This week on Home and Away in Australia, as Leah makes a disturbing discovery about Claudia, Justin finds himself falling into her trap.
Justin (James Stewart) unexpectedly finds his marriage on the rocks this week, as he and Leah (Ada Nicodemou) reach the one-year anniversary of her proposal to him.
Leah had understandably been reluctant to mark the occasion at first, reminding Marilyn (Emily Symons) that the proposal had come when Justin was fighting for his life, after the pair were captured and left to die in an old warehouse by members of Vita Nova.
But as she changes her mind and tries to organise something special, little does Leah realise that Justin will spend the day in a similar fashion—being held in the middle of nowhere against his will (as Leah also did this time two years ago).
Justin has secretly been acting as chauffeur for Claudia Salini (Rachael Carpani), after Theo’s (Matt Evans) negligence at the garage saw him forget to service the brakes on her car.
After Claudia was involved in an accident, Justin was quick to switch to damage control, as he tried to convince Claudia not to sue.
Leah immediately turned against Claudia as she publicly berated Theo in the diner, but believed the saga was over when Claudia agreed to Justin’s offer to cover all repair and medical costs, as well as providing a courtesy car.
However, there was still the small matter of not being able to drive the courtesy car with her broken arm. After another day wasted at the hospital, when an overly cautious Bree (Juliet Godwin) called her in for more scans, Claudia was close to losing it again when a desperate Justin made the offer to chauffeur her about.
The past couple of weeks have seen Justin answering Claudia’s every request for a lift whilst keeping it a secret from Leah and Theo, claiming to always be meeting with suppliers.
In that time, Justin has learned that Claudia’s numerous trips are to conduct home assessments for veterans, something that immediately earned his respect. Justin has also been able to provide a listening ear for Claudia as she’s gone through issues in her marriage.
Claudia explained that her husband, Eric, had recently been made redundant and was leaning on her constantly, both emotionally and financially, which was beginning to take its toll. Justin asked if they’d considered couples counselling, but Claudia pointed out that the cost was an issue.
In the meantime, Justin’s forced absence from the garage caused him to get offside with Theo, after he demanded he come in on his day off to cover for him.
When Theo later saw Justin and Claudia together when he claimed to be meeting a supplier, Theo immediately feared the worst.
Eventually confronting Justin, who told him what was really going on, Theo explained that he wasn’t comfortable with lying to Leah.
As a result, Justin decided to set a clear boundary with Claudia, reminding her that this is a business arrangement and she shouldn’t be looking to him as a friend to confide in. Once her arm is healed, then they’ll be done.
Next week, it seems as though Claudia isn’t getting the message, and after Justin receives a further call he decides it’s time to call it quits.
“Justin believes it’s the last time he has to help Claudia,” James Stewart told TV Week. “He can see the finish line.”
However, Justin doesn’t realise that Claudia is luring him to a remote cabin in what looks to be an attempt to seduce him!
As TV Week reports, when Claudia makes her move and attempts to kiss Justin, he is quick to knock her back, which doesn’t please her.
In retaliation, Claudia takes his car keys and throws them into the bushland, leaving him stranded at the cabin with no phone signal.
“Justin feels stunned and stupid!” James continued. “It’s like he’s been treated like a fool.”
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Meanwhile, Leah has started becoming suspicious of all the time Justin has been spending away from the garage, and after a bit of detective work she goes to see Claudia’s husband Eric.
Eric explains to Leah that Claudia has a history of going after other men for affairs!
“At first, Leah is sure Justin would never cheat,” Ada added. “But once she meets up with Claudia’s [ex] husband, she starts having doubts.”
Justin is desperate to let Leah know what is going on, but it takes a long time for him to track down a phone signal, by which point Leah has worked herself up into thinking something is definitely going on between the pair.
With all of Justin’s dishonesty, and the claims about Claudia’s history with men, Leah tells Justin to not bother coming home, as she won’t be there!
Will Justin be able to make it back to Summer Bay to put Leah straight?
