Previously…
– Loved ones came together for Tempest and Samantha’s wedding.
– Alex struggled with the discovery that Trevor has been covering half of Finn’s rent.
– With the clock ticking on Spencer’s ultimatum and the divorce agreement, Natalie received a call from the prison and then slipped out of the wedding.

The main hall of the King’s Bay Maritime Exchange is quiet as Samantha Fisher and Tempest Banks stand facing one another, their hands clasped between them. The people gathered around them seem to disappear for a moment. There is only the two of them and the lifelong promise they are about to make.

Trevor Brooks, a hardbound black leather notebook in his hands, smiles at the brides.

“Samantha, Tempest… you’ve brought everyone here to witness this moment. And it’s my honor, as your friend, to be a part of it. Now it’s time to tell each other what brought you here.”

Samantha takes a breath, looking into Tempest’s eyes. A small, nervous smile pushes at her rosy cheeks.

“I thought I’d have something really profound to say,” she begins. “I’ve had plenty of time to think about it. But standing here, looking at you, I keep coming back to the same thing. I’m just so happy we’re actually here.”

Tempest smiles.

“We’ve had our share of detours,” Samantha continues. “There were times when I wasn’t sure what the future was going to look like, or how we were going to get here. But through all of it, you were the person I wanted beside me. The way you see the world — the way you can look at a situation and instantly see through it and know what to do — you’re constantly opening my eyes. It’s one of the many things I love about you.”

Samantha’s eyes begin to glisten. “I love the life we’ve built together. And I love knowing that whatever comes next, we’re going to face it together. Those detours have made us stronger and made me see that, no matter, what, I need to keep choosing you, no matter what. So I promise to keep choosing you. To keep making you laugh, to listen when you need me to, and to remind you every day how much you mean to me. I love you, Tempest. And I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life showing you just how much.”

Tempest’s smile widens. She squeezes Samantha’s hands.

—–

Across town, Natalie Bishop enters the visitors’ area at the prison. The room is institutional and impersonal, a sharp contrast to the warmth she has just left behind at her niece’s wedding. A guard gestures toward the tables and booths.

Sonja Kahele is already waiting behind the partition. She is dressed in prison-issued clothing, her hands folded on the table. When she sees Natalie, she straightens. For a moment, there’s something almost like relief in her expression.

Natalie takes the seat across from her. She looks at Sonja through the glass, trying to gauge her mood.

“You came,” Sonja says into the receiver as soon as Natalie picks up her end.

“Of course I came.”

“I wasn’t sure you would.”

“I’m the one who’s been trying to get in touch with you, Sonja. I’m your friend.”

Natalie watches Sonja carefully through the plexiglass. There is something dark about Sonja’s expression, but it isn’t anger, or at least doesn’t seem like it.

“Spencer told you, didn’t he?” Sonja finally blurts out.

Natalie stills. “Told me what?”

“About Loretta. The money. I assume that’s why you’re looking at me like that.”

Natalie lets out a small breath. So Spencer has told her something, but apparently not everything.

“He mentioned it. Yes.”

Sonja looks down, ashamed. “I never wanted you to find out. I know how it looks. I know what I did. But I want you to understand that I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone.”

“Sonja…”

“You were a good friend to me, Natalie. You were there when I needed someone. And I let you down. I let everyone down.”

—–

Back at the Maritime Exchange, Tempest takes a breath, her eyes fixed on Samantha.

“I don’t think either of us could have imagined standing here when we first met,” Tempest says. “Especially since one of the first things we did together was get kidnapped.” She turns to the audience. “It’s okay. We survived. And we know it’s crazy.”

A ripple of reassuring laughter bounces through the crowd.

“I definitely didn’t know what was waiting for me,” Tempest continues. “I had no idea how much my life was gonna change, or how much I would come to depend on you. You saw things in me that I couldn’t even see in myself. You believed in me… even when I didn’t make it easy.”

