Alpha Billionaire Series
The Wrong Choice Chapter 1

MADII

I took hold of Drew's hand, pulling him deeper into the small reef. Vibrantly colored fish flittered away from us as we dived. Drew had lagged behind a bit, and the rest of the scuba group was at least twenty meters away. It was everything I dreamed of and more. Drew and I had planned this trip for our bachelor/bachelorette party months ago-though he initially protested. Water wasn't his thing; he much preferred rock climbing. But I thought the exotic coastal vibe would be good.

I remembered the conversation about how mountain climbing would be a much better event for the wedding party to do together, but I had insisted on diving. Being in the water was freeing, no gravity to weigh you down, the colorful world of sea life to entertain you. I wanted to enjoy that with the man I loved more than anything.

Drew's hand slipped out of mine, but I paid no attention. Watching the anemones retreat into themselves as we swam by was fascinating. Fish scattered around me, the shadow of the boat overhead startling me for a moment. We had been warned that we could encounter sharks, though they hadn't said any had been spotted recently. It had always been a dream of mine to swim with sharks, but it had been difficult enough to convince Drew to do the scuba diving.

My hair floated around me in unruly black strands, a mermaid's aura around my thin frame. I often joked with Drew that I was a mermaid, born for the sea and the waves. But he was more of a mountain man, hiking, fishing, rock climbing. Whatever the adventure, we were in it together, and I couldn't have been happier. Drew was my world. Just thinking of him made me turn to see where he was. I wanted to show him the bright pink anemone.

But when I turned to reach for him, he was farther away than I thought. His arms were stretched out to his sides, his hands limp. I kicked my flippers to propel myself toward him. It was difficult to move as easily in the bulky scuba gear, but I managed. Drew's back was to me, and it appeared he was playing a joke on me. The little wisps of his hair not pinned down by his scuba mask floated away from his head-rebellious arms reaching outward.

I laid my hand on his shoulder, expecting him to turn, but he didn't. So, I tapped harder, pulling at his shoulder. The joke was not funny, and he was not responding. Maneuvering so I could position myself in front of him. I noticed his eyes were closed. If I could have spoken, I would have let him have a piece of my mind, and for a moment I was frustrated with him. But then I saw the way his lips had a blue hue to them where the regulator puffed them out.

I felt a jolt of pain in my chest as adrenaline released. Both hands on his shoulders, I shook him hard, not wanting to believe what I was seeing. Frantic, I spun around, hoping to see our scuba instructor nearby, but the group was too far away now. Cloudy water separated us at a distance far enough they'd never see my panic.

Turning back to face him, I realized something was drastically wrong. I did the only thing I could. I wrapped my arms around him and swam upward, kicking my legs as hard as I could. We were so far from the surface, it felt hopeless. My mind raced as tears filled my eyes, fogging my mask. I screamed out in fear sending bubbles shooting upward.

The moment we broke the surface, my legs burning, I waved an arm frantically at the boat driver. My mask was so fogged, I could hardly see, but I felt the water churn as the boat approached. My chest heaved with exertion, and I could hardly breathe, mucus clogging my sinuses from crying so hard. I felt Drew's body being lifted out of the water away from mine and let my body relax, immediately tearing off my mask.

"What happened!" the driver yelled at me.

I shook my head, watching Drew disappear into the boat, one of his flippers falling back into the water. I snagged it and swam for the back of the boat where the ladder was. Another man, who had helped us suit up before our dive, held his hand out to me as I tried climbing aboard the boat on wobbling legs.

Everything seemed to go so fast I couldn't keep up, but in slow motion at the same time. I sat trying to catch my breath as the men tore Drew's scuba gear off of him and laid him out on the deck of the boat. One by one the other divers surfaced, climbing on board and seeing the chaos. Lexi and Crystal rushed right to my side, their masks and tanks shed at my feet.

"Oh fuck, what happened?" Crystal crouched next to me, holding my hand but staring at the men now giving Drew chest compressions. Everything was a blur; I felt numb. I couldn't respond. I only got snippets of the conversations going on around me because all I could hear was the thrumming in my ears of my own heartbeat.

"...regulator broken..."

"Oh shit, this is bad..."

"Call the coast guard...."

The voices melded into one cacophony, deafening but silent to me at the same time. I stared at Drew's pale face, his body jolting with each compression of his chest. Lexi's hand covered her mouth as sobs wracked her body. Part of me wanted to comfort her, but most of me felt dead inside. My fiancé lay sprawled on the deck of the boat I'd wanted to go on, his lifeless expression so terrifying I couldn't look away.

***

The rhythmic beep of the heart monitor kept me company. I'd pushed everyone else out of the room. I didn't need their pity or their condolences. The wires and hoses hooked up to Drew's body from every angle prevented me from lying down next to him, but I sat on the edge of the bed at least. My hand laced in his, I sat stoic. All the tears I had to cry were dried up.

My eyes hurt; my nose bled from a few spots thanks to dry, papery hospital tissues. Nurse after nurse offered me water, snacks, and a place to rest. I didn't move, didn't blink. My entire world lay on the bed in front of me, silent, entombed inside himself. My heart ached. I wanted someone to make it stop, to silence the terror inside of my brain and put my world back together.

"Oh!"

