Nick Stings Nate With His Uncensored Opinion — and Chance Leaves Abby Floored

In her apartment, Chelsea folds laundry and the Billy’s voice comes into her mind: “I’m not trying to be harsh but you’re over-stepping.” Soon, all of the voices she’d been hearing flood back into her head and she starts to have a panic attack. Billy knocks and comes in. He notices what’s going on and urges her to take a deep breath. He wanted to check on her since she didn’t come for dessert. Chelsea did Thanksgiving with Adam and Connor and didn’t feel up to anything more after that. Billy tells him she doesn’t have to pretend with him or push him away. She admits that all these thoughts started coming and she didn’t have any place for them to go — why won’t they go away?!?

At Crimson Lights, Chance greets Victor and asks how he’s doing. Victor sits across from him and asks, “What did you do to my daughter?” Chance doesn’t know what he’s been told but his relationship with Abby is a private matter. Victor warns if Chance and Abby won’t tell him what’s going on, he’ll ask Devon. He explains that Abby was upset at Society last night but when Devon came in she greeted him warmly and seemed calm in his presence.

Nick strolls into Nate’s office at Newman Media and Nate holds out his hand to shake Nick’s, but he doesn’t reciprocate. Nate says he’s been meaning to get in touch; he hasn’t seen him around much. Nick says he’s been working on other projects. Nate suggests they do lunch, but Nick is booked solid. Nate asks, “Okay, what can I do for you.” Nick notes they’ve always been friends but lets him know he didn’t appreciate what he tried to do at Chancellor-Winters and that if he had his way, Sally Spectra will still be the CEO there.

Nate tells Nick that Sally was a visionary, and he agrees she didn’t deserve to be let go — that was Victoria’s call. Nick knows the job fell into his lap — because he was willing to sacrifice his family’s legacy to help his sister… and himself. Nate tells Nick he’s missing a lot that transpired at Chancellor-Winters. Nick says what he tried to pull over there goes against everything he thought he knew about him. Nick has seen this kind of transformation before and refers to when he started Dark Horse. He warns that power can be addictive and since there’s no endgame, you always want more. Nate argues that unlike Nick, he wasn’t raised to run a billion-dollar empire and he never wanted power — just an opportunity. This position is another way for him to find purpose and do good. Nick warns again that the power high feels good until you crash. “Unfortunately, I don’t think I can trust the man you’ve become, and I think that’s sad.”

Chloe arrives at Sally’s suite all excited about their new business that will be launched with Nick’s backing. Sally reveals she turned down his offer of a loan. She explains it didn’t feel like the right move. Chloe is floored when the redhead then tells her she doesn’t want to start a fashion line. She has a different idea and tells Chloe anyone would be lucky to have her as a partner. Chloe asks, “What is this? Are you breaking up with me?” Sally says it depends on whether or not she wants to join her in a new venture. Chloe says she’s on board — she just wants to know how Nick took the rejection. Sally says he understood. Chloe asks if she’s glad she chose the brother who has honest human emotions. Sally defends Adam, though he cares more about his ego and need to win than her. Chloe asks about planning a new business plan. Sally says that may not be necessary — she has a plan.

At Devon’s place, Abby’s dropping off Dom and they agree it feels awkward. She wonders if they should talk about how their lives are going off the rails.

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At Chelsea’s place, Billy doesn’t have an answer for why she’s having disturbing thoughts, but he knows she hasn’t had an easy life. Her brain is reacting to the life she’s lived and creating tools to help her survive. He guesses her mind still thinks she’s living on the edge and is in self-preservation mode. Chelsea marvels that it’s like he knows exactly what she’s going through. Billy continues on and says that depression can come on hard and strong but she can’t let the fear and pain lead, but push through that. Chelsea says it’s easier said than done.

At Crimson Lights, Chance admits to Victor that he and Abby are having problems. She thinks he puts his work over her and Dom and in retrospect, he thinks they got married too soon and spent too much time apart. Victor sits back, “Whoa. I had no idea. Do you love her?” Chance does, but the most loving thing to do right now is to let her go before things get worse. Victor asks, “What are you not telling me?”

At Devon’s place, Abby tells him she and Dom spent Thanksgiving alone. He asks why she didn’t come over there, and she says she wasn’t ready to answer questions from his family. They talk about Chance. Abby’s not convinced he’ll want to reconcile, and Devon isn’t sure he’ll want to throw away the marriage. Abby explains that so far, he’s been adamant. Devon knows that they’ll make great co-parents if things don’t work out. Abby thanks Devon, who assures her they won’t lose their friendship over what happened.

At Chelsea’s place, Billy reminds her that she had a great conversation with Johnny yesterday and it was all him — no one told him to do it. He and Victoria are taking their lead from Johnny. Chelsea asks if he told Victoria about what happened. Billy told her a bit and explains she needed to know what Johnny was reacting to. He reminds Chelsea she has the brain to develop healthy ways to cope. Billy vows to be there for her. Just then, he gets a text from Lily, who hopes he’s on his way. Billy tells Chelsea that he thinks her brain is trying to protect her by pushing people away, but she needs to override that. There is one person who is vital to her team right now — Chloe.

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Chloe arrives at Chelsea’s apartment and tells her she’s so glad she texted. They embrace. Chelsea says a lot has happened and Chloe wonders how she ended up living there. Chelsea says it was a by-product of some pretty major events. Chloe ran into Adam, who was looking for her. Chelsea says he was having trouble finding her because she was in the hospital. “I was there for some mental health issues.” She explains she was spiraling into a deep dark hole and couldn’t find her way out of it. Chloe knew she was struggling but had no idea it was so serious. She feels guilty for not being there for her, but Chelsea explains she was hiding it from everyone. Chelsea says she felt weaker than Chloe, who has been through more than she has but has always been able to persevere.

