The Affair

Cat and Mouse

“Stop the tape,” said Stefano.

Once the truth began to sink in, Roman no longer saw or heard anything. He sat there devoid of all emotions…staring off into space…his brain unable to comprehend what he knew to be true. Marlena, his wife, was cheating on him…with John.

NO! It wasn’t true, it couldn’t be true…Marlena would never betray him…there had to be some kind of explanation. Maybe John was blackmailing her…maybe Stefano was blackmailing her, or blackmailing both of them. Stefano…it always came back to Stefano.

And the only emotion he could bear to feel came rushing back…rage. Rage against the man who ruined his life…not once but twice…Stefano Dimera. Roman stood and screamed at the top of his lungs, “S t e f a n o I’ll kill you. I swear it!” He charged the clear wall separating him from Stefano.

“Roman, I told you…everything you saw, was real…I had nothing to do with it. That was Marlena with John, whether you want to believe it or not.”

Roman began to beat his fists against the wall, “It’s all your fault…it’s all your fault.”

“I didn’t make your wife sleep with John…she chose to do that.”

“How do I know you didn’t force her to do that?”

“And why would I do that? It came as a complete shock to me.”

“You’re lying…I don’t believe a word you’re saying.”

“I admit I want John back…but I had absolutely nothing to do with Marlena sleeping with John.”

“No…you want to destroy all of us…me, Marlena, my family and even John. I don’t believe anything you say.”

“I show you a tape of your wife making love with another man…and somehow it’s all my fault.”

“You set everything in motion years ago when you kidnapped me and put John in my place. You inserted John into our lives…into her life. So you see Stefano…it is your fault and if it’s the last thing I do on this earth I will kill you.”

“Roman, Roman, Roman…I may have set things in motion…but you escaped, you came back and claimed your life, Marlena and your children. How convenient of you to blame me for your wife’s betrayal. The fact that she is in love with another man and apparently sleeping with another man is not my fault…maybe you just don’t satisfy her anymore.”

Roman charged the wall once more, “You son of a b***h…you know nothing about my relationship with Marlena.”

“And you know nothing about Marlena’s other life…the one where she shares John’s bed, table, shower…or any other place they happen to be.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“Are you sure you really want to know? Let me ask you a question…have you ever wondered why Marlena was so willing to accept him as you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I mean…plastic surgery can explain why you look different but it can’t explain everything.”

“Marlena told me…she missed me so much that when John came into her life and the evidence said he was me, she was happy to have me back. My wife loves me. She was devastated when she thought I was dead…that’s why John was able to slip into my life so easily…why everyone accepted him.”

“That explains part of it…but you can’t tell me she didn’t notice certain physical differences between the two of you and I’m not talking about the surgery.”

“Why don’t you just say what you mean instead of talking in riddles?”

“For a captain on the police force, you’re kind of clueless. Appearance aside, did you ever wonder why she accepted him into her bed so easily. I can understand, maybe even believe on some level she was convinced he was you…but at night, in the dark, in your bed…when he reached out for her…you mean she couldn’t tell the difference. Or maybe she just didn’t care, maybe he satisfied her in ways you couldn’t, maybe he brought out something in her that you never did, maybe he…”

“That’s enough Stefano,” shouted Roman. “Don’t talk about my wife like that, you don’t know the first thing about our life together. I will not discuss our private life with you.”

“Maybe I don’t know about your life together, but I’m willing to bet you have no idea who the real Marlena is…care to find out? Or are you too afraid I might just be right and you really don’t know your wife at all?”

“There is nothing you can tell me or show me about my wife that I don’t already know.”

“Did you know she was sleeping with John…maybe sleeping is the wrong word…because from what I can tell…they hardly ever sleep.”

“Shut up; I don’t want to hear anymore lies from you. I don’t how or why, but one thing I’m sure of…somehow you forced her to do this…maybe you brainwashed her into believing she is in love with John…it wouldn’t be the first time you brainwashed someone.”

