The price of betrayal

Ashland betrayed Victoria, and Diane betrayed Jack. Ashland's lies were exposed, and Victoria realized he's been deceiving her. Jack received the shock of his life, seeing an undead Diane Jenkins, and Allie feels like a pawn in Diane Jenkins' game. Why has Diane returned? Join our columnist for her opinions, and perhaps a speculation or two, in Two Scoops for this week.

I guess I should begin with the most prominent and ongoing saga of Ashland and Victoria. Finally, Victoria has realized that Ashland has been manipulating her while working toward his end game of taking over Newman Locke. With the mounting evidence piling up against Ashland, Victoria finally believes that Ashland never loved her and that she was just a means to an end. Look out, Ashland, because you have just poked the wrong mama bear. Victoria feels she is a woman scorned, and she is about to unleash her vengeance on you.

I have to say I really loved the scenes between Victoria and Billy. They were filled with compassion on Billy's part and complete honesty from Victoria. All Billy wanted to do was to help her to bring Ashland down. He never said, "I told you so." There is a love between these two that will never die, even though they have gone their separate ways. Billy will always be there for Victoria.

Beware, Victoria is on the warpath, and we all know she can be as devious as Victor. At first glance, it appeared Victoria was going to remain with Ashland; however, the look on her face said something very different. Victoria has been lulling Ashland into a false sense of security, and he is following her lead. Little does he know, he is the lamb being led into the sacrificial fire, and I can't wait to see him crash and burn, so to speak. Ashland is a slick, silver-tongued snake and very convincing, but somehow, he can't extricate himself from all the evidence that he'd faked his cancer and treatment, or provide proof of his claim that he has been framed. He seems to think that denying all the allegations will prove him innocent, but he never met the likes of the Newmans, who look after their own.

Victor, in particular, has always investigated people that have anything to do with his company or his family. Victoria is no different. She did trace payments to the Peruvian clinic back to one of Ashland's obscure media companies. Ashland danced around that, but it still left a niggle of doubt in Victoria's mind.

When the Newmans gathered in Victoria's office for her big announcement that she and Ashland were going to Tuscany, I laughed when Victor said something to the effect that when Victoria and Ashland were holding hands and frolicking through the Tuscan gardens, Adam would be the temporary CEO of Newman Locke. Oops, there went Victoria's master plan. Papa bear is going to look after his company if Victoria isn't willing to share the plans on how she plans to bring Ashland down. Funny how Victoria, who claims she knows how to handle Victor, hadn't anticipated that Victor would put the kibosh on her plans. So much for handling daddy.

How about Nate standing up to Ashland once again. Nate asked if Ashland was trying to convince him that all the evidence against Ashland was baseless rumors and that Ashland was the poor misunderstood victim of his powerful enemies. Nate told Ashland to give it up, do the right thing, and tell Victoria the truth. Hats off to Nate.

Who still believes Adam has changed? I don't. That change was a temporary one, and Adam is right back to being his old nasty self. Victoria is going through a crisis, and all Adam can think about is plotting with Sally about how to oust Victoria from the CEO position and take it over himself. Is this called brotherly love? Quite often, I have read posts saying Victoria needs to stop being so hateful toward Adam. I have to wonder if they are watching the same show. Adam has always been extremely nasty to Victoria, and so far, nothing has changed. He continues to vilify her to Victor. Did everyone notice how Adam's face lit up when Victor said that Adam would be temporary CEO in Victoria's absence? You know this is going to be short-lived.

There is no way that Victoria would allow Adam to step in as temporary CEO. I have a feeling Victoria will cancel her and Ashland's trip to Tuscany. Obviously, she will need to come up with plan B.

Why has Diane Jenkins returned? Jack was thunderstruck when he saw Diane at Keemo's house, and poor Allie is wondering what kind of hell she's walked into. Can anyone blame Jack for his shocked reaction at seeing Diane in the flesh. Diane claimed she gave Jack a piece of Keemo in the form of Allie, Keemo's daughter. Diane claimed she wanted to unite Jack with his granddaughter in an effort to make up for all the trouble she'd caused Jack. Horrified, Jack shouted that he would never forgive her. This is all very strange, since we all know that Nikki killed Diane in self-defense. It's now obvious that Diane faked her own death, but did she have help? Hmm, very curious.

I think at this point, we need to flesh out a little of Diane's background in order to refresh our memories about this evil witch and get a small bit of insight into why Diane was hated.

After Diane arrived in Genoa City, she began an affair with Jack. The affair continued after Jack married Patty Williams. Diane wanted Jack to make her top model at Jabot, but Jack hired someone else, which infuriated Diane. When Patty discovered the affair, she shot Jack three times, paralyzing him. Jack was able to walk after a long period in rehabilitation.

In the meantime, Victor lured Diane away from Jack, and he married her. Diane wanted a baby with Victor, but unbeknownst to her, Victor had a vasectomy. Prior to the vasectomy, Victor made a donation at Robertson Labs. Hellbent on having Victor's child, Diane tried to steal Victor's sperm sample from the lab; however, she was discovered by Nikki and Ashley, and her plan failed.

