Soon after they married, Jake got enmeshed in a plot with Vicky
which involved letting Paulina take care of an abandoned baby
named Mark. But Mark was really Kirkland, whom Vicky was
eventually planning to reclaim. Paulina got very attached to Mark
(who accompanied Jake and Paulina on their honeymoon at the Cory
cabin). She was very hurt, and upset with Jake, when she was forced
to give Mark up.
A few months later, Jake borrowed $50,000 from a loan shark,
whom he intended to just skip out on. But the loan shark found out
his real name and where he lived, and he sent a hitwoman by the
name of Bunny Eberhardt to force Jake to pay back the money.
When he couldn't come up with the
dough, Eberhardt threatened his life.
Jake broke off with Paulina, who had
no idea what was going on, to save her life. Vicky finally came
through with the money, but by that time it was too late. Eberhardt's
accomplice Svenson was about to kill Jake, when the car they were
in crashed. Svenson was burnt beyond recognition. Jake escaped
unhurt but with amnesia, and since everyone believed Svenson's body was Jake's, Paulina became
a widow.
Paulina spent several months grieving. She hired private detective Joe
Carlino to investigate Jake's death, and Joe came to the erroneous
conclusion that Jake had been leaving Paulina before his death. This
propelled her into Joe's arms, and after a quick romance, they
arranged to get married.
At this time Jake's memory came back to him and he rushed to see
Paulina. He caught up with her just as she was about to exchange
vows with Joe and brought a dramatic halt to the ceremony. The lies
about Jake were dispelled and Paulina was on the verge of reuniting
with Jake, when....
As much as she loved Jake, she also
loved Joe, and she was tired of Jake's
lies and schemes. When Jake tried to
make Paulina believe he was coming
on to another woman so he could get
her jealous, Paulina saw Jake for what
he was and always would be, a
conniving liar. She left him and ran to Joe.
Jake refused to believe that Paulina
wouldn't come back to him, even
though she was pregnant with Joe's
baby. He hatched a string of schemes
to get her back, including buying
Carlino's restaurant and becoming Joe's
landlord. When Joe and Paulina
walked down the aisle, Jake realized he had lost.
Jake eventually moved on to Vicky, and Paulina was there to support and encourage him, despite Joe's disapproval.