Head Writer: Agnes Nixon / Executive Producer: Joseph Stuart
Despite agreeing that they would forget the night they spent together, Mike and Noreen can’t get each other off their minds. When Shana is called out of town on business, Mike can’t resist temptation and goes straight to Noreen, who feels guilty about sleeping with him again as he assures her that he loves her and isn’t going to marry Shana. Noreen doesn’t know whether to believe Mike when he says he’s going to break off his engagement, but Mike’s hand is forced when Jim realizes what’s been going on and confronts his friend about the hurt he’s caused both Noreen and Shana.
When Shana returns home from her business trip, Mike tries to break things off, but they’re interrupted and, as a result, Shana ends up attending her bridal shower blissfully unaware that she’s about to be dumped. As the shower is underway, Mike takes her aside to tell her that he can’t go through with their wedding because he’s still in love with Noreen. Devastated and humiliated, Shana ends the night crying by herself, wondering why every man she loves leaves her.
Still angry with Mike, Jim warns Noreen that just because Mike has broken things off with Shana doesn’t mean she can count on him and then goes in search of Shana, who has retreated to a house in the country to pull herself together. Although she rejects his sympathy at first, she eventually accepts comfort from him.
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Ava holds Stacey at gunpoint and tells her to stay away from Jack, but when Stacey calls her bluff and threatens to tell Jack about the confrontation, Ava pretends to be confused and unaware of how she ended up on Stacey’s doorstep with a gun. She keeps up the act when confronted by Jack and Kate, but her stunt only makes Jack more determined to end the marriage. When she comes home and finds Jack’s bags packed, she plays her last card by threatening to keep Jack from seeing Johnny if he walks out on her. Undeterred, Jack leaves and Ava decides to get her revenge by naming Stacey as the co-respondent in the divorce suit, promising to drag Stacey’s name through the mud.
Stacey is shocked when Jack informs her that he’s finally followed through on his threats to leave Ava, but remains torn over whether she should stay in Corinth to try to be with him or go to California and start her life anew. She doesn’t believe that Ava will ever really let Jack go and her concerns seem to be coming to fruition as Ava uses Johnny to punish Jack.
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Fearing that Keith will die in captivity, Lorna tries to find her way back to Jonathan’s lair, but cannot pinpoint the exact location. When she spots Jonathan’s henchwoman, Martha, leaving a drug store, Lorna follows her to Keith, who thinks he’s hallucinating when he sees Lorna coming into his cell. As Lorna is trying to get Keith out, they’re caught by Jonathan, who tells Lorna that he’s going to teach her a lesson and shows her a vision of her face becoming disfigured, warning her that he’ll make the vision a reality if she tries to free Keith again. Shaken after the encounter, Lorna breaks down when she sees Linc but is unable to tell him what’s wrong.
Needing an escape from Jonathan, Lorna goes to Wyoming, but only gains a new enemy in the form of Linc’s mother, Rebeka, who takes an immediate dislike to her. When Linc informs his mother that he intends to move to Corinth to be with Lorna, Rebeka warns him that he can do no such thing.
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Sam reiterates Harry’s blackmail threat to Gwyneth, bringing her to the realization that he’s switched sides and is now working against her. She’s comforted by Trisha’s declaration that she’s done with Steve after seeing Rick’s bruised and battered face, however, her position softens when Steve shows up to apologize for the poolside fight. Although tempted to tell her the truth when Trisha asks why he broke things off, Steve holds his tongue and leaves, but the two continue to be drawn together. Although her father has agreed to give Steve his job back on the condition that he not see her anymore, Cecelia continues to be jealous of Steve’s affection for Trisha and is determined to keep them from finding their way back to each other.
Despite Cecelia’s efforts, Steve ends up comforting Trisha when she receives a phone call from Curtis informing her that their father is dead. When he confesses that he still loves her, the two share a kiss and later decide to resume their relationship in secret. Meanwhile, seizing on the news of Clay’s death, Gwyneth puts on a performance as the grieving widow in order to deflect Cabot’s suspicions that Ann’s claims of her affair with Dane are true, but when Curtis returns he tells Gwyneth that he knows the truth about the state of her marriage to Clay.
Gwyneth’s problems are compounded when Harry is released from prison and immediately descends on her at the office. She agrees to follow through on paying him, but warns him that if Steve doesn’t stay away from Trisha, the money tap will be turned off. Although Harry is appeased, Dane is furious when he realizes that Gwyneth helped Harry get out of prison.
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Despite being on probation for her drunk driving crash, Ann drives off in search of a drink. When Jack and Lorna realize that their mother has taken his car, they go out in search for her and find her about to be taken advantage by a would-be gigolo. When she resists their attempts to rescue her, Jack tries to force her out of the bar and she slaps him, which causes her to come to her senses. They bring her home and Jack goes to Cabot and Isabelle, telling them that Ann needs help. When Cabot blames Dane for Ann’s condition, Jack reluctantly reveals that Dane is helping him obtain a divorce from Ava and Cabot chastises him for accepting Dane’s help.
While Ann laments to Lorna that she’s losing Dane, Dane is trysting with Gwyneth and telling her that he loves her and wants to make her his wife. Desperate to save her marriage, Ann goes to see Dane and almost catches him with Gwyneth, who manages to slip into the next room before being seen. However, she’s left behind a scarf, which Ann sees and recognizes as belonging to Gwyneth. Emboldened by the realization that the affair isn’t just in her head, Ann storms out and makes a vow to stop drinking, but remains determined to find a way to make her marriage work. Her decision leaves her vulnerable to further machinations from Dane, who plans to make her look so out of control that he can lock her away in an institution, and when he suggests that they toast to their future during a romantic dinner, she breaks her vow of sobriety. As she slips back towards the depths of alcoholism, Dane becomes increasingly obsessed with Gwyneth and the idea of marrying her.
Loving (1983-1995) 