“You still don’t believe your precious Marlena is not the woman you think she is…maybe at one time she was…but she has changed Roman…and it’s all because of John. I’ll prove it to you.” Stefano spoke into the small radio in his hand, “Bart, roll the tape. Now you’ll see the real Marlena.”

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

“Well, since you seem to be much stronger…and since you have a new bodyguard on the door…I was thinking…”

John interrupted, “Please say you’re thinking…today…maybe even now…or right after Victor leaves.”

“Tonight,” she leaned in and whispered in his ear, “I’ll come back tonight…after everything settles down.” She kissed him lightly on his neck as she pulled back. “I promise.”

“Doc, I don’t know if I can wait that long.”

Just as she was about to answer him, they heard a commotion outside his room. They could hear a woman’s voice clearly…it was Rebecca and she was arguing with the bodyguard.

“I’m with the District Attorney’s office and I’m here to see Mr. Borne.”

“I’m sorry ma’am but I have my orders…only doctors, nurses and the police…anyone else has to be approved by Mr. Borne before they can enter his room.”

She could see she wasn’t getting anywhere with this man. This wasn’t official business so she really couldn’t use her credentials to bulldoze her way in. “Well can you let him know I’m here? My name is Rebecca Morrison.”

“Just a minute ma’am.” He stepped just inside the door…his massive body blocking the doorway. “Mr. Borne…Ms. Rebecca Morrison is here to see you.”

“Can you…I’m sorry…I don’t know your name,” said John.

“You can call me Rico, sir and Mr. Kiriakas gave me explicit instructions.” He turned to Marlena, “Dr. Evers, I’m also at your disposal. If you need anything just call.”

“Rico,” began Marlena, “can you give us a minute before you let her in?”

“Yes ma’am.” He turned and left the room.

“Doc, what are you up to?”

“John, do you trust me?”

“With my life.”

“Then I need you to go into the bathroom for about five minutes.”

Again he asked, “What are you up to? You know you shouldn’t get upset…it’s not good for the baby.” Maybe he shouldn’t have told her about last night. No, he had to tell her…no more secrets.

“I’ll be fine…I promise. This is something I need to do.”

“Five minutes, and no more.” He didn’t want to leave her alone but he could see this was important to her…something she needed to do.

“Thank-you, now hurry before she comes in.”

Marlena watched as John climbed out of bed, walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

As he stood in the bathroom, counting the minutes until he could return, he happened to glance at his reflection in the mirror…he definitely needed a shave and a shower…especially if Marlena was coming back tonight. Four and a half minutes and counting.

The door opened, and in walked Rebecca. For just a moment, surprise registered on her face as she saw Marlena sitting on the edge of John’s bed and no John. “Uh Marlena, where’s John? And what happened to his police protection? I mean the guy outside his door is obviously not a policeman. I had a hard time getting in here.”

“That’s Rico and he’s John’s personal bodyguard for the time being. He hated the police protection.”

“And you’re okay with this? After all, somebody did shoot him.”

“You obviously don’t know John…once he makes up his mind…there’s not a whole lot you can do to change it. Besides, the personal bodyguard was actually Victor’s idea. John’s just going along with it until he’s back on his feet.”

“You seem to know a lot about what’s going on in John’s life…I mean for an ex-wife…you two are still pretty close.

“We’ll always be close…that’ll never change.”

“And Roman’s okay with this? He doesn’t mind you spending all this time with your ex-husband.”

“You’d have to ask Roman if he has a problem with my relationship with John. But I’m kind of curious…why would you think he’d have a problem?”

“You have to admit…you and John aren’t the typical ex-spouses. For one thing, you’re really close…it’s almost unnatural. Most people think if things hadn’t worked out the way they did, meaning Roman coming back, you two would probably still be married.”

