Author's Note: If you watch The Bold and The Beautiful and recognize a character, I don't own it and didn't create it. Sorry for the delay. Writer's block is no joke! Hope you all are still enjoying it!

The Point of It All

Part 13
As he looked for her, his phone buzzed again. Bill pulled out his phone to find a text from Steffy:

[Hey.
Sorry I had to go, but Liam really seemed to need you so I slipped out the back. Don't follow me. Please. Take care of your son. I know what he means to you. Hearing his voice like that reminded me of that very clearly. I need some time to think anyway. Everything has been happening so fast. You promised you would understand me needing time. So I need you to prove it. Prove that I'm right to trust you & let you in again. We'll see each other on Thanksgiving. You, Liam, and Wyatt are still invited. Just let me have some time to process. I do love you.
Steffy]

Bill growled and threw his phone at the bed, "Son of a bitch!" He slouched onto the edge of his bed rubbing his face with his hands.

He knew he should have seen it coming, but he'd let his hunger for her distract him as it always did. He would give her until Thanksgiving to reach out, and then, he would remind her who she belonged to and with. His other plans had been going well, and he knew one particularly devious and desperate plot to get her back was well underway.

He remembered when it came to him. It was before he'd fully realized he still had feelings for his daughter-in-law. Years ago, when they'd told him they were pregnant, a part of him felt like it died with the revelation that his beautiful Steffy was carrying another man's child. It had caused his resentment of Katie to burn anew although at the time he hadn't realized the feelings for what they were. That—and the feeling of being trapped that had grown steadily from the moment Katie announced her miraculous pregnancy with Will—was his only explanation for his inexplicable interest in Brooke Logan. It had also been around then that was first time he realized how deeply he resented his own son. That had hurt him to even feel it, but he'd done his best to bury that with the rest his love for Steffy.

When that child died, he'd grieved it, deeply. He would have loved him or her no matter because how could he not love a piece of Steffy or his son, but there had also been a shameful sense of relief. His beautiful Steffy would not carry another man's child. So this time when they mentioned their plans to try, he had been better prepared for it. But it had still galled, especially as his son had fallen back on his more disloyal instincts.

"Too much like his mother," he mumbled to himself. Sure, he had cared for the woman, but clearly, Kelly hadn't been nearly as loyal as he'd believed her to be since unbeknownst to him, she'd been sleeping with both him and Thorne Forrester. How his son had completely ignored that fact while he'd spun that sanitized little fairytale when they were first connecting, he would never know. But it didn't really matter. As always, he would do his best to guide his son.

That did not include letting him have a child with his beloved Steffy. That was out of the question. He'd never willingly let himself acknowledge the real reason why he'd had Justin slip those drugs in Liam's healthy vegan smoothies every day. They were completely harmless, except that they temporarily decreased viable sperm production and over time decreased sexual interest. At the time, he'd thought it was to protect Steffy and Spencer Publications from his son's growing feelings for that redheaded leach. The last thing any of them needed was a half-Spectra heir with its greedy, grasping little hand out. However in hindsight, he could admit to himself that there may have been some jealousy guiding his actions at the thought of Steffy swollen with his son's seed instead of his.

A dark grin curled across his face. But any guilt he'd felt was long gone now that Liam signed the divorce papers and freed him to take back his woman. When he'd confessed his pursuit of Steffy to Justin, he'd had him stop supplying Liam immediately. Turns out because of the turmoil of the last couple weeks, Justin already had. But that didn't matter. He had made love to her. And despite the fact that the topic of their unprotected sex had come up, she had yet to connect the dots or demand he use protection. Even now she could be carrying their little prince or princess. A little piece of their love made flesh. And while when she figured out what he'd done she'd be thoroughly annoyed with his highhandedness—scratch that. His beloved would without question be livid. However, knowing him like she did, he has faith that it wouldn't matter in the long run. She would understand it was his way of making the ultimate commitment to her.

