Note: I think that Mrs Banter is a little underrated (even by me). She took Cassie in and treats her like her own daughter. This is her backstory.

Courtney Lockwood was stunned. Her fiance, Stephen Andrews, suddenly ditched her at her wedding. She had been about to say her wedding vows when he suddenly said that he couldn't do this and took off.

Courtney didn't understand this. They had been going strong for five years, and now he wanted to ditch her? All the wedding guests were appalled.

To make things worse, Courtney soon discovered that she was pregnant. Being a doctor, it had been easy to spot the signs.

Soon, she remarried to another man called Laurence Banter and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, whom she named Lacey.

Everything went well until one day when Lacey was six years old. She became very sick. She was taken to the hospital, but unfortunately there was nothing the doctors could do. Lacey ended up passing away a few weeks later.

Courtney and Laurence's marriage broke apart after Lacey's death. The couple, overcome with grief, couldn't stop fighting. Finally, they decided that it would be best to break up.

However, a day before they could finalize their divorce, Laurence was suddenly found dead at his office that night. People weren't sure if it was murder or suicide.

Courtney was stunned about the sudden deaths. However, a few months after that, her life changed forever by a teenage girl called Cassandra Trillin.

She was working a night shift when some paramedics wheeled in an unconscious girl with pale blonde hair. "What happened to her?" she asked.

"This is Cassandra Trillin," said a paramedic. "She attempted to commit suicide and is now comatose."

For weeks Courtney looked after the comatose girl. She had a frequent visitor, who was a girl of her age with brown hair in plaits and glasses. She kept telling her stuff.

One day, Courtney was in the ward checking on another girl's broken leg when she heard a voice call, "Where am I?" To her surprise, Cassandra was awake, her eyes a bright emerald green.

She came over to her. "Cassandra, are you alright?"

"I prefer Cassie," she said.

"Oh. Cassie, how do you feel?"

"I can't feel anything," said Cassie.

That made sense since Cassie hadn't moved for a long time. She required a lot of physical therapy.

Courtney soon learned that Cassie's parents, though famous, were emotionally abusive. Cassie was soon removed from their custody, and Courtney decided to adopt her.

Although Cassie was initially nervous around Courtney, she soon warmed up to her and even started to refer to her as her mother.

But try as she might, Courtney couldn't stop thinking about Stephen. No, she wasn't still in love with him. As a matter of fact, she was angry with him for breaking her heart. Why didn't he tell her that he didn't want to get married? It would have been so much easier for them if they could just break up.

Unexpectedly one day, Courtney met Stephen again. She was choosing a present for Cassie's fifteenth birthday.

Courtney decided to pick out a cute pink heart locket for Cassie. But just as she was about to grab it, another girl beat her to it.

The girl looked like she was in college. She looked at Courtney in surprise. "Oh, did you want this?"

"Yes, that is meant to be a present for my daughter."

"Oh. Uncle took me out shopping today. Come and say hi to him."

To Courtney's astonishment, she saw Stephen. "I have to go," she said before running off.

A few days later, someone ran the doorbell, and Cassie went to answer it. Stephen was standing outside.

Courtney gasped. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I... Want to talk to you," said Stephen.

"Well, I don't want to talk to you," said Courtney. "You left me at the altar eight years ago."

Cassie looked confused. "Mom, who's this?"

Courtney sighed. "Cassie, this is Stephen Andrews, my ex-fiance. He abandoned me at our wedding."

Cassie gasped. "What?"

"Is that Cassandra Trillin?" asked Stephen. "I remember seeing her parents act in a movie..."

Cassie's expression became cold. "It's Cassie Banter, they are not my parents anymore, and my real Mom is right here!" She stormed off to her room.

Courtney looked at Stephen. "Cassie's right in a way. If you want me back, then don't bother, because I don't want you. You are a coward, and I don't want to see you again." With that, she slammed the door in Stephen's face.