1979 (#17) - Stuart's tracheotomy and the judicial struggle for divorce with Jill

Stuart, regretting his choices over the past year, soon informs Liz that he has realized the mistake he made in marrying Jill and tries to apologize to the woman for making her suffer. And recognizing all his mistakes made insisting in getting married to Jill, he confesses to her that she is the only woman he has really loved since Jennifer's death. Liz, however, is still very cold towards the man; she knew that Stuart would soon return to her, as the marriage with Jill was not a marriage that would last, but she doesn't yet feel ready to start again. Stuart, obviously, willingly accepts Liz's decision to take things slowly, and promises to win her back. In the meantime, Stuart himself is starting to file for divorce. Jill has no intention of coming out of her marriage empty-handed, and knowing Stuart well enough to know that a man of her moral principles would never admit to Liz and her daughters that he slept with Jill before the wedding, she knows she can play her cards right. Counting on the fact that Stuart would have done anything to keep this detail hidden, Jill is well aware that she could blackmail the man or take a large sum of money from him. So when Stuart offers the woman a $25,000 settlement, Jill's lawyer advises her to ask for a lot more. A frustrated Stuart then, tired of having to accept any financial terms to get rid of Jill, decides to get rid of his burden by confessing to his daughter Lorie the real reason for his marriage to Jill. The two begin to make a plan to prove that Jill has in fact tricked Stuart by forcing him into a marriage that he would otherwise never have accepted. Later, while Jill and Stuart are discussing their divorce over lunch, the man begins to suffocate. A completely panicked Jill still manages to contact Snapper, who manages to save the man thanks to a tracheotomy. Alive thanks to Jill, Stuart has a full recovery, but he refuses with difficulty, saying he wants to go ahead with the divorce procedure, when Jill proposes to give their marriage another try. Stuart then makes Jill a second offer of $100,000, but the woman, annoyed, asks for half of Stuart's assets and the mansion. Stuart, shocked by this request, sees himself forced into a long judicial battle, which he would have gladly avoided in order to save his fortune.