The Affair

Secrets Revealed

He was in a glass prison. It was furnished like a one bedroom apartment but with glass instead of walls. It had a sofa, a table, a couple of chairs, a small refrigerator and TV with a VCR set up. When he looked up he noticed there was a camera installed in every corner and if there were cameras it was a good possibility the placed was bugged. The only privacy was the bathroom and in the bathroom were the bare necessities…a toilet, a sink and a shower. Roman picked up one of the chairs and threw it against a glass wall. Nothing happened. It looked like glass but whatever it was much sturdier than glass. He walked over and stood in front of one of the cameras.

“Hey,” he screamed, “show yourself.” He walked over to one of the walls and began to beat on it. “I said show yourself.” Roman turned as he heard a door opening and a man walking towards him. “Oh my God! Stefano.”

Roman picked up another chair and threw it against the glass wall. “You bastard,” he screamed, “let me out of here.”

Stefano stood before him and shook his head, “Tsk, tsk, Roman. I cannot talk to you while you are like this.” He turned to leave.

“Wait,” he yelled. He hated asking Stefano anything, but right now he needed answers. He forced himself to speak in a normal tone…trying his hardest to keep his hatred for him in check. “What do you want with me?”

“Roman, you are a means to an end.”

He hated everything Stefano stood for…his evilness, his arrogance…and even though it was trivial…he hated the way Stefano always pronounced his name. Always rolling the R in Roman. “I don’t understand.”

“You will…in time.”

Being civil wasn’t getting him anywhere so he tried another tactic. “You know, they will come looking for me.”

An amused expression appeared on Stefano’s face. “They…who?”

“My brother, Abe, the Salem Police Department to name a few. Once I don’t show up an APB will be issued.”

“I don’t think so.”

Roman decided not to mention the note he left for Abe and Bo. “You can’t possibly think they won’t figure out something’s wrong when I don’t show up at home or work.”

Stefano replied in a cocky voice, “I know they won’t be looking for you. You should know me by now Roman. Everything I do is planned down to the last detail. Do you think I would be so foolish as to abduct you without some kind of plan?”

Roman began to get worried. Stefano, always arrogant, was just a bit too confident for his taste. The hairs on the back of his neck began to stand…a sure sign something was wrong. He decided to gamble and tell him about the note. It was the only way he would know for sure what Stefano knew. “You can’t plan for everything….I left a note for my brother and Abe.”

Stefano reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “You mean this note….the one on your desk. Roman, Roman, Roman….when will you learn? I told you, I plan everything. They will find a note on your desk…but one I put there. That one will say you had a meeting with an ISA operative and you don’t know how long you will be gone.”

Roman still wasn’t willing to believe Stefano would get away with kidnapping again…not after all he went through years before. “They will only believe that for so long and then they’ll come looking for me.”

“No one will come looking for you.”

“Marlena will wonder why I didn’t tell her I was leaving. She won’t believe I just left without any explanation…especially now.”

Stefano shook his head, “When Marlena goes home…there will be a message from you explaining your absence.”

“I’ll never help you,” he screamed. “Never…”

Stefano began to laugh, “You already have….you just don’t know it. Now why don’t you try to get some rest….we have a lot to do in a short span of time.” He began to walk towards the door…leaving Roman alone.

“Stefano, come back here. You bastard…..I’ll kill you. I swear I’ll kill you if it’s the last thing I do.” Roman couldn’t believe he was Stefano’s captive once more. He stole years from him, years with Marlena, with his children, with his family…he swore to himself he would escape once more. The more he thought about all that Stefano took from him, the angrier he became…until finally he reached his boiling point. He picked up the chairs and threw them, he over turned the table, he beat his fists against the walls until all of his anger was spent and slowly he slid to the floor and curled up into a ball. Not again, he prayed. I can’t do this again.

Stefano and Bart watched the monitors as Roman’s anger dissolved into despair.

“What do you want me to do boss?”

“Nothing…just keep an eye on him. Tomorrow we begin.”

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The house was so quiet without the children. There were days when she prayed for peace and quiet and now that she had it…she would have given anything to hear them laughing, arguing or even fighting. It’s true, she thought, you never know what you have until it’s gone. She needed to talk to her children. Marlena picked up the phone and dialed her parents’ number.