Speaking of commitment, he should update his will. He planned to leave her and any children they would share all of the shares of Forrester and 50% of his estate —to include this house and controlling interest in his share of Spencer Publications, which had grown since buying out part of Karen's share so she could finance her pursuit of other endeavors. His boys could split what was left. And if they fought his will, it would cost them more of their share of his estate until it all defaulted to Steffy and their children. With Justin as his executor, of course. But it would be years before that would be a concern for any of them.

His phone buzzed. He reached for it seeing Justin. With a sigh, he decided to get the ball rolling and focus on business so when the time came he would be free to take time off to focus on wooing Steffy.

Steffy sat blindly staring into her oversized mug of hot cocoa gone cold as she tried to make sense of her recent actions. Until Liam's revelation about kissing Sally, there would have been no way to convince her that Liam Cooper Spencer wasn't the love of her life.

To her mind, he had been the center of every plan she had for the future. He was her best friend, the only father she could imagine for her kids, and the only man she wanted to make love to for the rest of her life. Before she heard him admit to kissing Sally, Liam was it for her, but now…

Now, she'd slept with a man she used to see as her everything in more ways than she'd ever viewed Liam. Bill was more than a best friend, the greatest love of her life, or the man she dreamed of fathering her children, although he'd been all of that once. He had been her co-conspirator, her adversary, her biggest cheerleader, her protector & her safe place… and now he happened to be her father-in-law. And as if that didn't leave her head spinning enough, it had only been a few months since her marriage to his other son—Liam's half-brother, Wyatt—had ended.

What had become of her life? This wasn't her. It damn sure wasn't who she wanted to be. Bouncing from relationship to relationship… especially with men who were all in the same family. No, this was a page right out of the Logan playbook. God, how demoralizing was it to realize the emotionally needy creature she was becoming without even realizing it? When had she started becoming so much like someone she had hated for so long?

'The first time you married the son of the man you really love just to get a win over a Logan,' a voice in her head whispered.

"That wasn't what happened," she said aloud shaken by the very thought. "Liam and I fell in love. I went about my pursuit of him the wrong way at first, but my feelings were real." She forced herself to her feet, dumped her cocoa, & rinsed the mug. "We fell in love. That was real," she repeated to herself under her breath adamantly trying to shake the question that kept popping up in response: Wasn't it?

Steffy stepped out of her bathtub feeling soothed & refreshed just as she heard a knock at her door. She scooped up her towel & her robe with a frown. She figured it could only be one of two people, her mother or Bill, and since she'd asked Bill for space—she rolled her eyes. It could still be either one of those two people. Hell, it was even more likely to be Bill reasserting his position before "magnanimously" choosing to give her space. Or it could be her mom checking in on her if she ever managed to disengage from the weird, battle of wills thing she'd had going with her dad earlier. Another knock sounded.

Steffy sighed and tightened the belt in her robe and continued toweling her hair dry as she moved toward the door. Whoever it was knew someone was here because she'd been playing music while she languished in her bath. She peeked through the peephole and reared back in shock. She took a moment to consider her options and then sighed. Rolling her eyes, she opened the door. "What happened to calling or texting, Liam?"

"I was in the neighborhood and when I realized you were probably staying here, I felt like an idiot, but I couldn't resist checking," he admitted, his eyes dipping lustily to her scantily clad body. "I brought food if it helps." Steffy crosses her arms and lifted an eyebrow at that. She eyed the boxes he held. "A meat lover's for you and a Gluten-free, Vegan with pineapple & green pepper for me."

Steffy caught a whiff and sighed. "Fine," she relented. "But only as long as the food lasts, and no wine for you because you have to drive home."

"Water will be fine," he swore eagerly.

Steffy eyed him for a moment longer before letting him in. "Go ahead and get comfortable while I get dressed."

"Don't bother on my account," Liam replied eying her hungrily again.

Steffy paused. "I'm well aware that I don't have to take you into account for anything I do anymore." And without another glance in his direction, she hurried upstairs to toss on some of the pieces from the new athleisure line she was testing ahead of Forrester's spring launch. She just hoped she wouldn't regret opening her door to him again.