Brizee opened her eyes and looked around the room and saw she was in a hospital. She felt someone holding her hand and looked and saw her mother. 

        “Mom,” Brizee said softly. Laura looked up and saw her and smiled.

        “Oh thank god, I thought you would never wake up,” Laura said.

        “Where am I?” Brizee asked.

        “You are in the hospital, you’ve been in a coma for three months,” Laura said.

        “A coma, what happened?” Brizee said.

        “You were in a car accident, a drunk driver hit the car head on,” Laura said. Brizee looked around.

        “Nick, where is he?” Brizee asked. Laura took her hand and held it.

        “Honey, Nick died a day after the accident, I’m sorry, honey,” Laura said.

        “No!” Brizee cried as she closed her eyes. Laura got up and sat on the bed and held her daughter as she cried.

        “I’m sorry, honey, there was nothing they could do, his injuries were too severe,” Laura said.

        “Where’s Brian, Howie, AJ, Kevin, and Adam?” Brizee asked.

        “Adam’s helping your father with the company and Brian, Howie, AJ, and Kevin are at their homes, they couldn’t continue on in the group with Nick gone, without Nick, they aren’t a group,” Laura said.

        “I need Brian, he’s my best friend and Nick’s.” Brizee said crying. Laura got out her cell phone and called Brian.

        “Hello,” Brian said.

        “Brian, it’s Laura, Brizee just woke up, she needs you to come to the hospital, I just told her about Nick,” Laura said. Brizee closed her eyes as tears ran down her cheeks.

        “I’ll be right there, Leighanne’s coming with me,” Brian said.

        “Okay, bye,” Laura said. She hung up.

        “Is he coming?” Brizee asked crying.

        “Yeah, and he’s bringing Leighanne,” Laura said.

        “I need her, too, she’s my best friend, too,” Brizee said. Laura hugged her daughter as Steve and Adam came in. Laura looked and saw them and smiled.

        “She’s awake,” Laura said. Steve and Adam came over to the bed. Adam hugged his sister. Brizee glared at her father.

        “I bet you are happy,” Brizee said.

        “Yes, I am, happy that my daughter is awake,” Steve said. Brizee shook her head.

        “No, that Nick’s dead, I bet you had a party,” Brizee said. Steve looked at her.

        “Brizee, no, I’m not happy about that,” Steve said.

        “I know you never liked him, that he was all wrong for me, that I didn’t deserve him, you would always try to find a way to break us up,” Brizee said.

        “Brizee, you are my daughter and I love you, I gave you away at your wedding, didn’t I, I knew you loved him, and I’m sorry he’s gone, I wish I could take away the pain,” Steve said.

        “But you can’t, because he’s dead, the love of my life is gone and never coming back!” Brizee said crying. Laura hugged her close. Steve left the room. Adam came out.

        “Dad,” Adam said. Steve looked at his son. He grabbed his heart and leaned against the wall.

        “Dad!” Adam said. He yelled for a doctor. Laura came out and saw her husband. Brian and Leighanne came down the hall and saw what was happening.

        “What happened!” Brian said.

        “He’s having a heart attack,” Adam said. Brian and Leighanne went into Brizee’s room.

        “Brian!” Brizee said. Brian and Leighanne hugged her and told her what was happening.

An hour later, Adam came in. Brian sat there holding Brizee close as Leighanne stood beside the bed.

        “Adam?” Brizee asked.

        “Dad’s gone, the heart attack was massive, there was nothing they could do,” Adam said. He hugged his sister.

Chapter 2

Brizee sat in her parents house after the funeral of her father. Laura gave her a glass of water.

        “First my husband, then my father,” Brizee said. Adam came in with the family lawyer.

        “Barry,” Laura said.

        “I have Steve’s will,” Barry said sitting down.

        “Barry, now might not be a good time,” Laura said.

        “Laura, it was Steve’s wish that the will be read right after the funeral,” Barry said.

        “All right,” Laura said.

        “Adam gets the company, Laura gets the house,” Barry said.

        “What about Brizee?” Adam asked.

        “Brizee gets the penthouse in Miami, she has to stay there for a year, she’ll get a monthly allowance, no cook, no driver,” Barry said.

        “What,” Brizee said.

        “If you don’t fulfill this duty, the company and house will be sold on the auction block,” Barry said.

        “What!” Adam said.

        “Why did he do this to me!” Brizee cried. Laura hugged her daughter.

        “She doesn’t have to do this,” Adam said.