She pauses, collecting herself. “You gave me a place where I could be myself. You made me feel like I belonged. You’re all about giving the benefit of the doubt, not judging someone on a first impression or one thing they did. And am I ever grateful you did that for me. Somewhere along the way, you became so much more than the person I fell in love with. You became my partner… my best friend… my family.”

Samantha’s eyes brim with tears.

“I promise to keep building this life with you. Support you, challenge you, laugh with you, and stand beside you through whatever comes our way. I promise I’ll never, ever take for granted this amazing thing we have. I love you, Samantha. And I’m so lucky that I get to call you my wife starting today.”

In the front row, Claire Fisher dabs at her eyes. Tim reaches for her hand.

—–

At the prison, Natalie leans closer to the partition.

“I know you didn’t mean to hurt me,” she tells Sonja, the receiver clutched in her hand. “But I think Spencer is.”

Sonja looks up. “What do you mean?”

Natalie hesitates, choosing her words cautiously. “He’s been making some accusations. He’s trying to connect those payments to me.”

Sonja’s expression hardens. “What?”

“I know Spencer. He’s looking for leverage, and he’s willing to twist things around to get what he wants.”

Sonja stares at her, absorbing this.

“That’s why I need your help,” Natalie says.

—–

At the altar, Trevor sets his notebook on the small table beside him that holds an ornate but tasteful arrangement of flowers.

“May I please have the rings?” he asks. Isaac Banks steps away from his post by Tempest’s side to take the pillow that holds the rings from Chase, who has been nervously sitting in the front row, kicking his legs as he safeguards the rings.

“Thank you, ring bearer. Great work,” Trevor says to his son, eliciting a smattering of applause from the crowd. On Tempest’s side of the wedding party, Alex Marshall watches his husband; he is still trying to work out how the Trevor he knows so well, the Trevor who has such an easy way with so many people, the Trevor who is such a natural father, could possible have been lying to him for the past year.

From her spot in the front row on the other side of the aisle, Diane Bishop winks at Isaac, who smiles at her.

Trevor hands one of the rings to Tempest.

“Now, Tempest,” he says, “place this ring on Samantha’s ring finger and repeat after me: I give you this ring…”

“I give you this ring…” Samantha holds out her left hand, and Tempest slides the band onto it.

“As a pledge of my eternal and unending devotion…”

“As a pledge of my eternal and unending devotion…”

“For better, for worse, in sickness and in health…”

“For better, for worse, in sickness and in health…”

“As long as we both shall live.”

“As long as we both shall live.”

Trevor gives Samantha the other ring, and soon enough, she has placed the band on Tempest’s left hand and recited the same words.

“Tempest, do you take Samantha to be your wife?”

“I do,” Tempest says, finding herself suddenly needing to suck in a breath.

“And Samantha, do you take Tempest to be your wife?”

Samantha’s lip quivers for a moment before she says, “I do.”

“Then, by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you married!” Trevor exclaims. “You may share your first kiss as wives.”

As the newlyweds come together for a kiss, their loved ones stand, clapping and cheering.

—–

Sonja leans toward the glass. “What kind of help?”

“I need you to tell the truth. That you never had any secret arrangement with me. That I wasn’t involved in whatever payments Spencer thinks he’s uncovered.”

Sonja frowns. “But I didn’t say you were involved.”

“I know. I’m just trying to make sure we’re on the same page.”

“Why would Spencer think you were involved?”

Natalie shakes her head. “Because he’s looking for something to use against me. He’s got some vague records, and he’s trying to connect them to me. I don’t know what he thinks he’s going to prove, but he’s making it sound like I was somehow behind all of this.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Of course it is. But Spencer doesn’t care about what’s ridiculous. He cares about screwing me over in the divorce.”

Sonja considers that. “So he’s saying it was you, not Loretta, who was paying me to be his nurse?”

With an emphatic nod, Natalie says, “Yeah. He thinks he can make it look that way.”

Sonja hesitates. “Did you give me money, Natalie?”

“What? No. That’s insane,” Natalie scoffs. “I didn’t even know you until you were working in Tim’s house. This is another one of Spencer’s games.” She sighs with exhaustion. “He did learn from Loretta, after all. And you know he has this sick thing with that woman. Maybe he thinks he can protect her memory while screwing me over–“

“I didn’t think Spencer was like that,” Sonja says.