The voice of Alice Heintz, Drew's mother, startled me. I turned to see her puffy eyes and hair worn from sleep and travel. Henry stood behind her, hand in the small of her back. As if Drew had the plague, they kept their distance until I stood, motioning them over. "What happened? The doctors only gave us such tiny details." Henry approached me as Alice rushed for Drew's side. She sat in the spot I vacated and leaned across her son, sobbing.

"I don't know what happened. He was diving with me. We were having a good time. I turned to look at some coral... I mean, he'd been slowing, not keeping up with us. So, I held his hand." Suddenly the tears came fresh again, stinging my raw skin. "And I saw a cool sea anemone. I wanted him to see. I reached for him and-" Sobs choked out my words. Henry pulled me to his chest, kissing the top of my head. His grip was tight; I could hardly breathe.

I stayed in his embrace for several long minutes, listening to the sound of Alice wailing. Drew had not woken up. They'd placed him on a heart-lung machine. It's tick and beep still keeping time. No one had anything to say. Nothing we said would bring Drew back. There were only questions.

Only moments later, the door swished open. A fresh wave of the pungent smell of hospital disinfectant washed over me. I felt like I'd never free myself from the stench of it when this was all over with. I looked up to see a tall, slender man dressed in a white lab coat enter. He had a clipboard in hand and a grim look on his face.

"Mr. and Mrs. Heintz, my name is Doctor Carpenter. I'm the head neurosurgeon here at Mercy General." The man's voice was kind, compassionate. Everything a doctor should be when their patient is in dire straits and family is hovering for news. "I need to discuss a few things with you." He turned to me specifically. "Do you mind giving us some privacy?"

"I...uh..." I clung to Henry. There was no way in hell I was leaving Drew's side.

"It's okay, Doctor. This is Drew's fiancé, Madison. She needs to stay." Henry hugged me tighter. The way he stood up for me was reassuring. The amount of guilt I carried was suffocating. I felt like if Henry and Alice knew scuba diving had been my choice, they may not feel the same about me.

"Right." The doctor grimaced, displaying more pain on his face. "Let's sit, shall we?" He gestured at the small sofa across the room and Henry led me there. Alice remained firmly planted across Drew's body. I didn't think wild horses could drag her away. We sat, and as we did, my heart sank further. The way Dr. Carpenter approached the subject gave me little reason to hope that he had good news. Even his posture was grim.

"What is it? When will he wake up? What are all those tubes for?" Henry had more questions than me. He hadn't been there when they walked me through everything. Lexi and Crystal had tried to come with me, but the nurses refused. I had only been let in because I had a ring on my finger, and even then, in the ICU they were fairly strict that I shouldn't be there.

"Well, let's start at the first things. Drew suffered a major loss of oxygen. We don't know how long he went without it. His brain scans are not good. His body is on a heart-lung machine to regulate his pulse and ensure he gets proper oxygen." Dr. Carpenter frowned and glanced at Drew. "His chances of pulling out of this are almost zero. I need you to understand that we did everything we could for him. The ride from the diving area to shore was just too long."

Henry sputtered out a few sobs and buried his head in his hands, and I crumpled. The doctor continued talking but I couldn't understand him. All I heard was "unplug" and "hope for the best." My world spun. Nearly 100 miles from home on what was supposed to be one of the best trips of my life, and all I could think about was how much I wanted my best friend back.

I sat in a daze, watching nurses shuffle in and out. Henry was forced to sign consent forms. Alice refused. No one even asked me. I had no rights; I wasn't married to him yet. I was helpless to stop the process. They would unhook the machines and watch him die. Drew was an organ donor. He'd boasted about that on a number of occasions. Deep down I knew he would be honored to give life to others. So, was I selfish for hating those people who would take my best friend-the love of my life-and benefit from my devastation?

Hours had to have passed, but I hadn't moved. No to eat, not to drink. I sat and stared at him, Alice still clinging to him desperately. This couldn't be happening. I had to wake up from the horrible nightmare.

When the time came, Henry had to pry Alice off Drew's chest. She screamed at him, swinging her fists and making contact a few times. There wasn't a dry eye in the place. Even the nurses sobbed, though it felt soiled. Their sympathy-empathy if you will- contaminated what was really happening. My world was ending. The very fabric of my future was being torn apart thread by thread. No IVs or fluids, medications, monitors would save him now. Death reached up and choked me, stealing the sobs from my throat. I nearly vomited as the doctor walked toward the machines.

No one said a word to me as Dr. Carpenter shut down the machines one by one. They left the monitor on him, though, the beeping fluttered for a moment. Doctor Carpenter assured us that the electric pulses would stop shortly, and afterward they would call the time.

The transplant crew was on standby to rush Drew off to surgery to harvest his organs. They stood in the hallway, prepped and ready. Henry had taken Alice away. I knew it would be too difficult for her to watch, but here I sat, paralyzed. My eyes would not move from his pale face. His lips were blue, like he was cold. But he lay there naked, exposed to the world. Why hadn't anyone covered him up? Why hadn't anyone taken care of him? Why didn't they save him? Why didn't they do something?

We waited a few minutes. The doctor checked his watch. The nurses started murmuring, and one of them pulled out a stethoscope. She pressed it to Drew's chest and looked up at Dr. Carpenter with wide eyes.

"His heart is beating."