        “The family will lose everything if she doesn’t,” Barry said. Adam shook his head.

        “So my sister is suppose to go to the penthouse and just sit around and do nothing for a year by herself!” Adam said. He held Brizee’s hand.

        “I’m sorry, that is what your father said in the will,” Barry said.

        “I can’t believe this!” Adam said.

        “My daughter has always had a good head on her shoulders, I don’t understand, what were his reasons,” Laura said. Barry looked at his papers.

        “He said she’s been pampered long enough,” Barry said. Laura shook her head.

        “She knows how to drive!” Adam said.

        “Your father didn’t know that,” Barry said.

        “When do I have to go,” Brizee said.

        “You need to be there by Sunday,” Barry said. Brizee hugged her mother and Adam and went to pack.

A week later, Brizee was settled into the penthouse. She got on the computer and wrote down recipes. She had a car and had her license because Nick had taught her how to drive and took her to get her license before they got married. She couldn’t be out of the penthouse between midnight and 7am. She baked lots of brownies and cookies and talked on the phone with her mother and brother and she assured them she was doing fine. She finished up baking her last batch of cookies and decided to sit down and relaxed. She watched TV when she heard a noise outside. She got up and peeked through the peephole and saw a man across the hall opening the door to the apartment across the hall from her. She wondered who lived there and decided to introduce herself. She opened the door and stepped into the doorway. The man turned around and saw her and his eyes widened. Brizee stood there frozen as she couldn’t believe her eyes.

Chapter 3

Brizee stood there staring at the person across the hall. She grabbed the doorframe and held her as she took deep breaths and everything went black.  She heard a voice and opened her eyes and looked and saw blue eyes staring back at her. She realized she was looking into the eyes of her presumed dead husband. She jumped up and moved away from him.

        “Oh god, I’m going crazy, you aren’t here, you aren’t here, and I’m seeing things, imagining things!” Brizee said rubbing her eyes and looked and he stood there.

        “Brizee,” Nick said.

        “Oh god, I’m imagining speaking, too, oh god, I’m losing my mind,” Brizee said.

        “Brizee, I’m really here, you aren’t going crazy,” Nick said. Brizee sat down.

        “That is not possible, you can’t be real,” Brizee said.

        “I’m real, I’m here,” Nick said sitting beside her.

        “How is that possible, they told me you were dead!” Brizee said.

        “Who?” Nick asked.

        “My mother told me,” Brizee said.

        “She told you I was dead,” Nick said.

        “Yeah, after the accident, I was in a coma for three months and when I woke up, I asked for you and she told me you were dead,” Brizee said.

        “Oh so how are we divorced?” Nick asked.

        “What,” Brizee said.

        “We are divorced, Brizee, didn’t you know that, why did they tell you I was dead if we got a divorce, when the accident happened on our wedding night,” Nick said. Brizee closed her eyes and thought back to that night. They were on their way to the hotel for their honeymoon in Orlando. She decided to seduce him on the way and he ran a stop sign and they were hit by another car. Brizee covered her face in her hands.

        “It was my fault, the accident,” Brizee said crying.

        “I wasn’t paying attention,” Nick said.

        “Because I had my hand down your pants,” Brizee said. Nick looked at her.

        “Those days are gone, your father said you wanted the divorce, that I was all wrong for you,” Nick said.

        “I never wanted a divorce!” Brizee cried.

        “I have the papers that you signed,” Nick said.

        “Nick, I got out of the hospital two weeks ago, from the point of the accident to two weeks ago, I was in the hospital in a coma, unable to sign anything, if you got divorce papers, they have to be fake,” Brizee said.

        “It’s your signature,” Nick said.

        “I never signed anything, I was unable to,” Brizee said. Nick shook his head.

        “Brizee, I compared the writing, it’s yours,” Nick said.

        “Where are they?” Brizee asked.

        “In my apartment,” Nick said. Her cell phone rang.

        “Hello, hi Mom, can you and Adam come down here, it’s important, bye,” Brizee said. She hung up. Nick went to his apartment. She called Adam.

        “Hello,” Adam said.

        “Adam, Nick’s alive, he lives across the hall from me,” Brizee said.

        “What, he’s alive, he faked his death,” Adam said.

        “I think Dad had something to do with it, Nick’s saying that Dad told him I wanted a divorce and nothing to do with him and he’s got papers with my signature,” Brizee said. Nick came in.

        “They have to be fake, there was no way you could sign anything while in a coma,” Adam said.

