When a Chance encounter changes everything

The conflict between Devon, Abby, and Chance appears to have been resolved, but has it? Will Devon make more demands in the future? Chelsea and Sally seem to have drawn a line in the sand, but will their animosity destroy their fashion platform? Can Victor stop Ashland in his tracks if Ashland is planning a takeover? Join our columnist, who has a few opinions about the state of affairs in Genoa City, in this week's Two Scoops.

Let's begin with that heart-to-heart Devon had with Mariah. What a shock -- Mariah was the voice of reason, and she put some doubts in Devon's mind about going after shared custody; however, Devon has always been pig-headed about some of the decisions he's made, and this one is no exception. Mariah apparently had brought up a lot of good points to Devon about why he shouldn't go after shared custody. Mariah appeared to be the good angel sitting on Devon's shoulder, but I get the feeling that Amanda is the evil one sitting on his other shoulder and encouraging him to go for shared custody. Devon has admitted to Amanda that he wants to spend time with his son.

Devon told Amanda he was trying to be fair to Abby and Chance as well as himself. Really? For someone who had signed off all his legal rights to Dominic, he thinks he is being fair? How fair is it for Dominic to wonder "who's my daddy?" I guess Devon thinks it's okay to confuse this child. Devon's selfishness is what kept his lawsuit going. He claims he is trying to guarantee that Dominic will be protected. Basically, he is saying that neither Abby nor Chance can do that. How can Devon guarantee something like that?

Devon might get his wish. Chance admitted to Abby that although he loves Dominic, he feels disconnected from him. He admitted that Devon has a connection with Dominic that Chance doesn't have and that Devon did all the heavy lifting while Chance was in Spain. Chance feels Devon's request for shared custody should be granted. He claims Devon and Dominic are blood, and he wonders if it's right to stand in Devon's way.

How can Chance do that to Abby and Dominic? Chance really needs professional help, which he seems to be balking at. Chance told Abby that all he needed was her and Dominic, but that was a lie, which he finally admitted to. I think Abby needs to take a stand and demand he seek professional help, or their future won't survive.

I'm probably in the minority here, but I think there's an issue with Chance being willing to let Devon be a father to Dominic. How does Chance think Dominic will bond with Chance when Chance gets over his trauma, after Devon has played such a huge role in this child's life? I can't see Chance and Dominic ever bonding if he doesn't take a predominant role in Dominic's life. I agree with Abby. What's to stop Devon from demanding even more time or even full custody in the future? Devon had signed off all his rights to Dominic other than being a donor and a family friend. He then challenged the contract for joint custody.

Despite Devon saying he didn't want to take anything away from Abby and Chance, he has. This was the first step. The more time Devon spends with Dominic, the more he will want to do what is "right" for "his son." I was shocked when Devon asked Chance if he was in a solid place emotionally and ready to give Dominic all the attention and love he needed without being affected by all the trauma he'd been through. Chance stated he wasn't.

Chance has already admitted feeling disconnected from Dominic. I'm no psychologist/psychiatrist, so I could be wrong, but perhaps after Chance watched his team die in that explosion, he is afraid of losing anyone else. Perhaps he's built a wall to avoid losing another person. The guilt is weighing heavily on him because he's the only one who survived. I think that guilt is stopping Chance from bonding with Dominic. I'm surprised he has still been able to connect with Abby.

I still can't figure out why Chance feels that Devon would be a great stand-in for him. I also don't understand how Chance managed to convince Abby to allow Devon to have shared custody. She certainly didn't look happy telling Devon they agreed to his conditions. I don't see this as a great solution. In my opinion, Devon should have had visitation as originally set out, and Chance needs to work with a therapist while at least being a presence in Dominic's life so that when he's ready, the bonding will have already begun.

How does Chance think he will be able to bond with Dominic after Devon has had such a presence in that little boy's life? I'm also on the fence with Devon's request to add Winters to Dominic's already long name. Devon had given up all rights to Dominic, so wouldn't that preclude Neil from being the grandpappy to Dominic? I guess someone with family law experience would have to provide an answer to that.

