THE RETURN OF TAYLOR’S SECRET LOVER

Los Angeles was alive with the golden glow of summer and the chaotic thrill of love triangles, but even in a city as wild as this, some secrets managed to stay hidden—until now.

As the jet carrying Ridge Forrester and a host of Forresters and Logans soared over the Atlantic toward Italy, their hearts heavy with old obsessions and new uncertainty, Taylor Hayes stood alone on her balcony, staring into a dusk painted with red and orange. She thought of happiness, of heartbreak, and of how, even now, Los Angeles seemed to ache with possibility.

Inside, her phone buzzed, lighting up with a message from a name she had never expected to see again. For a fleeting second, Taylor’s breath caught. There, bold as the city sky, were the words: I MISS YOU SO MUCH. CAN WE TALK? — J.

The Past Never Stays Gone for Long

For years, Taylor had done her best to bury the past. She had walked away from her turbulent romance with Ridge, throwing herself into her work, her children, and—at last—herself. She had flirted with happiness, with stability, even with the impossible hope that Ridge would finally choose her once and for all. But as history repeated, pushing him back toward Brooke time and again, Taylor had stopped believing that her happy ending lay in the arms of the man who broke her heart the most.

But before Ridge, before the tangled world of Los Angeles, there was Jake.

Jake had been her whirlwind—her escape, her reckless love story from a year lived in Paris, when she was still reeling from Ridge’s betrayals. Brilliant, passionate, and fiercely private, Jake was the only man who ever truly made her feel free. Their affair scorched through the City of Light, unmatched by anything Taylor had felt since. But when secrets, fear, and fate forced them apart, Taylor returned to California with only memories and a single promise: If either of them ever truly needed the other, they would find a way back.

.

.

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Now, Years Later, He Was Here.

The city seemed to shift under Taylor’s feet as she read and re-read the message. Jake was in Los Angeles. He’d seen the news, followed the rumors, and heard about Ridge’s trip to Italy. He wanted to see her. “No strings,” he wrote, “just two old friends, one long overdue conversation.”

Taylor paced, hands shaking. Could she really see him again? Was this fate, revenge, or something deeper—a second chance she never let herself believe was possible?

Familiar Faces, Brewing Storms

While Taylor warred with her heart, the rest of Los Angeles buzzed with the news of Ridge and Brooke’s impending Italian adventure. Donna, Katie, Steffy, and Thomas all had their own opinions—most keeping a wary eye on Taylor, wondering if this latest Forrester-Logan showdown would once again leave her devastated.

But Taylor kept her secret close. Instead of staying home to brood, she booked a table at a quiet bistro on Melrose, texting Jake a simple: Tonight. 8pm. Don’t be late.

As dusk became night, Taylor dressed in a way she hadn’t in years—clever, understated, but with just a hint of Paris in the cut of her dress. Her nerves were raw. She wasn’t sure if she was about to reclaim a forgotten part of herself, or set off a chain of scandal that would rock Los Angeles.

Old Sparks, New Beginnings

Jake was already waiting when she arrived—holding a single red rose, his eyes crinkling in genuine delight at the sight of her. There was a little more gray at his temples, but his charisma was undimmed.

“Taylor,” he murmured, rising and kissing her cheek, the air electric between them.

For a moment, time folded. It was Paris again, candlelight and jazz. Taylor felt something inside her stir—a part she’d denied for years. They talked for hours: about escape, disappointment, the cost of always playing second best. Jake listened—really listened—never trying to fix her, never asking her to change.

“I thought I’d lost you forever,” Taylor confessed, her voice trembling.

“You can’t lose what you never let go,” Jake replied quietly. “You just hide it.”

A Dangerous New Triangle

As the night stretched on, Jake’s hand found Taylor’s. It felt unfamiliar at first—uncharted and yet, somehow, inevitable.

“What do you want, Taylor?” he asked. “Not Ridge. Not your children. You.”

Taylor’s eyes filled with tears—years of holding back, years of watching happiness slip away.

“I want to remember how it feels to be someone’s first choice,” she admitted.

Jake leaned in, brushing a kiss against her knuckles, his voice barely above a whisper. “You always were, to me.”

Across the room, a flashbulb popped. Was it a fan? A tabloid reporter? In Los Angeles, nothing stayed secret for long.

Meanwhile, in Italy…

Ridge, blissfully unaware, was caught up in his own game of denial. But the ghosts of Los Angeles rattled in his mind. Every time Brooke spoke, every time he caught his reflection in the waters of Capri, he thought of all the times he had failed Taylor. Of all the times she’d forgiven him, and all the times he’d carelessly wandered back to Brooke, convinced Taylor would always be there, waiting.

Back in LA, as Taylor and Jake drove along the coast under a blanket of stars, laughter and music pouring from every open window, Taylor realized she was alive in a way she hadn’t been in years. For the first time, she wasn’t waiting for Ridge to call, or fearing Brooke’s next move. She was choosing herself—and it felt terrifyingly wonderful.

Jake parked under a canopy of jacarandas, the air scented with possibility.

“Come to Paris with me,” he said suddenly, urgency in every word. “Just for a week. Just to remember who you are.”

Taylor hesitated—not because she didn’t want to go, but because she did. More than she’d admit, even to herself.

“What about my family? What will people say?”

Jake smiled. “Since when did Taylor Hayes care what people think?”

She laughed, the sound open and wild. That laugh would echo for miles, and in the morning, it would become the gossip of design studios and coffee shops all across the city: Taylor Hayes was seen with a mysterious man on Melrose. Are things finally over with Ridge?

A Choice, At Last

As they watched the sunrise over Santa Monica, Taylor turned to Jake. “Let’s go to Paris. I want to feel alive again.”

Jake pulled her close, kissing her with all the reckless honesty of their Paris days.

And this time, when Taylor’s phone buzzed with a call from Ridge—his voice distant, uncertain, from thousands of miles away—she ignored it. For one dazzling moment, Taylor chose herself. Chose happiness.

And Los Angeles would never be the same.

Don’t miss what happens next on The Bold and the Beautiful…when Taylor Hayes finally reclaims her heart.