Chapter 40: Confession

Nico waited until the last moment to inform Marilyn of his intention to stop seeing her, calling her mere hours before their next scheduled date. It was mostly cowardice that kept him putting it off, but there was also the fact that he hasn't had a moment to himself since Trill was born to make such a private call. It's only now, while he's out doing some errands for Jacklyn that he's got the privacy to call her.

"I'm not letting you out of this so easily," Marilyn says, managing to sound threatening beneath her sexy purr.

"I can't do this anymore," Nico says with an exasperated sigh.

"You could at least say goodbye to me in person," she says, "Or are you not man enough to do that? I'll be at hotel. If you aren't here in a hour, I'll come to your house and we can do it there."

"How nice of you to come," Marilyn greets Nico in a quiet corner of the hotel's grand lobby. Though he doesn't like being out with her where he can be seen, this is better than meeting her in one of the suites, where he might fall prey to the temptation.  The hotel is particularly busy today, the lobby buzzing with film crew personnel for some kind of shoot going on here. Nico just hopes they can go unnoticed amidst all the activity. "Now, look at me and ask yourself, do you really want to give all this up?" Marilyn demands.

"I never wanted this in the first place," Nico says, "You pushed yourself on me, and I stupidly let it happen. And now I'm ending it."

"I pushed myself on you?" she hisses. "I seem to remember you being very enthusiastic about our little meetings. You wanted me, you know you did."

"Okay, yes, I wanted you," Nico admits, "But it was just sex between us. You don't love me, you would have tossed me aside anyway when you were done with this movie and no longer needed to practice your Italian."

"Of course it's not love," she says, "And of course it was going to end. But I do still need you, and I'm not ready to let go just yet," she says, reaching a hand toward him.

"Don't touch me," he says, grabbing her by the wrist, "Whatever this was, I don't even feel it anymore. I'm not just giving you up to save my relationship; I look at you now and I don't even recognize what I saw before that made me so crazy for you. Let it go, it's long past over."

"You aren't special, you know," Marilyn says angrily, "I could find a hundred men just like you. You were just my plaything.  I don't need you."

She storms off fuming, and Nico is happy to let her have the last word if it means he's truly done with her. This affair could have cost him everything, but he got himself out of it before it could cause lasting damage. Finished with his mission, Nico follows her out of the lobby to wait for the valet to bring him his car.

Outside by the pool, Debbie watches the exchange through the window, and watches the couple leave the lobby together. She saw the valet parking Nico's car earlier, and she saw Marilyn coming into the lobby while she was gathering with the other models. Debbie wanted to believe it was just coincidence, but she knew it was very unlikely either Nico or the actress had any legitimate business in this hotel. Seeing them together made it obvious for her to pretend to herself that things would work out if she just kept quiet about what she knows, that Nico would keep the promise he made to his brother and stop cheating on Jacklyn.

After her shoot is over, Debbie meets Andrea at muscle beach. "I have a confession to make," she says.

"I'm listening," Andrea answers, wondering if he should be worried.

"When I first met your brother, he was with Marilyn. It was at a nightclub, and they were just talking, so I didn't think anything of it. Then, when I had that shoot with him, she showed up again. His dressing room was next to mine and I heard...well, it sounded like sex."

"You're saying Nico was having an affair with this woman even before I caught him with her at that party?" Andrea asks.

Debbie nods, "I wasn't completely sure of it until you actually found him out. All I knew was what I thought I heard."

"He lied to me, then," Andrea growls, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm sorry, Andrea, I just thought, since he promised he wasn't going to do it again, that it might have been a wake up call for him, and things would be okay. You were so angry with him, I just didn't want to see you more upset by this. But I should never have kept it secret from you. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Debbie. You meant well," Andrea says, "And you're telling me now."

"There's more," Debbie says quietly, "I saw him with her today, at he hotel where we doing the shoot."

"I'll kill him," Andrea says, turning to punch the chin up bar in his rage.

"Baby, don't," Debbie says, "He lied to you, but you're not the one he's betrayed. We have to take this to Jacklyn and let her decide what to do with him."

Debbie manages to calm Andrea down enough to bring him to Jacklyn and Nico's house, but as soon as he sees his brother, Andrea's rage boils over again.

"Bugiardo!" he shouts, his fist balling, ready to strike, "You lied to me! You made me keep your filthy secret, and then you broke your promise. You were with her today! Debbie saw you!"

