|
1979:
Nina Cortlandt was her father’s, Palmer Cortlandt’s, daughter;
not that she had much of a choice after her mother died in child-birth.
For as long as she could remember, she suffered from many ailments, most
notably diabetes. The pressure of her recent move to Pine Valley made
her ignore her health. At a party thrown in honor of the Cortlandts at
the Tyler Estate, Nina fainted as a result of appendicitis.
When Nina awoke, she saw the face of a handsome doctor, Cliff Warner.
Cliff took a liking to Nina. They began dating. But Palmer did not approve
of Cliff. Nina’s only concern came about when Cliff’s ex-
Janice Rawlins approached her, bad mouthing Cliff. Janice was pregnant
with Cliff’s child. The pressure began to affect Nina, and her health
began to diminish again. Little did she know, Janice's presence was a
plot put together by Palmer to keep the lovers apart.
1980:
Nina got cold feet after Cliff finally proposed to her. She had long blamed
herself for her mother’s death in childbirth, and was fearful of
having the same fate bestow her. Myra calmed Nina’s fears by secretly
staging a séance with her late mother, Daisy Cortlandt. Daisy encouraged
her daughter to follow her heart.
But, Palmer had other plans. He informed Nina that she had been diagnosed
with the early stages of blindness as a result of her diabetes. She did
not want to be a burden to Cliff and broke up with him. In the meanwhile,
she began to spend time with Palmer’s employee, Sean Cudahy. Sean
and Nina were stuck in a bank robbery together. She passed out in a diabetic
coma. Sean and Brooke English’s efforts helped to stop the robbery
and keep Nina alive. Nina also became friends with the new stable hand,
Monique Jonvil.
Nina
learned that her condition was reversible with a non-invasive surgical
technique. She traveled to Baltimore to have the laser surgery done. When
she returned to Pine Valley, she accepted Cliff’s proposal. They
married on the Cortlandt Manor grounds. New friends Brooke and Monique
were amongst her bridal party.
But married bliss was not to be. Nurse Sybil Thorne revealed that when
Cliff and Nina had broken up, she had gotten pregnant with his son. Nina
moved back to Cortlandt Manor and filed for divorce from Cliff.
1981:
Nina refused to see the man who had broken her heart. Nina still loved
Cliff, but she knew they had no chance at happiness as long as Sybil held
their unborn child as a bargaining chip. Monique convinced Nina to give
Cliff another chance. Nina found herself falling back into his arms. They
planned to announce their reconciliation at a dinner party in Cortlandt
Manor.
Sybil arrived to break up the party. After a heated argument with Nina,
she went into labor. Cliff helped Sybil as she gave birth to Bobby Warner,
their son.
Nina watched from the sidelines as Sybil fumbled with life as single mother.
She went to Sybil intent on offering to adopt her child and provide him
the life she could not. Sybil threatened Nina, telling her if she did
not leave Cliff she would give the child away to a stranger. When Cliff
got word, he was enraged and stormed out to Sybil’s apartment. That
night, Sybil was found dead.
Nina
watched as Cliff fought for his innocence in court. But, things were looking
very bleak. Then, a surprise witness entered the court: Monique. Monique
implicated Sean in Sybil’s murder. But, when the attorney asked
her who she was, Monique made a startling revelation: she was Daisy Cortlandt,
Nina’s mother. Palmer had forced Daisy out of Nina's life after
catching her in an affair with another man. As a compromise, Daisy's mother
Myra was kept on the house staff to keep an eye on Nina.
In prison, Sean implicated Palmer as the mastermind of the entire plot.
He was paying off both he and Sybil to keep Nina and Cliff apart. Nina
rejected her father, and hoped to finally build a relationship with the
mother he had exiled from her life. But, when Palmer went missing in Center
City, Nina realized she could not cut her father out of her life forever.
Palmer was found alive as an amnesiac. Nina hoped for his recovery. At
the end of the year, Nina formally adopted Bobby and remarried Cliff.
1982:
While her father was away on his honeymoon with the much younger Donna
Beck, Nina got a frantic call from the Cortlandt Electronics Board of
Directors. She used part of her trust fund to solve their fiscal problem.
When Palmer returned he recognized his daughter’s acumen for business
and gave her an executive position in his company. Cliff did not want
Nina working the long hours necessary for the job. He felt like she was
beginning to neglect Bobby.
Nina’s
coworker Steve Jacobi did not seem to understand that Nina was a married
woman. At her Anniversary party, he planted a kiss on her. As much as
Nina wanted to keep her relationship with Steve strictly business, things
spiraled out of control. She began to fantasize about Steve while making
love to Cliff.
A storm hit Pine Valley while Steve and Nina were working at Cortlandt
Manor. They were alone in the dark by the roaring fireplace. Nina succumbed
to her innermost desires, sleeping with Steve. As much as she would want
to forget her night of infidelity, she could not. They began an affair.
1983:
Nina continued her torrid affair with Steve. Cliff went by his apartment
one day to speak to Nina only to hear the lovers in a passionate embrace.
Cliff filed for a quickie divorce.