At Noah’s club, Billy tells Lily he stopped to check on Chelsea. Lily figured that’s where he was. “Now that she’s okay, I need something. You.” She talks about the distance growing between them and Billy picks up his phone and sends a text. Lily stops talking and asks, “Something with Chelsea, I assume?” Billy says she’s meeting with Chloe, and he just wanted to see if she needed anything. Lily hopes having Chloe in the mix doesn’t interfere with his new life’s mission. Billy asks what exactly she means by that.

Victoria joins Nate and Nick at Newman Media. Nate says Nick was just sharing some words of wisdom. “I clearly have a lot to learn from you.” Nick strides out and Victoria looks dismayed.

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At Devon’s, Abby thinks she needs to face the fact that her marriage is over. She questions what if Chance is right about not being able to give her what she needs and about her trying to turn him into something that he isn’t. Devon explains that he and Amanda had grown apart, distance does that. He doesn’t know, but maybe it was just a matter of time before they split up. “Some things are inevitable.” Abby wonders if maybe they’re just making excuses so as to not feel as guilty about what they did. “What we did it was unforgivable.” Devon regrets hurting anyone but he meant what he said before, “Part of me doesn’t regret what happened between us because in the moment, it made all the sense in the world.” They’re about to kiss when Dom starts crying and they pull apart.

At Crimson Lights, Chance tells Victor he’s sorry Abby’s hurting — he’s hurting as well. Victor tells him to do something about it. Chance says sometimes the best way to heal is to leave it alone. Victor reminds him he promised to put his daughter on a pedestal. “Are you not a man of your word?” He warns that as he gets older, he’ll realize family is everything and worth fighting for.

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At Chelsea’s place, she tells Chloe that she doesn’t know how to justify her pain next to Chloe losing Delia. Chloe explains it’s not a competition and comparing doesn’t make your own pain any less real. Chelsea says she is ready to get help and needs it because she was literally on the edge. Chloe gawps. Chelsea says Billy stopped her. “He saved my life.”

At Noah’s club, Lily tells Billy she thinks he’s distracting himself with the mission to save Chelsea as a way to feel better about leaving Chancellor-Winters. “You said that you were quitting to find your passion and you’ve done anything but.” Billy asks if she can hear herself right now. Lily counters, “Can you see yourself?” Chelsea has a lot of people around her and he’s acting like she can’t function properly without him. Billy can’t believe she’s going there right now. Lily says he wants to feel like he’s doing some noble gesture by sacrificing himself to be there for Chelsea day and night, but what he’s really doing is not taking responsibility for anything. Billy retorts, “There it is, now you’re actually telling the truth.”

Lily tells Billy she worries about him and Chelsea, and warns, “You don’t know what you’re playing at with this.” Lily wonders how Chelsea will rebuild normalcy in her life while constantly navigating around him. Billy argues that she needs support. Lily reminds him she has Sharon, who has a degree in psychology and is right downstairs, Chloe, and Adam. “The point is that instead of owning your own limitations, you’re using Chelsea’s traumatic experience to run away.” Billy scoffs, “Oh my God… run away from what?” Lily says from the company, from supporting her. It’s who he’s always been; chasing the next high. And the next high right now is being Chelsea’s savior. Billy honestly can’t believe how judgmental and petty she’s being. He accuses her of not being honest about how she feels about him leaving the company and asks, “And now you’re going to bring Chelsea into this?” Lily counters that he’s the one who has brought Chelsea into the center of everything. Billy expected more from Lily; he expected her to see that he is really trying to help someone in need. He reminds her he offered to stick around but she insisted it was time for him to leave and now she’s holding a grudge. Is she upset that he’s finding purpose outside the corporate world and outside of working for her? Did she like him better when he was solely in service to her, and he depended on her to rein him in? “Maybe it’s you, maybe you’re the one with the savior complex!” Lily warns him to be careful. Billy asks, “If I don’t need saving anymore Lily, where does that leave you?”

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At Newman Media, Victoria grills Nate about the tension between him and Nick. Nate relays that he said he doesn’t trust him. He’ll just have to work hard to prove himself. She tells Nate that she’s had nothing but positive emails from the staff, who are impressed with him. Victoria asks him to accompany her to a meeting in Los Angeles next week. Nate says he’s looking forward to it and wouldn’t miss it for the world.

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At Chelsea’s place, Chloe asks what she means by Billy saving her — was she thinking about dying? Chelsea nods, “I was.” Chloe, emotional, is proud of her for doing the hard work to get well. She’ll be there for her whatever she needs. “I love you. You’re like my sister.” They’re supposed to grow old together, play pickleball and wear matching tracksuits. There will be tough days, but she has to stick around for the good stuff. Chelsea, tears streaming, nods, “That’s the plan.” They embrace.

Abby finds Chance waiting for her at Society. He says he had a very interesting conversation with her father. Chance says he kept her secret and took all the blame. He had no intention of embarrassing her by telling her family or anyone else what happened. It got him thinking about the whole situation, “I think there is one thing we can both agree on.” Abby, hopeful, asks, “Yeah?” Chance thinks it would be a monumental mistake to drag this out any further. The best thing for everyone involved is if they move forward with a divorce, immediately. Abby reels.

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Next on The Young and the Restless: Adam clears the air with Sally, Billy and Lily reach an understanding, and Nate questions Elena’s loyalty.

Sneak peek! You won’t want to miss photos from Young & Restless’ holiday episodes in the gallery below.

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