        “That’s what I said but someone didn’t believe me, I told Mom to get you and come down here,” Brizee said.

        “I’ll be right there, sis,” Adam said. He hung up. Brizee hung up and looked at Nick.

Chapter 4

Nick handed her the papers and Brizee looked over them and shook her head.

        “I was in a coma, there was no way I could have signed that unless my dad did it with my hand while I was in a coma,” Brizee said.

        “Brizee,” Nick said.

        “Nick, what do I have to do to make you believe me, huh, my mother and brother are coming so ask them!” Brizee said.

        “I have moved on in my life,” Nick said.

        “You moved on while I was in a coma, not once thinking of me, that any love you had for me is gone, all because of my father, he succeeded in tearing us apart!” Brizee said. Nick shook his head and left. Brizee sat there in disbelief. The love of her life no longer wanted her.

        “I hope you are rotting in hell, Father,” Brizee said. She laid on the couch and cried softly.

Three hours later, there was a knock at the door. She opened it and saw Adam and Laura. They came in and hugged her. Brizee told them everything. Adam looked at the divorce papers.

        “He needs glasses, this can’t be your signature,” Adam said. Laura looked at her kids.

        “I signed it,” Laura said. Brizee and Adam looked at their mother.

        “Mom,” Adam said.

        “Your father made me do it, I didn’t know Nick was alive, I had no idea why he would want divorce papers signed when Nick was dead, I’m sorry, honey,” Laura said.

        “That means this is an illegal document, you and Nick are still married!” Adam said.

        “What,” Nick said from behind them. They looked at him. He stood there looking at them.

        “Nick, you and my sister are still married,” Adam said. Nick shook her head.

        “She signed the papers,” Nick said.

        “No, Nick, I did, while Brizee was in a coma, Steve made me sign the papers, I have no idea why he would want the papers signed if you were supposedly dead, he didn’t tell me you were alive,” Laura said.

        “Nick, Brizee has told you the truth, none of us had no idea what my father was up to, you know me and my mom supported you and Brizee and defended you to my father,” Adam said.

        “Why did you leave Brizee if you loved her,” Laura said. Nick looked at her.

        “Because Dad offered him money to disappear forever, I found this with Dad’s papers, five hundred million dollars went into an account at a bank here in Miami under the name of Gene Cartman, would that be you, Nick,” Adam said.

        “He told me it was what Brizee wanted, for me to disappear forever, I’ll give the money back, I never spent a dime of it,” Nick said.

        “Five hundred million, that’s what I was worth,” Brizee said.

        “I wanted to come back, but your father said that if I did, he would destroy me, the guys, Brizee, I had to protect everyone,” Nick said.

        “I can’t believe this,” Brizee said.

        “Nick, I’m sorry about all this, I should have been more questioning about my husband’s motives and looked into why he wanted divorce papers signed,” Laura said.

        “I wanted to come back as soon as I heard about his death, but I thought he would destroy everything from the grave,” Nick said.

        “Why do you think Brizee is down here, didn’t he know you were here?” Adam asked.

        “He set me up here, got me this place,” Nick said.

        “And Brizee is sent down here to this penthouse across from you,” Adam said.

        “I think my husband is trying to make up for his mistakes,” Laura said.

        “It’s too late,” Brizee said.

        “Brizee,” Laura said.

        “No, if Nick really loved me, he would have turned down the money and did everything he could to get to me and be with me,” Brizee said.

        “Brizee, you know how Dad was,” Adam said.

        “I could have handled him!” Brizee said.

        “Brizee, you were in a coma!” Laura said.

        “You guys could have done it for me, Adam had my power of attorney, I gave it to him in case something happened to me,” Brizee said.

        “Brizee, I didn’t know what Dad did, he knew I supported you and Nick, he wouldn’t trust me with that information,” Adam said. Brizee sat down.

        “It doesn’t matter now, he took the money, showing that he didn’t love me,”  Brizee said.

        “I said I would give it back,” Nick said.

        “Then give it back, but we are through,” Brizee said. She went to her room and closed the door and locked it and laid on the bed.

Chapter 5

Brizee laid there on her bed when there was a knock at the door. She opened it and saw her mother. Laura pulled her out to the living room and sat her down. Brizee didn’t look at Nick who was sitting beside her.

        “Brizee, Nick, there is something else you should know and I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to upset you,” Laura said.

        “What is it,” Brizee said.

        “Brizee, was there something you wanted to tell us?” Laura asked.

        “What do you mean?” Brizee asked.

