Previously...

Jasper told Sonya he couldn't forgive her for the crimes she'd committed and the lies she'd fed him. Sonya had nowhere to run, and was resigned herself to being arrested by her ex if push came to shove.

Lucy and Charlie discovered Elisabeth and Abe just in time to prevent the unknowing half-siblings from taking their relationship to the next level. Mortified and sickened by the revelation, Elisabeth ran off, desperate to escape.

Erin and Kerrigan demanded answers from Charlie. Kerrigan was furious that Charlie hadn't mentioned Erin's pregnancy, and Erin was speechless when she discovered Charlie had been married! In the end, both women deserted him at the ball...

Highwind Resort - Outside

"Well? You know all my secrets. I think the letter is proof enough of that." Sonya crossed her arms over her chest and turned her face away from his. "Are you going to arrest me now?" She'd put on that natural bravado she always seemed to slip into when she was faced with trouble.

Jasper almost smiled in spite of himself for a lone second. Almost. Sonya trembled before him, and he knew it was only partly due to the cold. He ached inside, torn over what was expected of him and what he wanted so desperately to avoid.

"You've been lying to me for so long. When was the last time you told me the truth?" His words were tinged more with pain than anger.

"When I told you I loved you," she answered, her features softening. "At the end of my letter." He watched a tear slip down her tanned cheek.

He drew his hands from the pockets of his leather jacket, and brushed her tears away with a long finger. "I know," he whispered, looking into her wide eyes. "I know you meant every word you said in that letter. You have done some horrible things, but I can't do it ... not to you. There's no way I could arrest you."

She embraced him, and he felt her warm cheek against his decidedly cooler one as their faces touched. "What have I done to myself?"

It seemed she was only now coming to the realization that she had been wrong. Sonya had become an entirely different person in the past few months, and Jasper could tell she didn't like what she'd turned into.

"I don't think you're so far lost that you can't find the road back," Jasper whispered reassuringly into her ear. "You can make it back. Can you promise me you'll try?"

Sonya nodded, and wiped her stray tears away as Jasper unexpectedly broke their embrace. "I care about you so much, Sonya," he started, a lump forming in his throat. "Maybe too much."

Highwind Resort - Suite

She was disappointed when the lights came back on. She had been so content, lying curled up on the bed as the darkness enveloped her during the blackout. She just wanted to be swallowed up and to never be seen again. Never be hurt again. But then the lights had burned back to life and invaded her idyllic fantasy.

Elisabeth staggered over to the wall, and grimaced at her reflection in the mirror. It was official: she had never looked worse in her life. She honestly thought her world couldn't possibly get any worse after losing her job and her boyfriend. Yet, in a heinous twist of fate, it had. She'd sunk lower than she'd believed humanly possible.

She started to laugh for no apparent reason. Laughed until she started crying again. "How could this have happened!" she raged. The only decent guy she'd met since Remy. The only guy she'd allowed herself to fall for was her half-brother!

She sank back to the edge of the comfortable -- comforting -- bed. Where was she supposed to go from here? How could she ever face her family after this evening?

Minutes later, there was a tentative knock on the door to the suite. Elisabeth looked up, startled. She scrubbed her face with her hands, trying to rid her complexion of the running mascara and redness. "Stay out!" she shouted with her broken voice. The door slowly started opening.

"I said stay out! What part of that don't you--"

Her words ended abruptly when she saw Abe standing in the doorway. He silently took her in, his features pitying her. Elisabeth couldn't stand the sight of him.

"Are you -- okay?" he stammered, looking as though he'd rather be anyplace else in the world than in that room.

Elisabeth sniffed, fighting her emotions. "I will be. Once you leave," she offered coldly.

"I just came to see--"

"To see if you could help? Well, I think you've already done enough."

"Elisabeth, please!"

"No! You can't just expect me to act like nothing happened here! You can't honestly think I'm going to forgive you for this!" She brought her fingers to her eyes, trying to stop the flood of tears from escaping. "Please, Abe. If you really want to help me -- I'm begging you -- just go," she said, her voice wavering.

He stood in the doorway, more unsure of himself than Elisabeth had ever seen him, before finally walking away.

Highwind Resort - Ballroom

"I wish he'd hurry up over there," Martine sighed, looking across the room to her husband, who was -- as usual -- at Giselle's side. The two were delivering some sort of statement to the police and reporters, who had managed to flock into the resort already. "I can't stand it when he follows that woman around like a lost little puppy dog."

Kerrigan nodded, uncomfortable, but not wanting to find herself in the middle of the couple's spat.

"What's wrong, Kerri? You haven't said much this evening. How did things go with Charlie?" Martine asked, worried to hear Kerrigan's answer.

"Things didn't go with Charlie. Not at all."