“You know he has a dark side,” Natalie cuts in, perhaps a little too quickly. She softens her voice. “Look, I just need to know that when you have your hearing, you’re not going to say something that Spencer can twist around and use against me.”

Sonja sits back, her expression troubled. “You’re asking me not to say anything?”

“I’m asking you not to give Spencer something he can use to hurt me. And honestly, what good would it do you to bring me into this? It would only make things worse for you. You’d be admitting to more involvement, and that could mean an even longer sentence. More time away from TJ.”

Sonja looks down at the table. For a moment, Natalie seems to have gotten through to her.

Then Sonja looks up again. “Wait a minute.”

Natalie holds her gaze.

“You said Spencer has records. Payments he thinks connect back to you.”

“That’s what I’m telling you.”

Sonja’s expression changes. She’s no longer simply confused. She’s thinking.

“You think he fabricated them?”

Natalie shifts in her seat. “He must have.”

“Then the real records must be out there somewhere. Hire an investigator. Tim’s sister is one, right? And I’m sure Conrad–” Sonja pauses, pained even to say the name of the man with whom she was envisioning a future not long ago. “I’m sure he could help you.”

“Maybe,” Natalie says. “Maybe.”

Sonja studies her through the glass. The pieces are beginning to fall into place, and Natalie can see it happening.

“My god,” Sonja says at last. Her voice is quiet. “It was you.”

Natalie gives a small, incredulous laugh. “Sonja, don’t be ridiculous.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not lying.”

“Then why are you so worried about what I might say at my hearing? Why would Spencer be able to connect anything to you unless there was something to connect?”

Natalie glances toward the guard, then back at Sonja. “Sonja–“

Sonja shakes her head, hurt and angry now. “You always find a way to help yourself, Natalie. I shouldn’t have to tell you that there are legitimate records to find. You’d already be on top of that. And if you aren’t… it’s because you know they don’t exist.”

“You’re overthinking this,” Natalie protests.

“No, I’m not. I was about to ask why Loretta would’ve let me think she was the one who paid me. And it’s because of me. I flew across the country to see her in prison. Now I’m realizing that was the first she’d ever heard of the payments. Right?”

For the first time since she arrived, Natalie has nothing to say.

“I handed her leverage without even knowing it,” Sonja says, her voice rising. “You’re the reason Loretta was able to threaten and manipulate me for so long. You’re the reason I felt I had no choice but to do what I did.”

Natalie looks around, aware that the conversation is attracting attention.

“Keep your voice down.”

Sonja turns toward the guard standing nearby. “I’m done. I want her to leave.”

“Sonja, wait–“

“I said I’m done.” Sonja slams the receiver back down onto its cradle.

The guard approaches the partition and gestures for Natalie to stand. Natalie remains seated for another moment, searching Sonja’s face for some sign that she might reconsider.

There is none.

Finally, Natalie puts down the receiver. Sonja turns away from the glass, refusing to look at her. She keeps that up as the guard leads her away. When the door closes behind them, it is with a cold, hard slam that echoes through the space. Natalie can feel the eyes of the few other prisoners and visitors fixed upon her.

She stands and scrambles out of the visiting area, her heart thudding inside her chest and her brain in overdrive. She needs to do something — and fast.

—–

While the Maritime Exchange’s main hall is being turned for the reception, the guests have moved to the gallery to mingle during cocktail hour. The walls are outfitted with historic photographs and sketches documenting the history of the King’s Bay waterfront. Servers circulate with trays of champagne and hors d’oeuvres while soft music plays in the background. Samantha and Tempest are surrounded by well-wishers, accepting hugs and congratulations from friends and family.

Spencer Ragan stands near one of the tall windows overlooking the waterfront, a drink in his hand. He watches the newlyweds across the room, a faint smile crossing his face. Bree Halston approaches, holding a glass of sparkling wine.

“Hey, Spencer.”

