1984 (#17) - Marc and Ashley's relationship and the discovery of their kinship

Following the annulment of her marriage to Eric, Ashley explains to John everything that happened in her recent past that made her change her mind, from the discovery of the story between Dina and Eric to the trip to Rome, to getting to know Marc. She is therefore convinced that she wants to move on, even though Eric tries in every way to explain things to her as they are and that there is no longer anything between her and Dina. Attempts that are practically useless, since Ashley now has no eyes but for Marc, who immediately makes the acquaintance of the family, and therefore of Jack, Traci, Jill and John. John is amazed at how his daughter has suddenly changed her decision about her love life, but Jill is convinced that the relationship with Dina is obviously a sore point for all her children. Jill doesn't hide her belief in a secret continuation of Eric and Dina's story here in Genoa City, which Ashley may have discovered, but Dina rejects the accusations firmly, suggesting an annoyed Jill is rather interested in her husband John. In the meantime, Ashley organizes a family dinner with Marc; dinner to which John intends to invite Dina too, as it seems right that Ashley should also introduce her mother to her new boyfriend. However, when Marc arrives, the boyfriend and Dina freeze over as soon as the two of them see each other. And the situation becomes even more tense when Ashley introduces Dina to Marc as her mother. Noting both John and Jack that something is wrong, they both try to calm the situation, but it is soon Marc himself who takes the liberty of speaking to clarify a fact that everyone obviously ignores, that he is Marc Mergeron, Dina's son and her deceased husband Marcel Mergeron. The news at first makes Ashley incredulous, who laughs bitterly in tears, then horrified at having let herself go in a relationship with her half-brother. In between, Ashley once again accuses Dina of not letting her live a life of her own, before running away crying. In the end, it is John and Marc himself who reaches out to her and comforts her, making her realize that she may have lost a boyfriend, but that she has found a brother with whom there will always be a special relationship. As time goes by, Ashley manages to put this behind her and move on with her life. The woman then, after a brief flirt with Eric, interrupts the man's new attempt to get back together, saying she no longer wants to deal with men who are somehow related to Dina, since she would risk suffering too much.

1983 (#22) - Dina's welcome and John's convalescence

Dina's return to Genoa City causes profound shock to the whole Abbott family, who did not expect the return of their matriarch in the world for any reason. Dina confesses that, after the death of her last husband Marcel Mergeron, owner of the empire she inherited, she felt alone and missed her family. Precisely for this reason, at the suggestion also of Eric, who was very close to her during this difficult period, she decided to buy Jabot Cosmetics and reunite it with her empire. John, however, not at all convinced of wanting to sell his company to his ex-wife, immediately sends away the woman, who obviously Jill is not happy to see again. Dina, however, points out that she is aware that Jack is the current president of Jabot and that it is therefore up to him to decide whether to sell or not; then informs John that she will try to convince their son, hoping that he can forgive her for the abandonment. But if Jack doesn't rule it out by saying that he wants to think about it, showing that he has no particular grudges against Dina, very different is the situation of Ashley, who is not at all happy about her mother's return. Ashley doesn't hide his hatred towards her mother for abandoning her. Like Jack, however, she doesn't want to completely exclude the hypothesis of a transfer of Jabot to Mergeron, seeing the possibility of running the entire empire together with Eric.

1983 (#20) - The relationship between Eric and Ashley, the disclosure of Dina's identity

Following John's heart attack, the whole Abbott family reunited and reunited around his patriarch. Jack regrets his behaviour which has disappointed his father, while Ashley and Jill put aside all animosity towards the boy and decide to pray with him that John will overcome this critical moment. During this period, then, Eric is also strongly affected by the tragedy touched, being more and more close to Ashley and soon begins to feel important feelings. It's precisely the closeness between the two that puzzles Brian, who wonders if Ashley is still his girlfriend. The many arguments following the man's requests for clarification are certainly not appreciated by the woman, annoyed by the not even veiled accusations of betrayal that Brian throws at her at this very difficult time. And when Eric and Brian almost get into a violent fight, Ashley takes a stand on Eric's side, leading Brian to the decision to distance himself from the woman. Meanwhile, as the weeks went by, John's health improved dramatically and he regained consciousness. And it's John who respectfully observes the real change that occurred during his illness, the blossoming of love between Eric and Ashley, a true feeling. And so, when Ashley confirms to her father that she's now in love with Eric, John, feeling too weak and old to lead the company, and certainly not wanting to entrust the fate of Jabot to Jack alone, begins to seriously reconsider the possibility of selling; selling the company to a large company like Mergeron Corporation, making sure that Ashley and Eric would be at the head of the company, could really be a good move after all. John then decides to accept Mergeron's proposal and close the negotiations. Eric thus announces the arrival of Mrs. Mergeron, the recent widow of the head of the family Marcel Mergeron, for the final signing of the sales deed and to close the deal personally. When Mrs. Mergeron arrives, John almost has another heart attack when he sees that this one is none other than Dina, his first wife who had left the family several years earlier!