The writing is on the wall

So much in Genoa City seems to revolve around Jeremy Stark and his connection to Diane. Phyllis, Nikki, and Ashley continue to plot their revenge against Diane, especially with the threat of Jeremy tracking her down. Jack and Kyle vow to protect her from this vicious villain, and Diane remains cocky and maintains that she is the victim -- until she sees Jeremy. Join our columnist for her views and opinions in Two Scoops for this week.

Why is it that every time Diane sees Jack or Kyle, all she talks about is how everyone is trying to discredit her? Can she not have a normal conversation with them other than crying on Jack and Kyle's shoulders? This is manipulation overload.

It looks like there will be more Diane waterworks in the forecast for Jack and Kyle's sympathy because her old pal Jeremy Stark is in town, and it's possible all Diane's secrets are about to be exposed. Or will Jeremy blackmail Diane, promising to keep her secrets as long as she does his bidding? Diane is faced with a dilemma: does she run, or does she come completely clean about herself and her life in Los Angeles to Jack and Kyle. Or, in order to keep her secrets, will she opt to do Jeremy's bidding? Which will be the lesser of the three evils? No matter what she decides, once the truth is exposed, she will probably lose Jack and Kyle.

Diane has been very busy expounding to Jack and Kyle about how certain people were persecuting her and trying to make her life so miserable it would hasten her exit out of town. It just seems that with every new piece of information, Diane has to cover her tracks by providing Jack and Kyle new sanitized versions of every situation to make it appear she is the victim and not the cause. I hope Jack and Kyle are wearing drip-dry suits, because so far, Diane has cried rivers on their shoulders -- with more to come, I'm sure.

Kyle has so desperately wanted his mother back in his life, despite the fact he doesn't completely trust her because of all her lies, that he gives her the benefit of the doubt and protects her. Jack, on the other hand, only wants to protect Diane for Kyle's sake, or does he? Jack has always been smart, but when it comes to Diane, she has him completely bamboozled to the point that he is protecting her. I loved the look of disgust on Ashley's face when she found Diane in Jack's arms. I wonder if Jack is succumbing to Diane's manipulations and developing feelings for her. Please, say it isn't so.

Ashley has pulled out all the stops and aligned herself with Tucker, hoping he will provide her with enough dirt on Diane to get her out of town. I do wonder if she is falling for Tucker again. Does she really think she can fool him into providing her with the information she needs? Tucker always seems to be four steps ahead of everyone. I tend to agree with Jack that Ashley has fallen for Tucker, and yet, her denials seem sincere. I guess we will have to wait and see whether she loves him or loves him not.

Ashley seems to be the levelheaded one, Nikki wants Diane gone but counts on Victor's support, and Phyllis is the bull in a china shop. Ashley was busy analyzing the consequences of putting a bug in Jeremy's ear that Diane had sold him out to the Feds and the danger that could pose for everyone. Not Phyllis, she just bulldozed her way into contacting Jeremy and putting that bug in his ear without any forethought to the consequences. Phyllis seemed so proud of herself. I wonder how proud she will be when she sees the damage she has done. Phyllis has been a favorite of mine for quite some time, but not so much lately. She just doesn't stop to think about consequences in anything she does.

For me, it was such a pretty sight seeing Diane blindsided by Jeremy's appearance at the Abbotts' front door. I hope Diane can take as good as she gives, because no matter how you look at it, Diane is in for a rough ride, methinks.

I recently read an article that questioned whether Chelsea was the right choice to do the mental health issue segments. The article suggested that Chelsea had faked her first breakdown, and she'd performed the current breakdown the same way she did the "faked" one. I didn't see the similarities at all. The first breakdown turned out to be real, and it had been a result of her stroke, if I recall correctly. She hadn't been thinking clearly when she'd planned to frame Adam for the attempted murder of Rey. Yes, perhaps she faked a bigger breakdown when she was caught, to avoid legal charges, but she genuinely was not okay. She'd needed to see a therapist then, and when she returned from seeing her mother, she still didn't seem like she was back to normal. She should have continued her therapy sessions, but she didn't.

