After the dark of sadness comes the glory of happiness!

Good old Brooke!

Thomas and Steffi were engrossed in their work, discussing a few ideas for a new PR strategy, when the door to their office was stormily torn open. There stood their former stepmother. Brooke let the door slam shut and stepped toward the siblings.

"Well, well here we are. I guess you're triumphant now, thinking you've finally reached your goal. You believe you've finally accomplished what you've been dreaming about for years. That you've really broken me, don't you?" Thomas and Steffy looked at each other, puzzled. Thomas tapped his sister.

"Could you please translate for me what this woman wants from us?"

"I'd love to do it, if I had a clue myself what she's talking about." She turned to Brooke. "Is it a full moon again or what is the reason for this stunt?" Brooke's patience snapped.

"Now don't play innocent! You know exactly what I'm talking about. You made sure that your parents met again in San Francisco. You're the ones who pushed them back together. This new relationship and this supposedly newfound love, that's your work." Steffy now understood what Brooke was about. She grinned at her gleefully.

"Oh thank you for the flowers. We'd love to take the credit for this miracle, but I'm afraid we had nothing to do with it."

"Tell that to whoever you want, but not me. This whole thing was planned from the beginning, wasn't it? First your mother disappears because she supposedly can't stand it here anymore, then you did everything you could to break up your father and me and finally you steered him to San Francisco. That's how it happened! Am I right?" Thomas shook his head in disbelief.

"Still good old Brooke, always blaming others."

"Come on, it wouldn't be the first time you've done everything you can to get your parents back together."

"But this time, neither Steffy nor I had anything to do with it. It looks like you brought it all on yourself this time. It took a long road, but Dad finally sees behind that pretty facade of yours." Steffy agreed with her brother. 

"Exactly, and he's finally settled on the right woman who really loves him and who makes him happy, without any scandals or heartache."

"Yeah, yeah, still the same sermon as ever."

"And you keep proving us right over and over again."

"Yes of course, I'm the bad one and your mother is the saint, the good warm-hearted one who never does anything wrong."

"Mom certainly made mistakes in her life, but she never hurt our father the way you did, she didn't humiliate and betray him repeatedly." Brooke looked at Thomas forcefully.

"Interesting that you of all people say that. You may not know it, but when your mother was pregnant with you, she couldn't even bring herself to tell your father this news. She even made him believe it was his brother's child."

"Seriously Brooke?! How dare you bring that up. Who the hell forced her to keep this secret? It was you and Thorne, wasn't it? And then you married Dad even though you knew about her pregnancy."

"Yeah, that's her version of the story, the fact is she lied to him for months even though she had the opportunity to tell him the truth. But she waited until your father and I were a happy family and then she did everything she could to destroy that happiness." Steffy rolled her eyes.

"And how many times did you try to destroy our family? Or shall I ask in another way, how many relationships have you ruined in your life? And by the way, at least Dad never had to ask for a paternity test to know that Thomas, Phoebe, and I are his children, which God knows can't be said for your kids. You probably never knew yourself who the father of your unborn child was. I bet there wasn't one pregnancy where you didn't trick, lie and manipulate to get the man who was just your destiny!"