Ridge Forrester has always believed that strong leadership requires difficult choices. For years, he has convinced himself that decisiveness—even when it hurts—was the hallmark of a true Forrester. But in the aftermath of recent events, Ridge is finally forced to confront a devastating truth: the choices he made in the name of control may have cost him the very soul of Forrester Creations.

What Ridge failed to see coming wasn’t a hostile takeover or an external rival. It was a quiet, painful exodus—led by family, fueled by wounded pride, and born from a growing sense that the fashion house no longer valued the people who built it.

At the heart of it all lies Ridge’s unwavering support of Steffy’s authority. To Ridge, backing his daughter was about loyalty, legacy, and continuity. But inside the walls of Forrester Creations, that loyalty began to look like favoritism. Creative voices were dismissed. Concerns were ignored. And a dangerous divide began to form between those in power and those who felt silenced.

Ridge believed he was maintaining order.

Instead, he was dismantling trust.

The first warning sign came from Katie Logan.

For months, Katie had felt herself slipping further to the margins of the company she helped sustain. Her ideas were brushed aside. Her experience was undervalued. Each time she tried to speak up, she was met with polite deflection—or worse, indifference. Ridge assumed Katie’s frustration would pass. He assumed wrong.

When Bill Spencer offered Katie the chance to launch a brand-new fashion house under his financial backing, she didn’t hesitate for long. For Katie, the decision wasn’t just professional—it was deeply emotional. Leaving Forrester Creations meant leaving behind years of compromise, disappointment, and feeling invisible. It meant choosing herself for the first time in a very long time.

When Katie finally announced her departure, Ridge was blindsided.

He told himself it would be a clean break. One designer leaving, one chapter closing.

He never imagined it would be the first domino to fall.

Katie made it clear she wasn’t interested in starting from scratch alone. She wanted more than money—she wanted integrity, history, and a creative partner who understood what Forrester Creations used to stand for. And so she turned to the one person whose name still carried unmatched weight in the fashion world.

Eric Forrester.

Katie didn’t approach Eric as a competitor or a disruptor. She came to him as family. She reminded him of the man who built Forrester Creations on collaboration, respect, and artistic freedom. She spoke of how far the company had drifted from those ideals—and how much it hurt to watch.

Eric listened.

And for the first time in a long while, he didn’t defend Ridge.

Eric had felt it too—the subtle push to the sidelines, the erosion of his influence, the quiet suggestion that his vision belonged to the past. Katie’s words echoed the doubts he had been suppressing. When Eric finally agreed to join her new venture, the shock waves were immediate and unforgiving.

Forrester Creations was no longer facing an outside threat.

It was facing a rival born from its own bloodline.

Ridge was devastated.

Eric’s departure wasn’t just a professional blow—it was a personal betrayal. The man who built the empire was now lending his name, reputation, and creative genius to a competing house. Suddenly, Ridge’s authority didn’t feel unshakable. It felt fragile.

And the losses didn’t stop there.

Hope Logan had been watching the tension between Ridge and Steffy with growing unease. Her vision for fashion—rooted in compassion, inclusivity, and social responsibility—had increasingly clashed with Steffy’s rigid leadership style. Each attempt Hope made to advocate for change was quietly shut down. Ridge refused to intervene, unwilling to challenge Steffy or admit the division was real.

Hope reached her breaking point.

When she chose to walk away from Forrester Creations, it wasn’t dramatic. It was heartbreaking. Hope didn’t leave in anger—she left in disappointment. Deacon, fiercely protective of his daughter and outraged by how she had been treated, stood by her side. Their departure stripped Forrester of more than talent—it stripped the company of its moral compass and public goodwill.

Behind closed doors, panic began to spread.

Designers whispered. Staff questioned their future. The once-buzzing halls of Forrester Creations grew quieter as familiar faces disappeared one by one. Some left for ambition. Others left from sheer exhaustion. But all of them were drawn to the same promise—Katie’s new company offered respect, collaboration, and a chance to be heard.

Almost overnight, a powerful new fashion house emerged—one staffed by people who knew Forrester Creations inside and out. Its strengths. Its weaknesses. Its secrets.

The industry took notice.

Investors began to whisper that the balance of power in Los Angeles fashion was shifting. Buyers followed talent. Loyalty followed leadership. And suddenly, the once-untouchable Forrester empire looked vulnerable.

Only then did the full weight of Ridge’s mistake finally sink in.

Walking through the office halls, Ridge felt the absence of voices that once challenged and inspired him. Designs lacked spark. Energy was missing. The realization was crushing—he hadn’t just lost employees. He had lost family.

Ridge wanted to fix it. To apologize. To bring them home.

But pride stood in his way.

So did time.

Leadership, Ridge is forced to learn, isn’t about control—it’s about empathy. And empathy realized too late can cost you everything.

As Forrester Creations faces its greatest threat yet—from within the family itself—the question looms large. Can Ridge find a path back from this point of no return? Or has his new rival permanently redefined the future of fashion in Los Angeles?

One thing is certain.

Ridge Forrester’s regret has only just begun.