"Don't be so put off. He probably just didn't want to upset Erin -- though I don't know why. He could do so much better than that plain little librarian," Martine paused, her eyes wandering across the room to where Charlie was seated. "On a more positive note, Charlie's looking pretty lonely over there all by himself. Maybe now would be a better time to go over and say a few words?" She allowed a playful smirk to curl her lips.

Kerrigan turned her back to Charlie. "I don't think so, Martine." She darted a glance at him over her shoulder. "Charlie's not the man I remembered."

Martine narrowed her eyes. "How so?"

"He didn't even tell me she was pregnant!" Kerri fired. She was upset, but also conscious enough of Charlie's presence to keep her voice lowered. "And Erin had no idea of my existence! Charlie never found me important enough to mention to her I guess."

"Not even once?"

"Never. She was totally blindsided by the fact that Charlie had been married before! We were supposed to be in love! He didn't think to tell her that he'd been married?"

"I'm sorry he's hurt you like this," Martine said, as Kerrigan's emotions headed to the fore once again. "At least we know Erin's out of the picture. She'll never want to see him again after tonight -- pregnant or not -- but there's still hope for the two of you. Don't you want to see if he still has feelings for you?"

"He told me he wants Erin..."

"But if they break up? Down the road...?"

"It doesn't matter!" Kerrigan countered. "Charlie's not the same man I married. He's been pretending he was never married to me ever since he started seeing her, and I don't care if they break up. I wouldn't take him back, Martine. We're too different now."

Kerrigan wished it were all different. She wished Charlie had been the same, open man she had loved, instead of the secretive man she saw before her. It had been selfish of her to try and spoil things with Charlie and Erin -- especially now that she realized she didn't want Charlie back.

"I'm finished with Charlie once and for all," Kerrigan asserted on her way out of the ballroom.

Martine watched Kerrigan walk away. "You say so now, but I don't believe that for a second," she said to herself before following her friend.

The Highwind Resort - Outside

An icy blast of wind hit Jasper, its biting cold marking the turn of their conversation as his words hung in the air. Jasper's expression hardened as he prepared himself for what he had to say.

"It's true. I love you too much, which is why it's so hard for me to say what I have to say to you. I can't trust you anymore, Sonya. I know you love me, and I know you regret everything you've done, but that just isn't enough."

"Jasper--"

"No!" he said, cutting her off. "I don't want to hear excuses now." He had to be harsh with her. He knew he'd lose his nerve if he gave her the chance to explain, but right now he felt so disappointed -- betrayed -- that he couldn't let her win him over again. "We have to end this."

"I was just going to say that I agree with you," Sonya continued softly, bowing her head. When she looked up once more, Jasper was surprised to see that she wasn't crying anymore.

Sonya's agreement to the breakup had caught him completely off-guard. "What?"

"I'm saying that you're right. I need to work on fixing my own life. I need to devote my time to me."

Suddenly, Jasper was beginning to wonder if he'd made a mistake in breaking things off. Didn't she care for him at all? How could she just let him go so easily? He knew his feelings were hypocritical, but she was making him rethink the sudden decision. "Are we sure this is what we want?"

"This is what we need, Jasper. We need some time apart; time for me to straighten myself out, and time for us to be friends and rebuild that trust."

It was one of the most mature things he'd ever heard Sonya say. He pulled her into a hug and kissed on the cheek. He knew it would be hard to let her go, but he had no idea how much he would just ache inside when it was over.

"Need a ride home?" he asked, after they parted.

"I'll be okay. Really, I think I will," she said, forcing herself to smile. She hopped in her car and drove off. Jasper couldn't go back inside until long after she had vanished down the road. He felt empty inside, and despite Sonya's sincerity, something felt completely wrong about letting her go.

Highwind Resort - Ballroom

Lucy Emery couldn't force herself to meet Abe's eyes upon his return to the ballroom. She felt so embarrassed and ashamed. Not ashamed of the two of them, but of the fact that their 'relationship' had progressed as far as it had without anyone knowing.

She was hoping the entire matter would just go away. Abe thought he could talk things out with Elisabeth, but Lucy knew her daughter, and Abe's exasperated appearance said it all. Elisabeth was prone to holding grudges and to dwelling on mistakes. She sighed and lowered her head, wondering what to do next.

"Elisabeth's always been a stubborn one, hasn't she?" Abe tried to joke, but his attempt fell flat between the both of them. "She's been hurt tonight -- maybe more than ever before. I'm so sorry about this, Lucy. I'm sorry I ever came to St. Laurent."

"Don't say that," Lucy answered absently. She was weary of this entire evening. It had been one big disgrace for her entire family. She didn't think she'd ever be able to forget the horror of discovering her daughter with Abe. She rubbed her tired eyes. "It wasn't your fault, Abe. It was mine. I'm a horrid excuse for a mother."

Now it was Abe's turn to reassure her. "I don't believe that for one second. From everything I've gathered, you would do anything for your daughters."

