"I sat down with Michelle Stafford (Phyllis) when we started this story about Phyllis, Nick, Jack, Sharon and Brad, and she said, 'Oh, my gosh, I’m going to be the villain that everyone in town hates,' " Latham recalls. "I said, 'No, when you can understand someone's motivations, you can empathize.' I tried since the inception of this story to position everybody in a way that would allow us to understand why they've found themselves in these situations. I wanted to make certain we were dealing with very real, human emotions and that one person was not a villain in this."

Latham isn't suggesting no mistakes were made, but rather that there is much more to at play here than blame.

"Phyllis was not a man-eater out to steal somebody's husband, and Nick was not a man who was seeking an affair," she contends. "They struggled with it, but were drawn to each other for deep emotional needs. It was not just about sex." The same could be said about Sharon and Brad. Sure, they stopped at the kiss, but like Nick and Phyllis, they fell for each other.

Of course, they're not facing the "who's the daddy" question, like Phyllis is! "The one character I feel is a tragic figure in this is Jack Abbot, because Sharon and Nick at least understood that their marriage was on shaky ground," considers Latham, But even the potential daddy-to-be isn't faultless. "He had such a blind spot about Victor Newman and he allowed that anger to severely injure his relationship with Phyllis."

So who is the daddy? Is it Nick? Is it Jack? "Let’s say all the ifs," Latham offers with a laugh. "If it's Nick’s baby, this would be an additional blow to his marriage. And how would Jack feel if it turns out that Phyllis is carrying his child. Would he trust her? What this story hinges on is the emotional relationship Phyllis has with these two men during the time she’s pregnant. I believe we'll see very complicated reactions from all the people involved."

In other words: There's only one way to find out…watch!