The article suggested that perhaps they could have used Esther Valentine, since she was alone, she was rejected by Chloe in the past (which wasn't the case anymore), she and Jill didn't get along, and her employer and only friend, Katherine Chancellor, had died. Since then, Esther has built a life with Chloe, Kevin, and the grandkids, and she seems very happy. I don't see that Esther has been through any really devastating circumstances to reach the point of deep depression and desire to end her life. Even if she had, I just couldn't see Esther pulling off a believable portrayal of someone in a mental health crisis.

The article also suggested that Abby Newman would have been a better choice. Abby was rich, and she had her own business, the husband of her dreams, and the child she always wanted, but she cheated on Chance, who left her. She'd previously been married to Stitch and lost his baby. It's hard to say whether that would have been enough to send her over the edge. I don't think divorcing Stitch, losing Stitch's baby, and Chance leaving her would have sent her into a crisis. Abby has always been strong-willed and very focused, and she has too much family who love and support her. She still has her child, a business, and the support of friends.

Chelsea, on the other hand, has been the big loser. She lost Adam because she imagined he and Sharon were having an affair. After she returned from seeing her mother, Adam refused to reconcile with her, and she realized that Adam had moved on with Sally. Chelsea immediately made an enemy of Sally. She had a close relationship with Rey, but he died, which seemed to trigger a lack of focus on her work at Fenmore's, so she quit for no good reason, turned down a lucrative job with Marchetti, and developed an urgent need to tell Johnny she was his biological mother, only to be rejected by Johnny. Connor rejected her when she told him Johnny was his brother, her friendship with Chloe fell apart professionally and personally, and the podcasts she'd done with Billy ended when Billy decided to devote all his energy into his COO position. Chelsea was alone, with no one to turn to. She had distanced herself from everyone, and with no one to turn to, she slipped into a deep depression.

I completely disagreed with that article. I believe that Chelsea was the perfect choice for this storyline, and she has been doing an outstanding job. I wonder how many saw and agreed with that article.

Chelsea has gone through so much lately, and I think she really needs a friend other than just Chloe. Sharon has put all their differences aside and helped Chelsea in every way she could. I would love to see these two forgive and forget the past and start fresh as friends.

Adam is starting to grate on me. He always jumps to the wrong conclusions. It was great when Sharon called him out on everything. Adam wanted Billy to stay away from Chelsea and stop being her hero. Sharon told Adam that Billy wasn't playing a hero to Chelsea and that his concern was genuine. Sharon accused Adam of being adversarial and possibly jealous, which Adam denied.

Adam claimed it wasn't healthy for Billy to be helping Chelsea because he was Johnny's father. Sharon told him Johnny had initiated the chat with Chelsea on Thanksgiving, which didn't sit well with Adam, who claimed that was when Chelsea's problems began. Sharon told him that was only a symptom, not the root. Adam claimed Lily didn't like the dynamic between Chelsea and Billy and had gone to talk to Chelsea about it, but Sharon informed him that Chelsea had initiated that meeting.

I loved how Sharon put into perspective everything Adam had twisted into his own scenarios. Adam tends to see what he wants to see rather than what really is. Sharon said Adam sometimes blurs the lines. Why is Adam so against Billy helping Chelsea? He isn't interested in reconciling with her, so what's the big deal? Is this a case of "I don't want her, but you can't have her, either?" Adam knew that Chelsea was having issues because he'd seen them before, but he didn't recognize how different it was this time or how deeply troubled Chelsea had been the night she stood on the edge of that roof. Billy had because he'd been to those dark places. Chelsea is relying mainly on Billy, but she also knows she has a network of people to lean on.

Once again, Adam went off the deep end after Connor told him about the fight that he'd had with a kid at school who had called Chelsea crazy. Adam claimed there were only two options: pull Connor out of that school or have that kid expelled.

I was so impressed with Chelsea's response. She told Adam they couldn't pack and go elsewhere every time there was an incident. Chelsea is on the road to recovery, and she is thinking logically and realistically. Not Adam. I thought Chelsea handled the Connor situation really well, and Connor will learn by example.

When is Adam going to stop being adversarial with everyone? He hates Billy, and now he's in a battle with Nick over Sally -- and he is playing dirty, the only way Adam knows how to play. It seems that this time, it has worked out for him because he and Sally have reconciled. I'm not sure whether I'm happy about it or not. I'm in the minority on this one because I think Adam is going to bring Sally down. That's what Adam has done in the past, and I can't see him being any different now, but I will eat crow if he proves me wrong.

