Jeremy Corners Phyllis — and Jack Sends Nikki and Ashley on a Guilt Trip

At Crimson Lights, Sharon greets Adam with, “Good morning!” He’s not sure what qualifies it as good yet. She warns he won’t find out with that attitude. Adam smiles. He needs some of her sunshine and rainbows to rub off on him. He thanks her for her advice on how to talk to Chelsea the other day. “We came together for Connor’s sake.” He then went too fast and she shut him out again. Sharon coaches him to go slow and steady. Adam reminds her patience is not his forte. Sharon knows but commends the effort he’s putting in.

In Chelsea’s apartment, Connor says good morning to his mom, who says it’s going to be a good day. “I can tell already.” Over breakfast, Connor reports that the bully was nice to him in class. Chelsea thinks this is a good sign and says she had a good night of sleep. Connor likes seeing her happy. Chelsea assures him they can talk about the bad stuff if he needs to. A knock comes at the door – it’s Adam picking up Connor for school. Chelsea tells him they have extra pancakes for him. Adam notices her good mood and Connor says his mom is feeling better. Adam’s glad to hear it.

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Billy runs into Lily at Society and remarks that she left so early he didn’t get a chance to say, “Good morning, beautiful.” Lily says she had a breakfast meeting but the guy canceled. Billy feels they’re two ships passing in the night. Lily got home late last night and asks where he was the night before. Billy reports he got into it with Adam at the nightclub. Lily guesses he resents his involvement with Chelsea. Billy says, “Well, you clearly do.” He never thought she and Adam would be on the same side of anything.

At Jabot, Daniel tells Summer he’s impressed with Marchetti and as her brother, is very proud. He asks what’s up with all the security. “Is there something I should be worried about?” Summer claims there’s been some corporate espionage and changes the subject to what he’s doing for Chancellor-Winters. Daniel calls it a reinvention of himself, and Summer’s intrigued. Talk turns to Harrison and Summer says he makes being a mom easy. She asks about Lucy not being so little anymore and Daniel muses that they’re both examples of how wild teenagers can be. Lauren walks in and greets them. She asks about Daniel’s dad. Daniel spoke with him recently and tried to nudge him back to Genoa City too. He’ll come back when the time is right. Lauren says it’s been too long. Daniel leaves and Lauren tells Summer she’s very concerned about Phyllis.

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At the Abbott mansion, Phyllis wonders to Nikki and Ashley if it’s wise to have a conversation there when Kyle, Jack, or Diane could walk in at any minute. She reports that Diane spent the night there apparently. Ashley assures them there’s nobody there but Harrison and the nanny. They sit and Nikki wonders if they went too far. Phyllis insists they have come this far and just need to put their heads together; they can get this done. Ashley announces they’ve accomplished their goal. “Diane is officially gone.” Phyllis is skeptical but Ashley says she heard it from Jack himself. She walked in on an intense embrace and then Diane went back to the hotel to pack up. Nikki’s relieved. Diane’s gone, their families are safe, and no one was hurt in the process. Ashley’s not so sure about that.

At Crimson Lights, Sharon chats on the phone with Faith about her courses. She hangs up as Adam, Chelsea, and Connor walk in and tell her she’s a good family friend. Connor hugs his mom and goes off to school with Adam. Chelsea tells Sharon she had a great therapy session yesterday and she has a new challenge she’s ready to face. “My next steps start with you.”

Chelsea explains that she needs to make amends and tells Sharon she has a level of self-hatred to deal with. “I’ve hated so many of the things I’ve done.” It all goes back to learning the cons. The self-hatred led to the situation on the roof. She now needs to acknowledge the bad things she’s done, and that starts with an apology to Sharon. They have a rough history so she says this in no uncertain terms. “I’m sorry.” Sharon says, “Thank you.” Chelsea recalls that all the problems she had with Adam, she blamed on her, but she had her own trials and tribulations. Sharon has her own part in what went on between them. “It was a complicated dynamic.” Chelsea apologizes for her role in it again. She says Sharon has a good heart and has been a lifesaver. Sharon hopes this help lifts her shame away. “I know firsthand how damaging it can be.”

Chelsea tells Sharon she really wishes Rey were there so she could apologize to him too. Sharon would like to believe he can hear her and assures Chelsea he forgave her a long time ago. Adam returns and Chelsea asks him to come up to the apartment.

At the Abbott house, Ashley worries she’s potentially alienated Jack. Nikki thinks they did the right thing, and that Jack will see that in the long run. “He may even thank us for it.”

At Jabot, Lauren tells Summer that she’s concerned about Phyllis’ battle with Diane escalating. Jack appears and Summer explains that as of this morning, Diane no longer works at Marchetti. Lauren’s surprised. Jack says she was called out of town on a personal emergency. Summer guesses it will be more peaceful around there.

Summer and Jack go into the office and discuss how everything is going according to plan. Jack says they just have to figure out how to drive Jeremy Stark out of town before he does anymore damage. They discuss needing to have people believe Diane fled for her life. Jack warns they have to be careful around Harrison. He knows it’s hard to keep things for her brother, but Summer assures him she covered when he asked about the security. Jack reminds her how important it is to keep it from Phyllis, Nikki, and Ashley. Just then, Phyllis comes to the office door. Jack barks, “Phyllis, what do you want?”

Phyllis declares it a beautiful day and Jack informs her they’re not working on anything to do with Marchetti Home. Jack informs her she can drop the act — she succeeded. “Diane left town.” Phyllis says she finally did the right thing, but it had nothing to do with her. Jack says the person who tipped off Stark apparently sounded a lot like her. “Just save it, okay. You won. She’s gone. I hope it was worth it.” With that, he grabs his jacket and leaves.