Once again, the writers began with a great love story for Abby and Chance; however, it appears this marriage has hit a bump in the road before their first anniversary. The lawyers in Genoa City must be making a killing on divorce cases. No one can seem to stay married for more than a few months, and, poof, that march down the aisle has turned into the march down the hall to divorce court. Can Abby and Chance's love story survive? I hope so. Abby has had one failure after another, and it's time for her to have some happiness.

Hooray! Victor and Michael are together again and in a major storyline. Who was as surprised as I was about Victor being so suspicious of Ashland? He appeared to have embraced Ashland in every way, but look at what has been lurking under the surface! Victor wants Michael to investigate Ashland's illness. Finally! I can't wait to see what Michael discovers.

Victor isn't happy that the company he'd built from the ground up has the name Locke attached to the Newman name. Victor refuses to accept that, and he will fight to preserve his legacy by any means necessary. He doesn't understand how a man with a world-class company would allow his company to merge with another. Victor is suspicious because Ashland gave it up too easily.

I'm suspicious of both of them. I couldn't understand how Victor instantly became enamored with Ashland when he discovered Victoria was in love with Ashland. I also couldn't see Victor loving the idea of adding Locke to the Newman name. That company was Victor's baby, something he'd built from nothing into a world-class entity. Second, I was suspicious of Ashland merging his company with Newman so easily and not retaliating against Victor for withholding medical care during his heart attack.

I have always questioned whether Ashland's illness was real. We have never seen him with any of his doctors and never heard his oncologist's names, and I found it odd that Victoria never attended any of the appointments with him.

If Ashland has been faking this cancer, then there has been a very evil plan afoot on his part. With my suspicions about Ashland's illness, I have wondered if he was planning to take Newman Enterprises away from Victor. I wonder if this whole charade has been Ashland's way of paying Victor back for not calling for medical help -- until Ashland signed the contract for Cyaxares over to Victor -- during his heart attack. It just seemed odd to me that someone as ruthless as Ashland wouldn't retaliate.

It looks like Victoria's love story of the century might wind up being a heartbreaker once again. In one way, I really feel sorry for her losing at love once again, but on the other hand, I'm cheering, because she has become far too cocky and too arrogant, and this just might be the catalyst for a swan dive off this throne she has built for herself.

I wonder what else Michael will discover about Ashland. If Ashland had Newman Enterprises in his sights, it has certainly been a very elaborate plan, and I hope that super sleuth Michael will get to the bottom of it. Ashland's blackmailer has been eliminated, and I guess he feels nothing is standing in his way; Victor seems to have accepted him, and Victoria sees him through loving eyes only.

Nikki, on the other hand, became suspicious after she discovered Ashland was vetting a colleague from New York into a vice president position at Newman Locke behind Victoria's back. He told Nikki that he didn't want to bother Victoria with such pesky things. He backed down after Nikki shared that information with Victoria. Victoria defended Ashland; however, when she was alone, Victoria did appear a little concerned.

The bad blood between Victoria and Adam has resurfaced. Victoria thinks she can outsmart Adam and add Newman Media to Newman Locke. She wanted to turn Newman Locke into the powerhouse she'd dreamed of her "empire" becoming. I think Adam sees right through her. You know he is going to fight her at every turn. Victoria was so self-righteous when she told Adam not to count on Victor having his back. Adam's comeback was for her not to count on Victor having her back, either. Did anyone notice how her face fell after Adam's comment? It sure made me smile.

What does Victoria have up her sleeve this time? Her plan to put a wedge between Victor and Adam was a complete failure. Victoria told Ashland that they needed to come up with another plan. She alluded to having all Newman entities under the Newman Locke umbrella, and that would involve a lawsuit. Their cutthroat lawyers would have Adam distracted long enough for her and Ashland to proceed with their next move.