        “The way you were feeling, health wise?” Laura asked.

        “I was feeling sick but it was the flu, I think, I didn’t go to the doctor yet because I felt sick the day before the wedding so I put it off until after the honeymoon, Mom, what is it,” Brizee said.

        “Brizee, you were pregnant, four months along,” Laura said. Brizee’s eyes widened. Nick took her hand.

        “I was pregnant?” Brizee asked.

        “Yes, the baby died in the accident, Brizee, they couldn’t stop the bleeding so they had to take your uterus, you can’t have children,” Laura said.

        “What!” Brizee cried. Nick hugged her. Brizee cried against his chest.

        “Was there anything they could have done to prevent that?” Nick asked.

        “No, there wasn’t, Adam told them to do whatever they had to do to save her,” Laura said.

        “Our baby, Nick!” Brizee said. Nick hugged her. Brizee pulled away and ran to her room. Nick ran after her.
        “I killed our baby, Nick!” Brizee cried. Nick hugged her close.

        “No, Briz, it was an accident, I should have been paying more attention,” Nick said.

        “I should have waited until we got the hotel, Nick, I’m so sorry!” Brizee said crying. Nick hugged her close.

        “It’s okay, now you and I are still married,” Nick said.

        “But you took money from my father,” Brizee said.

        “Briz, I didn’t spend it, I couldn’t, you are worth more to me than money, I was going to come back as soon as it was safe, but fate came my way when you came down here,” Nick said. Brizee kissed him deeply. He held her close to him as he returned the kiss. Adam and Laura saw them and smiled and quietly left.

        “You really were going to come back,” Brizee said.

        “Yes, when it was safe, I had to come back for you, the last few months was hell without you,” Nick said. Brizee rested her head against him.

        “So you weren’t hurt in the accident?” Brizee asked.

        “Just a few bumps and bruises, the car was hit on your side, I was scared when I saw you unconscious, I went to the hospital with you, your father showed up and demanded that I disappear from your life, I told him that you’re my wife and nothing was making me leave you, he told me to leave or he would destroy me, the guys, you, and everyone, I had to, and I promised myself that as soon as it was safe, I would come back to you,” Nick said. Brizee smiled and kissed him softly.

        “So are we okay?” Brizee said. Nick kissed her softly.

        “I am never letting you go again, we are married and we are staying that way forever, I can’t live without you,” Nick said. Brizee smiled and rested against him.

        “So, do you want to go back to New York?” Nick asked.

        “I can’t,” Brizee said.

        “Why not,” Nick said.

        “I have to be here for a year, no driver, no job, just sit here and do nothing,” Brizee said.

        “Who said you had to do that,” Nick said.

        “My father, in his will, he said I’ve been pampered enough, he didn’t know that you helped me get my driver’s license, I have to cook and clean myself, if I don’t do that, the company and the house will be sold on the auction block, if I fail, my family loses everything, I can’t be out of the penthouse between midnight and 7am, I can’t fail my mom and brother, I can’t let them lose everything,” Brizee said. Nick smiled.

        “Then we are staying in Miami, I will be here with you,” Nick said. Brizee smiled.

Epilogue

Brizee sat in her mother’s house with Nick, holding his hand as her mother handed her a letter.  The year went by fast with Nick’s help. They never were apart after finding out they were still married. Brizee opened the letter and read it and smiled.

        “My father knew I would run into you there and he knew we were still married, he wanted us back together, he wanted to make up for the mistake he made,” Brizee said.

        “I’m glad he sent you down there,” Nick said kissing her hand.

        “I heard you talking to Adam, about kids, I know you want children, I’m sorry that I can’t give you any,” Brizee said. Nick kissed her softly.

        “We will have kids, by surrogate or adoption, we will have kids,” Nick said.

        “I know we will, because it has begun,” Brizee said.

        “What,” Nick said.

        “Leighanne is carrying our child, remember me asking for a sperm sample,” Brizee said.

        “You were collecting,” Nick said.

        “Leighanne agreed to carry our baby, before they removed my uterus and ovaries, they managed to save some of the eggs, so it’s our baby, both yours and mine,” Brizee said.

        “How far along is she?” Nick said.

        “Five months,” Brizee said.

        “We were still in Miami,” Nick said.

        “Adam still has my power of attorney, he got everything set up, in four months, we will have our baby, and be a family,” Brizee said.

        “I love you so much,” Nick said.

        “I love you, too,” Brizee said. He kissed her and they held each other knowing they were together and never were going to be apart again.

The End!