It was bound to happen. Abby admitted that her moment of passion with the wrong partner had been unforgivable, and she feared her marriage is over. Yup, it sure is. Chance has ended his marriage and wants an immediate divorce. I think Abby read too many fairy tales growing up. Her expectations about marriage were unrealistic. She expected hubby to bring home the bacon after a nine-to-five job and then spend the evening with her and Dominic. It really bugged her that he was gone all hours of the day and night. When that didn't go as Abby had choreographed it, she decided to explore a little horizontal tango with Devon.

Of course, when Victor discovered that Chance and Abby had split, he had to step in and ask what Chance had done to Abby, and then he insisted on knowing what had happened. It was none of Victor's business, but as usual, he had to interfere. Chance, being the gentleman he is, refused to tell Victor anything.

With Chance being free of Abby, will he remain a bachelor or turn to someone new? There are slim pickings in Genoa City in the romance department, so who should we pair him up with? How about Sharon? That might be an idea. He and Sharon have always had an easy rapport and friendship. Plus, Sharon had been married to two cops, Dylan and Rey, so she is used to the crazy hours. Chance is an honest and down-to-earth person, and so is Sharon.

Hmm ... On second thought, this might turn out to be a very boring relationship. Sharon had been married to Dylan McAvoy, who'd been a detective with the Genoa City Police Department. They turned out to be what I thought was a boring couple before Dylan was put into Witness Protection, so I'm nixing a union between Sharon and Chance for fear the same thing would happen. If it happens, they might surprise me. I'm still rooting for a Nick and Sharon reunion, though.

Sally is free but in a triangle with Nick and Adam, and she will probably decide to reunite with Adam. Lily might wind up being a free agent in the not-too-distant future, but I think if or when she and Billy part ways that Lily will gravitate toward Daniel. Then there is Chelsea, who could use a steadying force like Chance. That might be an interesting union, the cop and the con. My vote is for a Chance and Chelsea relationship.

Chelsea might choose Billy, who might also become a free agent in the near future. There are a lot of pros and cons for this union. Given Billy's background, would he be a good influence on Chelsea? I don't know. I think with both of them having mental health issues and occasionally going to their dark place, it might not be such a great idea. I wonder if they are strong enough to prop each other up when needed. I really hope they remain just friends. I think the double "C" would work best: Chance and Chelsea -- or cop and con; that works too.

Are Billy and Lily on the outs? She hasn't been happy with the amount of time he's been spending with Chelsea, although Lily understood Chelsea's situation much better after their conversation. However, understanding Chelsea's situation doesn't make Lily and Billy's situation all rainbows and roses. I think Lily still resents Billy's obsession with helping Chelsea and how much time he spends with her.

Things seem to be slowly deteriorating between Lily and Billy, and now with Daniel's return and the possibility of him working at Chancellor-Winters, I can see a renewed coupling between these two. Billy is high maintenance, and it's possible Lily might be getting fed up with constantly propping him up. I loved Lily and Daniel together back in the day, and I really would love to see them together again.

Ice princess Victoria is getting worse by the day. I thought everything she'd gone through with Ashland would have brought her down to earth, but it seems it has made her more ruthless. Sally had been doing a great job at Newman Media, but princess Victoria wanted to thank Nate in some way for being the mole at Chancellor-Winters and helping her gain majority shares in the company when it went public, so she fired Sally for no good reason and hired Nate (with no experience) and claimed he would do a great job.

My hat is off to Nick for telling Nate it would be a long time before he trusted Nate after the way Nate had betrayed his family. Nick warned Victoria that if Nate had done it once, he would do it again, but Victoria brushed that aside because she didn't believe that Nate would ever betray her. I can't wait for Nate to fall flat on his face and perhaps even betray Victoria in the process. Then Nick could do the happy dance and say he told her so. Victoria has a very high-and-mighty attitude. She certainly is her father's daughter (maybe even worse), but I really can't wait for her fall from this paradise.

Those are my opinions for this week. I'd love to hear yours. Feel free to drop them off in the Comments box just below this column. And until next time, stay safe!Nel

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