Nina continued her life with Steve, but it was obvious his interest was
waning. Nina wanted to talk marriage, while Steve was content with his
life now. All the while, Nina and Cliff found themselves in many arguments
over Bobby’s welfare.
In one such argument, their fury turned to passion. Nina realized that
she still loved Cliff. But, Cliff was now in a relationship with Devon
Shepherd. Nina also knew she did not love Steve. She moved back in with
her father at Cortlandt Manor.
1984: Nina was mesmerized by the healing powers of a
conman named Zach Grayson. Daisy tried to break Nina out of her trance.
But, Nina’s mental state weakened.
All hopes for reconciliation with Cliff were crushed when Nina learned
about his affair with his intern, Liza Colby.
1985:
Zach drugged and raped Nina, while Cliff’s sister, Linda Warner,
took photos. Zach planned to blackmail Nina with threats of showing Cliff
the photos. Nina turned to her mother for help. Nina was shocked when
Daisy was discovered in Zach’s apartment, standing over his dead
body with a bloody knife.
In the duration of the trial, all of Zach’s misdeeds came to light.
The strain of the trial on her mother, and the end of any future with
Cliff weighed heavily on Nina’s psyche. Donna had served as a key
witness for the duration of the trial. Nina began to displace all her
aggression toward her father’s former wife. Even after Donna exonerated
Daisy for Zach’s murder, Nina could not waive her intense feelings
of hate towards her. At Donna’s wedding to Benny Sago, Nina came
with a gun. She tried to shoot Donna, but luckily missed.
Nina finally broke from reality. She regressed to a state of adolescence,
forgetting about her life as a mother and as Cliff’s wife. It tore
Palmer apart having to put his daughter in an asylum, but at least it
kept her away from Cliff.
1986:
Nina tried to piece together her shattered life. She found solace in Benny’s
arms. But Benny was still very much married to Donna. Nina was convinced
she was in love. Before things got out of hand, Daisy and Nina left on
a long cruise.
When Nina returned to Pine Valley, she began dating Matt Connolly. The
couple ran into Cliff on Martha’s Vineyard. Cliff’s new fiancée,
Dr. Amy Stone, was delayed in her arrival. Nina decided to keep Cliff
company until Amy’s train arrived. It was like no time had passed
between the couple. When Nina saw Matt again, she knew their relationship
was over.
Waiting for her train to take her back to Pine Valley, Nina was plagued
with thoughts of Cliff. But, she was not about to break up an engagement.
At that very moment, she heard her name being called. Cliff was running
on the platform, professing his love. Matt had told him that Nina still
loved him. Nina got off the train as soon as she could, and the couple
reunited.
That Christmas, in front of family and friends, Nina and Cliff married
at the Tavern on the Green in New York City.
1987:
Nina anxiously awaited Cliff’s return from a humanitarian mission
in Hong Kong. But her world was turned upside down when news came that
Cliff had gone to South America and was killed by rebels.
Nina returned to Martha’s Vineyard to mourne her husband. Matt followed
her, afraid that she would have another break from reality. Nina wanted
to be alone, but Matt refused to leave. In her moment of weakness, Nina
and Matt shared a night of passionate lovemaking. As Nina lay next to
Matt, she realized she did not want to be alone. She proposed to Matt
and they married the next morning.
Returning to Pine Valley, Nina got word that Cliff was alive. They had
an emotional reunion where Cliff promised to never leave Nina again. Nina
spent the night with Cliff. But, when Cliff learned about Nina’s
marriage to Matt, he rejected her. He wanted nothing to do with Nina anymore.
She turned to Matt, hoping he would take her back.
1988: Nina found out she pregnant. She realized both
Matt and Cliff could have been the child’s father. Still recovering
from Cliff’s rejection, Nina told Matt the child was his. Matt got
a new job in Chicago, and the Connolly’s left Pine Valley.
1989:
Nina returned to Pine Valley with a medical emergency. Her youngest son,
Mikey Connolly, had fell ill with a mysterious disease. She could not
trust anyone else’s diagnosis but Cliff’s. Cliff was able
to save Mikey, but in the process he uncovered something that Nina had
feared all along: Mikey was Cliff’s son, not Matt’s. Upon
learning the truth, Matt returned to Chicago without Nina.
Nina and Cliff were drawn to each other again. Only, Cliff was now in
a relationship with Angie Hubbard. When Nina admitted to Angie that she
still loved Cliff, Angie stepped aside. Nina and Cliff married one last
time on the Cortlandt Manor groungs. The Warners then left for Denver
to start their lives anew.
1995:
Nina arrived in Pine Valley for the Martin family housewarming. She had
something important to talk about with her father, but decided to hold
off after catching him in a heated argument with her mother.
Nina sent Bobby to live with Palmer. He had grown up to be quiet the handful.
Nina hoped that Palmer could instill the discipline that he was lacking.
1996: Upon learning that Bobby had impregnated Kesley
Jefferson, Nina came back to Pine Valley. Palmer was ready to kick Bobby
out of Cortlandt Manor. But Nina did not want Palmer to loose his relationship
with his grandson because of one bad decision. Nina reminded Bobby how
much she loved him, and that she would always support any decision he
made.
|