"Andrea, calm down," Nico stammers.

"What's going on here?" Jacklyn demands, coming downstairs from the nursery when she hears the shouting, "What is he talking about, Nico?"

"Tell her, brother," Andrea growls, "Tell her the truth or so help me, I'll do it for you."

With Debbie and Andrea as witnesses, Nico is forced to tell Jacklyn everything. "I had an affair," he confesses, "With Marilyn Hennessey. But it's over, I swear it."

"You said that before, when I caught you with her at that party," Andrea acuuses, "But Debbie saw you with her today."

"I hadn't seen or talked to her since that party," Nico explains, "Today I met with her to tell her it was over. I didn't...I didn't do anything with her." He turns to Jacklyn, who has stood still and silent while he's made his confession, and he's more frightened by her calm than of his brother's rage, "I'm sorry, Jack. It was stupid and wrong, but I'm done with it now. Please forgive me."

"Fuck you, Nico," she says through gritted teeth, "Fuck you and get the fuck out of my house." She turns to run upstairs before she starts crying. It's humiliating enough that Andrea and Debbie apparently knew about this affair and she had to hear about it with them watching, but she's not gong to cry in front of them. This pain is hers and hers alone, no one can help or comfort her now.

"Jacklyn, wait," Nico reaches out to stop her, "Let me---"

Jacklyn wrenches herself out of his grasp, sobbing while she stumbles away from him. "Don't touch me, don't you dare touch me."

Andrea glances at Debbie. "I'm going to stop this," he says, and then moves before she can stop him.

Nico reels back as his brother shoves him. Andrea's fists come up, ready to strike, but Debbie steps between them and places her hand on Andrea's chest. "Hitting him won't solve anything," she says.

"Get him out of my house," Jacklyn says, keeping her voice cold and steady through sheer force of will, "Do what you want with him, just get him the fuck out of here. I want to be alone."

Unable to hold herself together for another moment, Jacklyn runs upstairs to her bedroom, leaving Debbie and Andrea to deal with the cheating bastard.

"Take him to my place," Debbie says, giving Andrea her keys, "I'll stay here with Jacklyn tonight, so she doesn't have to be alone."

Having Debbie around is the last thing Jacklyn would want, Nico knows, but he doesn't say anything, knowing that they wouldn't listen to him. They don't know her the way he does, they don't know what she needs, they don't love her, but none of that matters to them. He betrayed her, and for that he's lost the right to help her through this.

"And, baby, no fighting, okay?" Debbie says gently, "You know if you hit him, you'll just feel bad about it later."

"I promise," Andrea says, "Call me later, okay?"

Debbie follows Jacklyn up to her bedroom and sits with her while she cries herself to sleep. If Jacklyn could get any words out between the sobs that wrack her body, she'd ask Debbie to leave her alone and let her suffer in peace.

If there were anything she could do or say that would give her comfort, Debbie would do it. But all she can do is sit with the grieving woman and be there if she asks for anything.

"You're lucky I don't kill you now," Andrea says when he brings his brother to Debbie's condo.

"Not really," Nico says. 

Andrea slaps him on the back of the head. Nico braces himself for a punch, ready to have his jaw broken. Being drugged and hospitalized would be sweet relief right now.

"I promised Debbie I wouldn't," Andrea says, "I keep my promises."

"I'm sorry I lied to you, Andrea," Nico says, knowing his apology won't be worth much to his brother, just at it won't be worth anything to Jacklyn, if he's ever allowed close enough to speak the words to her.

"What were you thinking?" Andrea asks, "You had everything. And you threw it away for that whore."

"I wasn't thinking," Nico says with a bitter sigh, "I was just...I can't even explain it. I was stupid and weak. But I was telling the truth when I said it was over. After you caught me at that party, I came to my senses. I saw her today because she threatened to come to the house if I didn't. What Debbie saw today was me telling Marilyn that it was done for good."

"And you think that makes it any better?" Andrea asks.

"No, it doesn't. But it's the truth. I owe you that, after all the lies. And if I never get to tell Jacklyn myself, you have to do it for me, brother. I love her, more than anything. I need to get her back."

"I don't think she'll ever forgive you for this," Andrea says sadly, "I'm not sure I'll ever be able to forgive you."

Andrea shows him to the guest room Debbie keeps for when her little sister visits. Nico sinks down onto the girl's bed. He's not going to sleep tonight, his guilt and despair won't let him.