Winston left early the next afternoon.  He did his best to keep his composure, but Corryn knew he was just as torn up inside as she was.  He gave her a passionate kiss goodbye and left her room.

Less than an hour later, there was a knock at Corryn's door.  She opened it, hoping that Winston had come back…unfortunately, instead of being greeted by his smile, she saw Claudia's hate-filled scowl.

Claudia pushed passed Corryn before she could react and shut the door behind her.   She reached out to touch the heart around Corryn's neck, but Corryn roughly shoved her hand away.

"A gift from my husband?" Claudia questioned.  "I can't tell you the last time he took the time to pick something out for me."

"Well, you seem to take care of yourself fairly well," Corryn commented, staring at the fur coat Claudia was wearing.  "By the way, the eighties are over; nobody wears fur anymore."

"You've certainly grown, Corryn.  Not afraid to speak your mind even though it could be the death of you?"

"No, Claudia.  I've been miserable for the past seven months, your threats don't bother me as much as they used to."  Corryn watched as Claudia walked over to the bed.  She picked up a pillow and sniffed it.

"So, you screwed Sammy last night?" Claudia said in a nonchalant tone.

"No," Corryn replied.  A look of confusion washed over Claudia's face.

"Why lie?  I know he was here, I smell him on your bed."

Corryn smiled.  "I'm not lying; I didn't screw Sammy…I made love to Winston."

"He's my husband regardless of what you call him," Claudia hissed.  She raised a hand to strike Corryn, but Corryn blocked her.  Without realizing it, she struck Claudia in the face, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground.

Corryn was finally letting her anger at Claudia out.  "Have you ever loved him, or has it always been the money…or the possibility of money?"

Holding her face, Claudia replied, "He was nothing when I met him, he doesn't come from money!  I was with him when he was broke and his demeanor was nothing short of raw."

"You knew it would pay off!" Corryn yelled.  "But I asked if you loved him."  Claudia got up, but didn't answer.  "O.K., then.  Did he love you?  Has he ever stayed up at night just to hold you while you sleep?  Has he ever actually made love to you or have you only, as you so eloquently put it, 'screwed.'"

 "I'm his wife!"

"No longer by choice, Claudia."  Corryn's tone softened.  "He loves me.  Why can't you accept that?"

"Fine," Claudia said in a low voice.  "Since you seem to adore him so much, I'll make a deal with you."

"Oh?"

"Go back to L.A., Corryn.  No more letters, no more phone calls, and the next time you're here, no contact at all.  And your brother is no longer a go-between."

"What kind of a deal do you call that?"

"One where Winston remains…safe."  A smile crossed Claudia's lips.  "You'd risk your life for him, but would you risk his safety?  I could have him put in the ICU within the hour if I wanted to do so…Of course I could never kill him, it'd be the same as letting him leave me and…"

"Claudia, please," Corryn pleaded, "don't do anything to him.  I'm leaving in a few hours and…"

"And he'll try to see you off at the airport.  Make sure that doesn't happen; just make him think that you left without your 'oh so important' goodbyes."  Claudia walked towards the door and opened it.  "Really, Corryn, it's all for the best."

"For you," Corryn said coldly.

"Exactly."  Claudia shut the door and Corryn frantically began packing.  Within a few minutes, Shelly was inside Corryn's room.

"I just saw Claudia in the lobby…what happened?  Was she up here?  Did you…"  Shelly saw that Corryn was fighting not to cry.  Shelly rushed to her side and put an arm around her.

"It's over, Shelly," she said just above a whisper.

"He broke it off with you?  I knew I shouldn't have let him in here last ni…"

"No, Shell…last night was just short of…it was wonderful.  He promised me that he'd find some way to get Claudia to back off, but…things are different now."

"Different?  What did she do Corryn?"

"She doesn't care about hurting me anymore…she's threatened to hurt Winston and…"  Corryn's voice trailed as tears began falling from her eyes.  "We have to go," she said calming herself.  "We have to go early so he doesn't see me and…"

"You're just gonna let him think you left?"

"Since when do you care, Shelly?  You didn't want me to see him here in the first place and now you…"

"I'm sorry," Shelly quickly interrupted.  "Corryn, I just wasn't sure if he loved you as much as you said he did, but I saw him last night before you did, remember?  His eyes were so red and he begged me to met him see you.  I've never seen anyone in this business be so sincere and…"

"He begged you?  He told me he bribed you."

"No, sweetie.  I wasn't going to let him in either, but I could just tell that…Well, now I'm just making things worse, aren't I?"

Corryn was again beginning to sob.  "I can't let him see me, he'll get hurt…physically.  I can't have any contact with him at all anymore Shelly…I just can't risk it."

"You did when she threatened you though, what's changed?"

"I can't risk him being hurt…she lives with him for God's sake.  C'mon, we're leaving."  Corryn explained everything to her brother via her cell phone.  She asked him to be at the airport to inform Winston that she left early and that that was to be the end of everything.  She flew back to L.A. with a heart that was just short of being demolished.