He turns. “Bree. Hi. It’s nice you got to stand up for your cousin.”

“And your sister. Which is so weird, right?”

“That Samantha is both your cousin and my sister and I’m also your stepdad?” He chuckles. “Yeah.”

Bree laughs before taking a sip of her champagne. “Or almost ex-stepdad, I guess.”

There’s a moment of uncertainty between them. Neither seems quite sure what to say next.

“I hope you know you can call me if you ever need anything,” Spencer offers. “I mean that. I know we’ve never been, like, the classic stepfather and stepdaughter.”

Bree looks at him, a little surprised by the sincerity. “Thanks. I appreciate that.”

“You’re family, Bree. You’re Peter’s sister. Whatever’s going on between Natalie and me doesn’t change that.”

“I know.” She gives him a small smile. “And I hope you know I don’t want to get caught in the middle of any of it.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to.”

Bree glances around the room. “Speaking of… have you seen my mom?”

Spencer shakes his head. “I saw her before the ceremony. I haven’t noticed her since.”

“Really?”

“Why? Is something wrong?”

“No, I just…” Bree looks toward the entrance, then back at him. “I thought she’d be here for the whole thing.”

“Maybe she stepped outside for a minute.”

“Maybe.”

Bree takes another sip, but her expression has changed. She looks around the room again, searching the crowd.

“That’s weird,” she murmurs.

Spencer follows her gaze. “I’m sure she’s fine. Do you want me to call her?”

“It’s okay. But thanks. Maybe she said something to my grandma.” Still, she doesn’t seem entirely convinced. Across the room, Samantha catches her eye and waves her over. Bree gives Spencer a final, grateful smile.

“Thanks again.”

“Anytime, Bree.”

The blonde young woman heads toward her newly married cousin, but she glances once more toward the entrance before disappearing into the crowd.

—–

Natalie sits behind the wheel of her car, parked a short distance from the prison. The engine is off, and her hands rest on the steering wheel as she stares through the windshield. She can’t believe how badly that went. She really thought she was going to be able to steer Sonja in the right direction.

She takes a breath and reaches for her phone. Spencer has already made his move, and now Sonja knows enough to make things considerably worse. There’s no telling what Sonja might do, especially since she has very little to lose.

“And I have no time to lose,” Natalie mutters to herself.

Her thumb hovers over her phone. She considers making a call, then stops. No. She needs to think this through before she does anything else.

Natalie starts the car. Whatever Spencer thinks he’s accomplished, she isn’t going to let him have the last word.

—–

The main hall has been transformed for the reception. Round tables fill the space beneath the timber beams, their centerpieces glowing in the warm light of candles. Music plays as guests mingle, find their seats, and make their way toward the bar. Samantha and Tempest are still making their way around the room, accepting congratulations and stopping to talk with friends and family.

Alex stands near one of the tables, watching the activity around him. He’s holding a drink but hasn’t touched it in some time. Trevor approaches with another glass in his hand.

“Here you go,” Trevor says, offering it to him. “I thought you might need a refill.”

Alex looks at the glass, then at his husband. “Thanks.”

Trevor notices the lack of enthusiasm. “Everything okay?”

“Sure.”

“That’s convincing.” Trevor gives him a small smile. “You’ve been a little quiet.”

“Just… taking it all in.”

“It’s a beautiful wedding. Samantha and Tempest look so happy, too.” Trevor glances toward the newlyweds, who are laughing with Diane and Isaac. “I’m glad we could be here for them.”

“Me too. And you — you did a good job up there. Very convincing.”

Trevor studies him for a moment. “Convincing?”

Alex finally looks directly at him. “For someone who’s been secretly paying half of Finn‘s rent for over a year.”

The question catches Trevor off-guard. His expression shifts, the easy smile disappearing. “What?”

“Finn’s rent. At the house. You’ve been covering half of it.”

Trevor looks at him, momentarily unable to respond. Alex waits.

END OF EPISODE 1321

Will Trevor come clean with Alex?
What is Natalie’s next move going to be?
What is coming for the newlyweds?
Discuss it all in the comments below!