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Rebecca stood in the shower letting the hot water run down her body. She closed her eyes and imagined it was John’s hands making their way down her body instead of the steady stream of water. He was all she could think about…the way it felt when he kissed her, the way it felt when his hands were on her body, the way his body responded as she stroked him. She managed to block out the fact that John thought she was Marlena. That wasn’t important. Once again the images of them together flashed through her mind. This time, however, John was making love to her instead of Marlena. It was her body he slowly lowered to the chair. It was her legs he placed over his shoulders as he knelt before her. Rebecca leaned against the shower wall as her hands traveled lower and lower down her body. She could feel his tongue as he slowly entered her opening. He began slowly…teasing her with light feathery strokes, slowly increasing his tempo until finally she screamed his name in the shower.

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It wasn’t until she was dialing Anna’s number to talk to Carrie did Marlena notice the light blinking on the answering machine. After a quick conversation with Anna and Carrie, updating them on John’s condition and checking on Carrie’s progress, Marlena checked her messages. It was from Roman.

“Hi Doc, I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you this in person but there was no time. I got a call from the ISA and I have to leave right away. I can’t say anything more but I shouldn’t be gone long. I’ll call you as soon as I get a chance. Love you. Goodbye.”

That was the entire message. She hated when he became involved with the ISA. The subterfuge and secrecy were the two things she hated the most. He could never tell her what he was involved with….only that it was important. It was always important and it was always dangerous. That was one of things she could never get used to. It was bad enough he was a cop…but every time he worked with the ISA she was afraid for him.

Marlena made her way upstairs and fell into bed, too tired to undress or take a shower. Everything could wait until the morning.

**********THE NEXT DAY*********

She rolled over and looked at the clock on the nightstand. It was still early but she couldn’t wait any longer. Marlena hopped out of bed and headed straight for the shower. Fifteen minutes later she was out the front door. When she reached the corner instead of turning right to the hospital she made a left…heading to John’s loft. She realized he would have to stay in the hospital a few more days until every test came back normal. Marlena remembered her hospital stay after her fall and how it drove her crazy….of course part of her problem had been John or Roman as he was known back then. Still when he brought her a few things from home, especially her nightgown, it made her feel a little better. John was a man of action and being stuck in a hospital room wearing a hospital gown would drive him nuts. She would pick up a pair of pajamas and some other personal items that would help him during his hospital stay.

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John hadn’t slept a wink, tossing and turning all night long. Try as he might, he couldn’t remember if he called out to Marlena while Rebecca was in the room or if it had been a dream. One thing he wished had been a dream but he knew was real, was the kiss. He kissed Rebecca…unintentional as it had been, he kissed her. Not just a kiss…a passionate one. He didn’t want to think about the kiss or running his hands over her body. What had he done?

And then there was Rebecca…if there was any doubt before…it was now forever erased. She made her intentions quite clear…she wanted him and she had no problem showing him how much. Just thinking about last night made him uncomfortable…the way her hand found its way between his legs…slowly stroking him…believing he was responding to her touch when in fact he was thinking about Marlena. Marlena…what was he going to do?

**********************************

He spent the night on the floor even though the bed would have been more comfortable. Sometime during the night his resolve to escape returned. He would not let Stefano win…not again. Roman stood slowly…his body stiff from sleeping on the floor. After a few minutes of stretching and light exercise to get his blood circulating, he sat at the table. There was nothing left to do but wait until Stefano returned.

*************************************

She hadn’t run into anyone she knew…yet. After all it was still pretty early. The nurses shift change wouldn’t occur for at least an hour and his doctors wouldn’t see him until it was time for rounds. Marlena got off the elevator and headed straight to John’s room…overnight bag in hand. She greeted the police officer outside his door and walked in. Expecting to find him still asleep she was pleasantly surprised to see him awake.

For just an instant John felt tremendous guilt about Rebecca but it was quickly replaced by his overpowering love for Marlena. “Good morning pretty lady; you’re here early…not that I’m complaining.”

“I know,” she said as she crossed the room, “I just couldn’t wait any longer until I looked into those big beautiful blue eyes of yours.” There was something about his voice…something wasn’t right.

“Is that a fact?” He was trying his hardest to sound normal but it was a losing battle. After their previous misunderstanding, they promised one another there would no more secrets between them and here he was…keeping a secret…a big one.

