nuEmily contracted meningitis and it looked as though she would not live long. Zander proposed to her and she accepted. They were married in her hospital room, with a lovelorn Nikolas spying on them. nuEmily was torn between her two loves, but she wanted to give Zander a last gift. Then a miracle happened. nuEmily got better. She and Zander moved into a cozy cottage together, but she was secretly pining away for Nikolas.

In the meantime, Nikolas had married Lydia Karenin out of family duty. Lydia suspected that Nikolas and nuEmily were having an affair and brought it to Zander's attention. He scoffed at the idea. But when Lydia gave him proof, Zander was inconsolable. He couldn't believe nuEmily had betrayed him with another man. nuEmily begged Zander for another chance, swearing that it was what she wanted. They stayed together and were happy for a little while.

It soon became obvious that nuEmily really wanted to be with Nikolas. Not wanting to be her consolation prize, Zander walked away with his pride intact. nuEmily continued to give Zander mixed signals and he decided he didn't want to be without her, so he tried to win her back. At a Halloween party, the two shared a dance, but she ended up leaving with Nikolas.

Zander went to the cottage and found nuEmily and Nikolas about to have sex on the couch. He was furious and told them both to go to hell. Then he stormed out and went off to get drunk. Elizabeth was already at the bar drowning her own sorrows over her ex-husband, Ric Lansing. Elizabeth and Zander compared sob stories until she decided she wanted to get back at Ric. She took Zander upstairs for revenge sex.

Zander "sold his soul to the devil" for revenge against Nikolas Cassadine by going to work for Faith Roscoe, mob boss wannabe. Zander became her right hand man. nuEmily filed for divorce, but Zander wanted her back and was willing to do anything to get her, at this point. In the meantime, Elizabeth realized she was pregnant with Zander's child.

Ric and Elizabeth, now reunited, told Zander about the baby. Ric wanted to claim the child as his own, but Zander was still processing the news of impending fatherhood. After another bad run in with nuEmily and Nikolas, Zander decided to make a deal with Ric, who was the assistant D.A. Frame Nikolas for murder and Ric could have custody of his child. Ric ended up turning the tables on Zander, forcing him to sign away all rights to his child.