"I would now, but it wasn't always like this," Lucy said, hinting at their rocky past. She would go no further than the subtle allusion, however. She didn't have the energy to dredge up past mistakes tonight. "Remember when you asked to see a photo of Elisabeth? You wanted to see a picture of your sister? I could have saved the both of you so much heartache..." Lucy sighed. "What kind of mother doesn't have a photograph of her own child in her purse?"

Abe couldn't watch Lucy beat herself up anymore. "There was no way you could have seen this coming. Nobody could have!"

"Elisabeth and I have never really connected, you know? She's always been so detached from the rest of her family. Just when I thought we were finally growing closer, this monstrous -- thing -- had to happen..."

"Maybe it's too late for Elisabeth to forgive me, but you should go to her, Lucy," Abe said. "She needs someone right now. Someone who's not me."

"Do you really think she'll want to see me?" Lucy asked, brightening a bit. "I suppose it couldn't hurt any."

"I don't think Elisabeth will ever get past this, but maybe you can ease her mind -- make her realize that it was just a stupid mistake she couldn't have prevented. She needs you to repair her pride right now."

"Yes, but you don't know just how important her pride is to her," Lucy said, standing. "I'm going to go talk to her. You can go back to the inn if you want. You drove yourself, right?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry about tonight," Abe apologized again. "Good luck with Elisabeth," he said before leaving the ballroom.

Lucy headed upstairs to the suites. "I'll need it."

Highwind Resort - Gardens

It hadn't snowed for weeks now, but drifts were still formed against the hedge rows, stone walls, and benches in the Highwind gardens. A swirl of powdery snow swept past Erin's feet in a gust of wind. She watched it vanish into the hedges before turning her focus introspective once more.

The events of the party kept repeating themselves like a twisted slideshow in her mind. It was startling how quickly things had gone awry -- how one moment had changed her future. Why would Charlie have mentioned this other woman before? Maybe she should have given him a chance to explain, but everything had just happened way too fast.

At first, she had wanted to laugh at Kerrigan's claims. The idea of Charlie having been married to someone else was a joke. She knew him almost as well as she knew herself -- or at least she thought she had. Where did Kerrigan fit into the picture?

"Damn it, Charlie! Why didn't you ever tell me about this woman!" she said under her breath, surprised to hear herself speaking the words aloud. Even if he'd ended things with Kerrigan, he still should have mentioned her! How could he keep such a secret for all the time they'd known each other?

Erin leaned back against the bench, her back aching from sitting in one position for so long. Being pregnant was much harder than she'd anticipated. She didn't even want to fathom the discomfort she would experience nine months along.

Thinking of the baby made Erin realize how hypocritical she was being. Was it fair for her to be so harsh on Charlie for not being forthcoming when she'd been keeping a secret of her own for months now?

Granted, her secret was being kept with the best of intentions in mind, concerning Charlie. She didn't want him to be worried about their child's health if there was nothing to lose sleep over. Still, tonight had been proof that secrets could be devastating. Erin resolved to tell Charlie the truth when she saw him next -- and to give him the chance to explain himself.

That would come somewhere down the line. Now, she just wanted to leave the Highwind, and slip into her nice, warm bed, where she could forget about Charlie and Kerrigan for a few hours.

She began to stand from the bench slowly, mindful of the ever-growing child inside her.

"Let me give you a hand," a man's voice said, as he rounded the corner into the hedge rows. Erin accepted his offer, and he helped her to her feet.

"What are you doing out here, Abe?"

"Oh. I guess you haven't heard," he started, casting his dark eyes away from her. "Just getting a breath of fresh air," he finished quickly, before she could ask him to elaborate. He studied her carefully, judging from her appearance that she'd been sitting out in the cold for entirely too long. "Are you ... okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, shooting him an annoyed look. She wasn't up for his critical examination. "Why do you ask?"

"You look like you've been crying or something."

"I'm fine," she reaffirmed. "I've just been outside for too long, I guess."

She wasn't very convincing to Abe, who still regarded her with suspicion. Erin was relieved to find that he didn't press the issue, though. Instead he offered, "Are you ready to go? Can I give you a ride home or something?"

Erin's initial reaction was to decline, but she'd come to the party with Charlie, and she certainly didn't want to leave with him -- not tonight.

"Yeah, that would be great," Erin said with sincerity, really looking at her half-brother since he first appeared in the garden. "Are you okay? You're not looking your usual self this evening," she inquired, returning the favor as he led her to the car. He was downtrodden, and not as full of himself as he normally was.

"Nobody looks themselves in these penguin suits," he joked, dodging her question. Erin noted his avoidance, but let it slide.

"Thanks, Abe. I really mean it." As Abe draped his suit jacket across her icy shoulders and led her to the car, she felt a real connection with him for the first time since he'd arrived in their lives.