Victoria has always been on the witchy side but never a full-blown witch casting spells over her cauldron. She really believes she can outmaneuver Victor. Yes, she has daddy's business sense, but Victor has had at least half a century of experience outmaneuvering people. I don't believe she will acquire Newman Media; however, if she does, it will only be if the great Victor Newman allows that to happen. I don't believe Victoria will ever outmaneuver Daddy.

Are we finally going to see Billy and Adam put their feud to bed? Geez, will the sun still rise in the east if that happens? Many of us will probably jump for joy if they finally bury the hatchet and allow Delia to rest in peace.

Billy seems to be completely committed to helping Lily in her new position as CEO. Billy does have a good business head when he looks at things objectively. He gets into trouble when he looks at opportunities subjectively. Are we going to love the new and improved Billy Abbott? That remains to be seen.

Chelsea wants to move on with her life, but she wants to do it with Adam in it, even though he has stated he wants no part of a life with her other that co-parenting Connor. Adam has reflected on their life together, and he has seen how they repeatedly hurt each other. He saw more of the same thing happening in the future. Adam felt they needed to remain friends because of Connor, but that was as far as he was willing to go.

Chelsea, in the meantime, is determined to win Adam back. To that end, she is constantly devising plots against Sally, even if it would be counterproductive to their fashion platform. Sally is such a liar, especially when she insists she isn't interested in Adam, even while she tried to entice him into a trip to New York with her -- or finds any other excuse to spend time with him.

Chelsea has come up with a new plan. She told Adam that in order for her to do her work well, the fashion platform needs to move off-site. Chelsea seems to think that will deter Sally's constant encounters with Adam. If Chelsea believes that, then she doesn't know Sally. Sally is tenacious and will do whatever it takes to get what she wants. Sally will always find a way to be with Adam.

Let's speculate with a little "What if?" We all know that Chelsea wants Sally to stay away from Adam, and she keeps planning new ways of achieving that goal. Her latest one is to move the fashion platform off-site because she thinks that would keep Sally from constantly being with Adam. She obviously doesn't know Sally.

I recently read an interesting article speculating on the Chelsea/Sally scenario, and I thought I would share it here because it is an interesting concept if it would actually happen, and the fallout from it could be huge.

We know that Adam is unhappy that Victor implied that he needed to keep his eye on Adam, which is leading Victor to take on a more active role in Newman Media. That isn't sitting well with Adam because it takes away his autonomy on how to run the company on a daily basis. Then there is Sally, who feels Chelsea will oppose everything she does and has no respect for her.

What if Sally asked Adam to join her in creating a new company they could run together. She knows that Adam isn't happy with Victor's decision to take on a more active role at Newman Media, and Sally wants to one-up Chelsea in the process because she knows that Chelsea will always oppose her ideas. If that happened, wouldn't that just frost Chelsea's keester. It would also leave Victor running the media company on his own.

That would certainly be an interesting turn of events. Chelsea and Sally would maintain their rival status, but only as fashion rivals rather than boss and employee, and Victor would be left holding the bag at Newman Media with Victoria hot on his heels, trying to acquire Newman Media. I thought this was an interesting speculation, and it could work.

How sweet was Tessa's proposal to Mariah? Camryn Grimes is one of the many fantastic actors on this soap, and she had me believing that the proposal was real and that she wasn't just playing a part. Then I loved all the excitement at Crimson Lights, with everyone absolutely thrilled about the engagement -- except Noah.

Poor Noah just can't seem to win in the game of love. He is really pining after Tessa, but Tessa is so starry-eyed over Mariah that she doesn't notice. Wait until Mariah discovers that Devon has joint custody of her "Bowie." I think that is going to put a great big chink in Mariah and Tessa's relationship, and Tessa is going to lean on Noah a lot, which might lead to a rekindling of old feelings. To be honest, I really hope that happens because I really loved Noah and Tessa together back in the day, and I would love to see them together again.

I hope you have enjoyed my thoughts and a little speculation. I would love to read some of your thoughts. In the meantime, until next time, stay safe! Nel

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