There’s nothing safe in telling you what I did – at all.
You have no idea what’s going on with this party, Daniel warns his Mom that Dumas might slam the door in her face – all she’ll end up with is a big credit card bill. Nobody wants to hire me, Phyllis is frustrated – this guy has his eye on Chancellor; the Newmans will be there to protect their stolen company – the Abbotts are going because of Billy. The Winters? She’s not sure. Whatever’s going down is big, Phyllis will be ready to pounce. Do you even hear yourself? You sound desperate – like a shark. Is that who you want to be now? Daniel asks.
You’re safe with me, always, Tessa persists – say something, anything. Maybe once you start it won’t be so hard. While Mariah was away, she fell apart. I couldn’t get Ian out of my head. Heather’s death; everything Sharon went through. Ian did it for me. Lucy doesn’t have a mother, Daniel lost the love of his life – Phyllis almost died, so did Victor – all because of Ian’s obsession with me. Why didn’t you call me? Were Aria on your mind at all? Tessa looks hurt.
Mariah’s been tortured by her memories of Ian, Sharon’s terrified for her. I’ve never seen her like this – she refuses to talk to anyone. Sharon isn’t sure she should go to France. Nick will be disappointed but gets it. That’s a big word (disappointed) Sharon wonders if there’s a reason Nick would be upset if she couldn’t go.