After Nikki was shot by Dr. Lander's ex-wife, Victor arranged with Diane for a quick divorce, so he could be free to remarry Nikki on her deathbed and allow her to die happy; after Nikki's death, he and Diane would remarry, but Nikki didn't die. Determined to have her revenge, Diane once again tried to steal Victor's sperm, but later discovered that Nikki, with Jack's help, had employed a detective's operative to get into Robertson Labs and switch the sperm samples to thwart Diane. Nikki's attempt to help Victor resulted in Jack becoming the father of Diane's baby when the technician inseminated Diane with Jack's sperm after he accidentally grabbed Jack's deposit.

Diane later joined Adam in an attempt to frame Victor for her murder. Diane set her and Adam's plan in motion by sending a text message instructing everyone who had threatened her to meet her at the footbridge in the park. When they arrived, they found Diane's body floating facedown in the stream. The autopsy revealed that Diane had been hit over the head ten times with a blunt object, an impression of a Harvard ring was on Diane's arm, and a small key was in Diane's mouth. Nikki was arrested for Diane's murder, but a video taken by Deacon Sharpe showed that Nikki had killed Diane in self-defense after Diane had tried to stab Nikki with a syringe.

It's time Ashley put a sock in it. Did she return to Genoa City just to dictate to Jack about what he should do about Allie? Has she forgotten they are all adults with the capacity of being able to make their own decisions, and that includes Jack? Who is she to tell Jack to back off? Jack is a smart man, and he knows what he is doing. She is fresh off the boat, so to speak, and doesn't have a clue what has transpired in Los Angeles. She obviously doesn't think Jack is capable of handling his situation. Wait until she hears Diane Jenkins is alive and well. Oh, the feathers are going to fly.

It looks like Jack and Allie are off to a good start with their relationship, but not so much with Diane Jenkins. You could see that Allie is warming up to Jack, and she sympathized with him after she saw the turmoil he went through after seeing Diane. I'm delighted that Michael Mealor is returning as Kyle.

Poor Jack. He hasn't had any kind of a love life since Phyllis cheated on him with Billy. Yes, there were a few heart palpitations with Sally until he saw who she really was, then Cupid withdrew its bow. Now, suddenly, this evil monster from the past, Diane Jenkins, resurfaces. Jack's shock was palpable when he saw her. So was Allie's when she realized that Taylor Jennings was, in fact, Diane Jenkins, and that Diane and Jack knew each other. Why has this witch returned?

Diane told Jack she wanted to make amends by reaching out and giving Jack something he hadn't known he'd lost, a piece of Keemo -- Jack's granddaughter, Allie, whom Jack wouldn't have known existed. Diane claimed Allie was a gift, but at what cost?

This poisonous snake in the guise of Diane Jenkins admitted to Jack that, with Deacon Sharpe's help, she'd staged her own death and fled the country. She claimed everyone had hated her, and they had all wanted her gone. Diane waxed poetic about how there had been love between her and Jack and how she'd gone to therapy to face everything she'd done. Oh, big surprise that Jack was unimpressed. He wanted to know why she'd torn Genoa City and Kyle's life apart. Diane stepped into a big pile of dino doo-doo when she reminded Jack that they were grandparents. Incensed, Jack reminded her she was nothing to Kyle except his late mother and that she'd chosen to take that path.

Jack realized why Diane went to all this trouble to meet with him. Diane was the mysterious texter, purchased Keemo's house, and introduced Jack to Allie, in order to bring Jack to her. She manipulated everything because she wanted to connect with Kyle. Jack exploded. He asked Diane in what world she believed she'd changed after manipulating the situation to her advantage. Jack told Diane to go back to her new and improved life and forget their meeting had ever happened.

I loved how Allie was able to calm Jack down at the caf. She warmed his heart when she said she could see some of her dad in Jack, and she wanted to get to know Jack. That was such a sweet moment.

What is going on with Phyllis? I love him, I love him not? For crying out loud, Phyllis, just tell Jack you love him and want to be with him. Enough of this mooning over him and being afraid to hurt him. Hurt is part of life. Just be careful how deeply you cut. We all know Jack still loves her. I wish these two would just get it together.

Phyllis and Lauren have been good friends for a long time, and I love this friendship. They sure opened up to each other at the hotel. That was refreshing. Lauren is really having issues about Michael working for Victor. I can't blame her, especially after the last fiasco, but that is life working for Victor.

I wonder if Michael will ever be able to control his association with Victor, and would it be worth the price? Well, the work would be interesting without all the kidnapping and danger. Michael has an agenda. He is really angry that Ashland had him locked up because Michael knew too much about Ashland's fake cancer. Michael is bound and determined to make Ashland pay. Michael has added himself to the list of people who want to bring Ashland down.

Didn't Chance just have a PTSD episode while playing with Dominic? He knocked the blocks over, and he froze. Does anyone believe he is ready to return to work? I sure don't, and I don't believe that Dr. Hoffman suggested that Chance return to work, because Chance is still too fragile. This isn't going to end well.

I'm sorry to see Jordi Vilasuso exiting as Rey Rosales. Like many of his fans, I, too, wanted to see him paired with Chelsea, but, alas, that won't be happening. I feel he's been underused, and it appeared he might have a bigger storyline if and when he would be paired with Chelsea. Jordi will be leaving the show in late spring, and we all wish him well. He will certainly be missed.

I hope you have enjoyed my views, and I would love to read your comments and opinions. Feel free to share your own thoughts. In the meantime, until next time, stay safe!Nel

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