~ Chapter 29 ~

Shadows were lengthening across the sitting room of Kate's suite. Curled up in one of the easy chairs, she reached over to turn on the nearby lamp. Soft light brightened the space, and she picked up her book to resume reading. A low moan caused her to look over at the man who lay sprawled on her sofa. He opened his eyes slowly, squinting in confusion.

"Where am I?" he mumbled.

He attempted to sit, but immediately abandoned the effort. His vision was blurry and his head ached.

"Easy, John," she cautioned. "You don't seem quite ready to get up yet."

He immediately recognized the voice. Kate. He was in her suite, but he had no memory of his arrival. Why was he here? He remembered having breakfast with her that morning, but he was sure he had left to go check on his wife. Oh. Right. His wife. Suddenly, it all came crashing back. His argument with Marlena. Her throwing him out of the penthouse. Showing up at Kate's. Attempting to drink himself into oblivion.

Clearly, he'd managed to accomplish the latter, if only briefly. Now, reality was staring him starkly in the face, and there was no escaping it. Another round of alcohol would only make him feel even sicker than he already did. With a heavy sigh, he forced himself into a semi-prone position, hoping that, by moving slowly, his stomach would quit heaving and the throbbing in his head wouldn't escalate.

Kate gazed at her ex-fiancé, sympathy for him written all over her face. She wasn't the least bit surprised that he felt rotten. He had downed several drinks in quick succession, after his rejection at the hands of Saint Marlena. While Kate was furious that her rival had inflicted so much pain on John, she was hardly one to let opportunity pass her by – and this was a gift horse if ever she'd seen one. He was clearly in need of some tender, loving care, and she was just the person to provide it.

"Can I get you anything? Coffee? Water? Food?"

At the mention of food, his face paled.

"No, no food. My stomach still hasn't recovered from the booze I had earlier. Maybe later."

"Whatever you want. You just have to ask."

"Thanks, Kate. You're a true friend."

"I care about you. I hate to see you so distraught."

"Well, when your wife drives a stake through your heart, that's not painless. In fact, it hurts like hell."

"I understand how difficult it is to lose someone you love, believe me."

Glancing at Kate as she spoke, John noticed a hint of melancholy in her eyes. Before he could truly grasp its significance, it was gone, replaced by the forced smile she wore so often when trying to hide her feelings from him. As usual, he was fooled by her false gaiety.

"I know you really loved Roman. I'm sorry things didn't work out for the two of you."

If only you realized the truth.

She averted her gaze, unwilling to burden him with her own emotions when his were so raw. Instead, she got up and moved towards him, intent on rearranging the cushions he was leaning on.

"Here. Let me help you with those."

He offered no protest as she repositioned the pillows behind him. When she was sure he was comfortable, she headed for the bar.

"Do you mind? I could really use a drink."

"Go ahead. Just because I showed such poor judgment earlier doesn't mean you have to abstain."

She poured herself a glass of white wine. After replacing the cork in the bottle, instead of returning to her own seat, she joined him on the sofa. They sat quietly for a few minutes, each absorbed in their own thoughts. John was the first to break the silence.

"Is it hopeless?"

She stared at him, confused.

"Is what hopeless?"

"My situation with Marlena," he explained, before continuing. "Do you think I'll ever get her back?"

"Honestly? I don't know. I can't believe I'm saying that, but I never would've believed that she'd throw you out of the penthouse, either. I don't think her behaviour is terribly predictable right now."

"Ain't that the truth. She's been suffering from amnesia for months, and there are times when I doubt that she'll ever regain her memory. I can't even say for sure that she wants to. She's so attached to that bum, North, and everything he says is like gospel to her. I haven't got a clue how to change that."

"I wish I had an answer for you, but I don't. I know that you see me as someone who can come up with clever little schemes – and I usually can – but I'm at a loss. I thought we were making progress, that she was jealous of our closeness, but that doesn't seem to be the case. If she was, she never would have asked you to leave."

"The argument we had keeps replaying in my head. I obviously said all the wrong things to her, but the irony is, I'm not sure the outcome would have been any different even if I'd held my tongue. It's almost as if she was looking for any excuse to get me out of there, and I just walked right in and gave her one."

"I'm confused. If all she wants is some alone time for her sessions with Dr. North, she could get that by finding an office for them to work in. They could even use her old one at the hospital. It's available."

"You're right. There are ways around what she claims is the problem. There's something else going on here. Something I'm missing."

They fell silent again. A thought occurred to Kate, but she hesitated to voice it, certain that it would only upset John and likely send him spiralling back into the darkness of his mind. Somehow, though, he sensed that she wasn't being entirely forthcoming.

"What are you thinking?"

When she failed to respond, he prompted her again.

"Talk to me. You can tell me anything, you know that."

"It's not what you want to hear."

"Don't let that stop you. It can't possibly be any worse than what Marlena told me this morning."

I wouldn't be so sure of that.

Despite his assurances, she kept quiet.

"You've really got me curious now. Come on, spill it."

"Okay, you asked. I was wondering if the reason Marlena kicked you out is because…" She paused, her indecision rendering her mute.

"Because what?" His tone held a note of impatience.

"Because… she's developed feelings for Alex," she finally blurted out.

"No way! Not a chance! It's simply not possible."

"Think about it. Why else would she want you to leave? It's the only explanation that makes sense."

"No. I refuse to believe that she'd want anything to do with that fraud on a personal level. She may not remember our love, but she'd never betray me like that!"

His voice rose, and Kate shrank from the anger that flashed in his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. It was just an idea. Forget I mentioned it."

He hung his head in his hands. His breathing, which had become shallow and uneven, started to deepen. Eventually, he looked up, his expression one of contrition.

"No, I'm the one who should apologize. I pushed you to tell me what you were thinking. You even warned me that I wouldn't like it, but I couldn't let it go."

"It's okay." She placed a comforting hand on his arm and waited for him to continue.

"I hate to admit it, but I suspect I reacted so strongly because, deep down, what you said struck a chord. As much as I'd prefer to believe otherwise, my wife might well have feelings for another man, and there's not a damn thing I can do about it. I can't even fight for her, because she sees me as a stranger."

"It won't always be that way."

"You don't know that. It's been months since I lost Marlena to amnesia, and now it seems I'm going to lose her to her shrink. She doesn't want me anywhere near her. I don't see that changing any time soon."

"I'm sorry," she whispered again.

She reached out and wrapped her arms around him, eager to offer what solace she could. He leaned appreciatively into her warm embrace, and his eyelids drooped.

"You seem tired," she observed. "Maybe you should get some rest."

He nodded in agreement before taking the hand she'd extended to help him up. Leading him down the hall, she entered the guest bedroom and turned on the bedside lamp. Too exhausted to even shed his robe, he shot Kate a grateful look as he climbed under the covers.

"Thanks. For everything."

"You're welcome."

"G'night."

"Good night."

After turning off the light, she reached out and tenderly stroked his cheek. He was already snoring as she leaned over and dropped a quick kiss on his forehead.

"Sleep well, my sweet. The next phase of my strategy to win you back goes into effect tomorrow, and you're going to need your rest."