At Society, Billy’s wondering why Lily encouraged Chelsea to keep her distance from him. Lily denies that; they actually had a good conversation. Is she insinuating something different? Billy says Chelsea’s not blaming her for anything. Lily snarks, “Oh, so you are.” Billy just finds it funny that Chels started pushing him away after her conversation with Lily. He asks, “Why are you so troubled by this? Please, just be honest with me. Do you feel threatened by my closeness to Chelsea?”

In Chelsea’s apartment, Adam senses she’s a little emotional. Chelsea says it’s not a bad thing. She’s taking accountability for her actions and making amends. “I just managed to get through it with Sharon and now it’s your turn.” Adam doesn’t need an apology; he’s put her through hell. Chelsea says he can make amends in the future if he likes, but right now it’s her turn. She recalls they had a great love once but there were so many lies — even Connor started out as a lie whens she claimed Adam wasn’t the boy’s father. She always found a way to blame him for everything instead of looking at her own issues. Chelsea acknowledges faking the severity of her stroke. Adam says she wasn’t in her right mind. Chelsea regrets it. She realizes now that he was trying to help her and she wouldn’t let him. She gives him a heartfelt apology and Adam accepts it. “I admire your willingness to do this.” Chelsea says it’s part of her journey now. She has a long list of people to make amends to, including Victoria, and with her and Billy’s permission, Johnny. Adam assumes Billy’s on the list. Chelsea says that will be the most difficult conversation she has to have.

At Society, Lily tells Billy this isn’t just about him providing Chelsea with support, it’s about what he’s getting out of it too. Billy asks what she thinks that is. Lily says, “This is a new high for you.” Instead of gambling with money, he’s doing something even riskier — gambling with Chelsea’s recovery. Lily doesn’t think he even realizes it. “Frankly, I’m really worried about where this crusade is taking you.” Billy is offended and asks her not to discuss this with Chelsea. “There’s nothing to be concerned about Lily.” Lily says he’s asking a lot of her, and she can’t handle it anymore. Just then, Billy gets a text. Lily sighs, “Yep. Billy, again, to the rescue.” Billy says he’ll look at the text later, but Lily doesn’t want to get blamed if it’s a serious emergency an something happens. Billy reads it and says, “It can wait.” Lily asks what it says. Billy replies, “Are you free? I need to see you.” Lily guesses she’s not as worried about her supposed warning to stay away from him as he is. Billy would like to finish their conversation. Lily urges him to go see what Chelsea needs the way he always does when she reaches out. Billy gets up and leaves.

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At the Abbott manse, Nikki thanks Ashley for letting her say hello to Harrison. Ashley feels bad because he keeps asking about Dee Dee. Nikki thinks they’re preventing a lot of pain down the road. She’s glad to know that she and Ashley can work together when the need arises. Jack walks in and guesses they’re celebrating Diane’s departure.

At Jabot, Phyllis asks Summer if she shares Jack’s anger at her about Diane leaving. Summer complains that her mother brought a criminal to their doorstep. Phyllis reminds her daughter that she said Diane needed to be stopped. Summer concedes this, and she’s angry about Diane’s non-stop parade of untruths, but things changed the second Phyllis brought this very real danger into their lives. Phyllis argues that Diane brought the danger into their lives. She’s gone and now the danger can leave. Summer fumes that what she did put them all at risk, including Harrison. Phyllis would never put that boy in harm’s way. Summer yells, “Except you did!” She calls what her mother did “indefensible” and storms out.

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Once alone, Phyllis turns around and jumps out of her skin. Jeremy Stark is standing right behind her. Phyllis stammers, “Mr. Stark. You got up here again past security. Wow.” Stark muses, “Yeah. Wow. What can I say? I can be very persuasive.”.

Daniel arrives at Society and asks if he can buy Lily a cup of coffee… or a shot of tequila. Lily can’t talk about what’s bothering her. Daniel assures her she can tell him anything.

Billy arrives at Chelsea’s apartment and asks if something happened. She says she’s fine. She asked him to come by because her therapist assigned her to make amends. Billy’s glad to hear she’s making progress. Chelsea tells him, “You’re next on my list and it’s going to be a very difficult conversation for obvious reasons.” She continues, “I knew you before anyone else in Genoa City and the apology I owe you… I don’t know how I’m going to find the words.”

At the Abbott mansion, Nikki tells Jack she doesn’t think Diane’s departure is such a bad thing. Jack snarks, “Tell that to her son and her grandson.” Ashley clucks, “Oh please, Jack. Don’t try and lay a guilt trip on us. Diane is a grown woman and left of her own free will.” Jack argues she left to protect herself and the rest of them from a hardened criminal. They’ve broken Kyle and Harrison’s hearts.

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At Jabot, Jeremy says he’s looking for Diane. Phyllis says she’s not there. Stark finds this puzzling. Phyllis is sorry but she and Diane aren’t friends. Stark notes that she didn’t show up for work and didn’t stay in her hotel suite last night. Phyllis doesn’t know where she is. Jeremy says, “You were the one who called to alert me about Diane, weren’t you?” He guesses this means there’s no love lost between her and his ex. “Why don’t we go somewhere we can speak more privately?” Phyllis looks shook.

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Next on The Young and the Restless: Nate pushes Devon’s buttons, Abby worries about her future, and Victoria expresses concern about Johnny.

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