“You know it is.” She leaned over and kissed him lightly on his lips while placing the overnight bag on the floor next to the bed. Something was wrong…she was sure of it. “John, is everything alright? Did the doctors say something after I left last night?”

“No, I’m fine.” He was having a hard time looking at her…it was the guilt…guilt that he mistook Rebecca for Marlena.

She was afraid…afraid he was holding back, something about his medical condition from her. “Something’s wrong and I know it. Tell me.” She sat on the edge of his bed and held his hand.

“Doc, I’m fine…I promise…but…”

“But what?” She believed him when he said he was fine. But if it wasn’t his health than what was the problem? She waited for him to continue.

“I have to tell you something and I want you to let me tell you everything before you say anything; okay?”

“Okay, tell me.” She was holding her breath and didn’t even realize it.

He took a deep breath before he began his story. “Doc, last night after I drifted off and sometime after you left, I started dreaming…about you…about wanting to make love to you.”

She exhaled slowly…grateful it didn’t have anything to do with his health but now she worried he might have slipped and said something in front of a nurse or doctor. And after almost losing him, she would never deny her love for him; they would just have to deal with the consequences.

“I’m not sure if I said anything aloud but I could have. I was dreaming about you…about pulling you to me and kissing you and…” He hated himself for what he was about to say.

“And what…”

“Wait let me back up a little…in my dream as I’m kissing you something doesn’t feel right. I’ve kissed you more times than I can remember so I know what it feels like…but this time it’s different.”

Instinctively Marlena knew she wasn’t going to like what John was about to tell her, but she said nothing…waiting for him to continue with his story.

“But I thought maybe because I had been in a coma, things might have changed…you know maybe my senses or perceptions were different. Anyway I kept kissing you and without even realizing it…my hands traveled from your sides up your body…you know like they always do…finally stopping once I reached your breasts.” He looked away while he continued his story. His voice was a so low she could barely hear him. “As my fingers brushed over your…”

“Stop…that’s enough…you don’t have to say anymore.” She knew what he was about to say, she just didn’t want to hear him say it. After all, he had done the same thing to her a million times…a million times a million. His hands always found their way to her breasts…it was something he did without even thinking about it…it was something she expected every time they were alone.

“Doc…I’m so sorry…I thought it was you…but it was someone else. I never meant to do anything…I swear it.”

Marlena could see the anguish in his face and hear it in his voice. “I know my love…I know you would never do anything to hurt me.” She had a feeling she already knew the answer but she still had to ask the question. “So, who was it?”

“Rebecca…it was Rebecca.”

Marlena remained silent while she tried to control her fury…her anger was at its boiling point…not directed towards John…but directed to the person who deserved it…Rebecca. Marlena knew damn well Rebecca knew what she was doing and that John didn’t. Now whether or not she knew who John was really dreaming about was a question she couldn’t answer. John admitted he couldn’t remember if he actually said anything aloud. Still, their “relationship” for lack of a better word had never advanced to an intimate stage where she would think he wanted to make love to her. Finally she was able to speak, “Is there anything else I should know about?” Please, she prayed, please don’t let there be anything else.

“Doc, you have to know I pulled back the minute I realized I wasn’t kissing you…the minute I opened my eyes and saw it was Rebecca.”

“I believe you.” And she did…she knew John better than she knew herself…he was an honorable man. “But what about Rebecca? What did she do?”

“Doc, you know how I get when I’m around you…I mean it’s kind of hard, no pun intended, for me to hide my excitement.”

Marlena shook her head in agreement…she was the same way when she was around him. “I know what you’re saying.”

“Like I said, I thought I was kissing you and I felt your hand…I mean what I thought was your hand slowly stroking me, causing me to…”

She interrupted him, “I get the picture.”

“Once I realized it wasn’t you, I pulled back and saw it was Rebecca I immediately apologized, I think I said something about dreaming and how sorry I was and I tried to find out if I said anything.” He knew he was rambling but he couldn’t help himself. He wanted to hurry and get everything out in the open. “She said I didn’t but I don’t know if I believe her. I was so embarrassed but it didn’t seem to bother her. I mean, I couldn’t believe it…I kept thinking about you and the more I thought about you…let’s just say she was in no hurry to remove her hand.” Finally, everything was out in the open.