“Even when we were married, we were never the typical couple…so I don’t see why we would have a typical relationship now. John and I were very close when we were married and we’re still close. As far as what other people think…that’s not my concern.”

“I can see that.”

“I’ll always be here for him…just as I know…he’ll always be here for me. That’s just the nature of our relationship.”

“So you admit you two have some type of relationship.”

“I never denied it. Why would I?”

“That’s true; I just assumed that whatever relationship you had ended a long time ago.”

She was tired of the innuendo. It was obvious Rebecca suspected something. There was only one way to confirm her suspicions. “Is there something you want to ask me about John?” There…it was finally out in the open. It was Rebecca’s move.

Rebecca, however, wasn’t quite ready to tip her hand. “No, I’m sorry if it appears I’m questioning you…it’s the nature of the job.”

“No problem.” And the nature of her job was to be able to accurately read people and right now she knew Rebecca was lying. “So what brings you here?”

“To tell you truth…I stopped by last night…and before I knew what was happening, John and I were kissing. He kind of took me by surprise.” Let’s see how you handle that bit of news.

“I know…he told me. He felt so guilty…he didn’t know if he was dreaming…if it was real…he was really out of it last night.” If you think John is keeping secrets from me, guess again…I know everything.

“I know…he kept apologizing. But between you and me, I enjoyed it. I’m hoping we’ll see more of each other.” In case you have any doubts…I’m not going anywhere.

“John is a very special man. When he loves he loves with all his heart. He is an extremely loyal and passionate man. He’s what you might call a one woman man.” Your move.

Times up…John walked back into the room to see Marlena and Rebecca having an intense, albeit civil conversation. Hi Rebecca, what are you doing here?”

She would definitely continue this conversation with Marlena at a later date. But for now she simply said, “I just wanted to stop in and see you how you were doing. Marlena was just filling me in on the new bodyguard. I understand it was Victor’s idea.”

“His name is Rico,” said Marlena. “Actually Victor had a few suggestions and I’m happy to say John agreed with all of them.”

“Is that right?” This didn’t sound good. “Like what?”

“Well for starters,” John began, “He’s going to take Boaty overseas with him for a few weeks while I recover.”

“And while they’re gone, John is going to stay at Victor’s…he’ll have Victor’s entire staff at his disposal.”

“Well it sounds like Victor thought of everything.” Damn! She had intended to offer to help out with Boaty while John was recovering…but now all that was out of the window. She’d have to come up with something new.

“Well Victor thinks of John like a son…so anything he can do to help him out…he’ll do. No one will get near him or Boaty.”

“John, I know you thought this over carefully, but are you sure it’s wise to give up your police protection. I mean, somebody did shoot you.”

“If Victor hired him…than I’m sure he’s more than capable of doing the job.”

“Well…are there any new leads?”

“None that I’ve heard of.

“What does Roman think?”

“Actually,” intervened Marlena, “Roman’s out of town right now.”

“Really…I’m surprised…I’d have thought this would be his number one priority. After all he was shot too.” No wonder she was here.

“It is…that’s why he’s out of town. I can’t really say much about it…but I know he’s working on this case.”

“Well, in any case…I just wanted to see how you were feeling. I need to get back to the office. I’ll stop in again.”

“Thanks Rebecca.”

“Good bye John. Marlena, I enjoyed our conversation…we’ll have to do it again.”

“Bye,” said John.

“I agree…stop by any time. Goodbye Rebecca.”

As soon as the door closed behind her, John asked Marlena, “What did she mean by that?”

“Let’s just say…I think we understand each other.”

“You’re not going to tell me anything else or you?”

“It’s not important…she’s not important. Now where were we before we were interrupted?”

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

As she rode down the elevator she replayed the entire visit in her head. Nothing had gone like she thought it would. Marlena was there, she knew what happened between her and John, Victor hired a bodyguard, John wouldn’t need her help and to top it off…Roman was out of town. At least she learned one thing; Marlena had no intention of walking away from John…not now…not ever.