CHAPTER 1

Adam Newman shuffled around the ground floor of his sparkling new penthouse, as he brooded about his current state of affairs. His eyes quickly surveyed the expansive open floor plan, and breath-taking view, as he poured two fingers of scotch into a glass. He should be joyously happy and content, but he couldn't recall ever being this miserable. Jagged thoughts skittered through his mind as he stared out the floor-to-ceiling picture window, at the city lights twinkling in the distance. Everything he placed above his wife seemed so infinitesimally small now. It was too late he concluded, downing the last of the scotch before loudly setting the glass down on the marble surface of his well stocked bar.

Adam wasn't the sort of guy to let abject failure go unchallenged. He was driven, ambitious, and habitually laser-focused, but not when it came to marriage. He was now a three-time loser. A repeat offender. Worse yet- every single marriage floundered because he was, as the ladies affectionately called him, a prick.

His second marriage to Skye was a colossal joke. He was still reeling from the pain of his first divorce when Skye conned him into marrying her. She was his friend-with-benefits buddy from college, and needed the Newman brand to catapult her fledgling hedge fund into the stratosphere. She used him, he used her, and then it was over. Mercifully. The hedge fund died with the marriage.

His first wife, Sharon Newman, was his universe. She loved him despite all his bullshit, and she put up with a lot of bullshit. In the end there were just too many lies between them, and the weight of the entire world opposing their union became insurmountable. Well, actually, just the fine, upstanding denizens of Genoa City, Wisconsin, but it felt like the whole world. She was his first love, and he fell hard. After the marriage was officially kaput, they began a sweet and frustrating start/stop merry-go-round, which lasted for three years, until he finally decided to stop the ride.

When his marriage to Sharon turned to dust, he didn't think anything could measure up to that loss on the pain meter index. Unfortunately, he was proven wrong with the collapse of his third marriage.

Chelsea Lawson. Beautiful, charming, and hell-on-wheels from the word GO! They began as friends. He almost immediately wanted in her pants because he was a dude, but he played it cool. She was new to Genoa City, so his sterling reputation did not muddy the waters. She even laughed at his lame, self-deprecating humor. He really just wanted a friend, and it didn't hurt that she was easy on the eyes. If she was amenable to some earth shattering, toe-curling sex, then better still! The Gods had something else in mind though. They're funny like that. They fell in love.

Waking up each morning next to this woman was ridiculously intoxicating. She even looked like a ten upon rousing from sleep. He wistfully recalled her shiny, brunette hair, tousled and gently framing her exquisite face. Many mornings he woke up to find her gazing at him with her almond shaped brown eyes, fringed with impossibly long lashes, and it made him forget his name.

He winced, tightly squeezing his eyes shut as images of Chelsea flooded his mind.

"Just stop," Adam whispered, his eyes filling with tears. Chelsea simply didn't want him anymore. She made that very clear. She was happy, and starting a new life for herself, with another man, and a baby on the way. She had even embarked on a career in fashion, and by all accounts she was doing very well. In short, she didn't need or want Adam Newman any longer.

Loosening his tie, he briefly considered pouring another drink when the sound of the doorbell pierced his skull, and his jumbled thoughts.

"Who the hell is calling at this late hour?" Adam wondered aloud, irritated at the intrusion.

He reluctantly walked to the door, and threw it open in a fit of pique, to find Sharon Newman standing on the other side.

"Sharon…"

She angrily stormed past him, turning abruptly to confront him as he quietly shut the door.

"How do you do it?!"

"I'm sorry…" This was quickly shaping up to be a fucked up evening, on top of an already fucked up day.

"How do you sleep at night?!" Sharon spat, shaking with fury. "Forget that- I'm sure you sleep quite well because one would have to have a conscience to be bothered by the shit that keeps most people awake!"

Adam stared back at her in disbelief, astounded at the depth of her rage. It took the last vestiges of his composure to remain calm, because all he wanted to do was drink, and blot out the world. A world seemingly inhabited by angry women.

"Sharon, I get that you hate my guts right now, but instead of talking in riddles, take a load off, and have a drink." He strode over to the bar with Sharon hot on his heels.

"I don't want a damn drink Adam! I want to know what gives you the right to speak to my therapist!"

Oh yeah..he did do that, thought Adam, as he blew out the breath he had been subconsciously holding since Sharon's arrival.

"Let me explain…"

"My therapy is my business! Whether I even see a therapist or not is also my business!"

Adam grinned slightly, shaking his head, "Look sister..you are sliding into an abyss, and if you can't see that.."

"OH, that's special." Sharon's eyes narrowed. "If I am 'sliding into an abyss', whose fault is that?!" Without warning Sharon clenched her fist, and landed it square into Adam's chest.

Coughing, he gripped her arm, steering her to the sofa, and forcefully shoved her onto the cushions. Flustered, and indignant, Sharon immediately attempted to stand up before he unceremoniously shoved her back down.

"Listen to me for one damn minute!" Adam choked out, barely six inches from her face. They leveled their eyes at one another, both breathing heavily from the exertion. "I did not attempt to break your doctor/patient confidentiality…"

"She wouldn't have said shit to you anyway!" Sharon seethed, her eyes sparkling with rage.

"Can I finish?!"

"FINISH!"

"Again, I did not, nor would I have attempted to break any privilege you have with your therapist. I ran into her at Crimson Lights, and simply told her.." He was losing his patience as she again attempted to push him away from her. "Sharon, I simply told her that I was concerned for you," he fumed through gritted teeth. "I AM concerned for you Sharon!"

"Get out of my face Adam!" Sharon gathered her strength, and awkwardly propelled herself off the sofa, moving quickly for the door.

"Sharon."

He sighed deeply as she turned to face him, obviously fighting back tears.

"You treated me with contempt Adam, and now I'm supposed to believe you care? They're just words Adam," Sharon snorted. "You're a miserable human being. Ask Chelsea..or even Victor."

"Goodbye Sharon," Adam muttered, as he turned his back, eager to escape the unpleasantness.

With that, she walked out the door, closing it firmly behind her.

"Gaaahh!" Adam shouted into the sudden stillness of the room. "I need a drink!"