Samuel (Members From Money Season 2, #168)

Chapter 1

"You can't be serious." Her agent Sally Drenth stared at her, a horrified expression on her angular face.

"Honey, you're at the peak of your career.

You're stunning and the camera loves you.

You're also a very talented actress with a wildly successful series under your belt.

I've had offers from several directors. There's a Broadway musicale with your name on it.

You cannot quit now. As successful and well loved as you are, we both know how fickle the public is.

"Hell, a few years from now they will not remember your name. El, this is ridiculous. I know things are not going very well in your marriage, but that's no excuse-"

She petered to a stop as the woman turned to pin her with a fierce look.

Eliza Bell-Copeland might be one of her best clients, but the woman was very private and never tolerated anyone talking about her personal life. As much as she led a very public life along with her very famous husband, they had somehow managed to keep the press at bay.

But there was only so much they could keep a secret and no more. It was clearly obvious the "dream couple" were having problems. They had been noticeably absent from several premieres and were both seen going solo for months now.

"I'm sorry-"

"My mind is made up." Eliza had thought long and hard and came to the decision in the middle of the night when she was unable to sleep.

The news that her long-running show, "Midnight Blue," was not being picked up for another season could not have come at a more opportune time.

It saved her the trouble of telling the producers, who included her husband, that she was quitting the series.

And it was not because she was tired of playing the lead detective and trying her hand at another role. She had never been one of those actors who was afraid of being stereotyped if they were playing a role for a period of time. She actually loved the series and her part in it.

The show had made her the success she was, and she did not take that for granted.

Never would. She had come from nothing, worked hard to get where she was, and she was proud of it and her accomplishments.

She had scaled obstacles, fought tooth and nail, to be recognized as a serious talent, someone with much more than looks.

And had done so without having to sleep her way to the top.

She might have been poor and had lived on the streets for several years after skipping out on the group home she had lived in, but she never lowered her values.

She had been determined to make it on her skills, and she had done that.

There were several awards as testament to her success.

Now she wanted something different. She wanted a life away from the public eye, and she desperately wanted children.

Which was surprising, considering that she never knew who her parents were.

She wanted to be a mother and needed to save her marriage.

Celebrity relationships rarely lasted, and in her line of work, people slept around at the drop of a hat.

She happened to be completely in love with her husband and would do anything to keep them together.

But after five years of marriage, it was plain that she would never have children the natural way.

"Honey-"

Eliza shook her head, a smile hovering at her lips.

"I'm resolved on this, Sally." Her expression softened as she stared at the matronly-looking woman who had taken a chance on her all those years ago.

She had been doing face cream commercials and had a stint at modeling when she decided that she wanted to do more with her life.

She wanted to be an actress. Money had been tight, and in between the few gigs, she had squirreled enough to go to acting school.

Someone had told her about Sally Drenth, but she never dreamed the woman who was known for her fierce reputation and discriminating nature would in fact be interested in a nonentity like herself.

It was after a few years that Sally had disclosed to Eliza that she had seen something in her that screamed talent, and that was why she had decided to take her on as a client.

And Sally had worked to get her work. At first, it had been bit parts, an appearance in an action thriller with her playing the part of a secretary to the lawyer who applied the law during the day but was actually a superhero at night.

Then there was the role that had won the hearts of millions and jump-started her career on the small screen.

She had played the beleaguered wife of a serial killer who found out by accident that her husband was not who she thought he was.

Her performance had caught the eye of the brilliant, moody, and exacting producer, Samuel Copeland, and he had cast her in the role of Cilla Braxton, the kick-ass detective who was determined to take on the world of crime, no matter the cost. She had been drawn to him in spite of his harsh demeanor and his ability to wring the last drop of acting skills out of his actors.

He made people cry, and there were some who were terrified to work with him.

But from the very beginning, Eliza had stood up to him, matching his cold, scathing comments about her skills with some of her own.

She had earned his grudging respect and eventually his interest. He had broken his rule of never sleeping with any of his actresses and had told her, that first night they were together, that he had been unable to help himself.

The world had not been surprised when they tied the knot but had celebrated with them, dubbing them the "dream couple."

And they had been for a few years. There had been times when they stayed in bed for days, not wanting to see anyone, just each other. They had made a vow to live their lives out of the public's eye, no matter how difficult that would be.

Which had been incredibly difficult. Samuel Copeland was not only a brilliant producer, but he was also the sole heir to the Copeland fortune, a fortune that had interests all over the world.

The family was old and dignified and boasted an earl or two in their ancestral line.

So marrying an actress, no matter how successful she was, was beneath the family's expectations and certainly not what the parents had wanted for their son.

Certainly not an African-American woman who had no idea who her parents were and one who had been brought up in a home.

The family had been horrified and had tried to talk him out of it.

But Samuel Copeland was his own man and was not easily dissuaded.

He had fallen in love for the first time, and nothing could stop him from going all the way.

When Eliza had fiercely told him it was not a good idea for them to get married, considering that his parents did not like her, he had bluntly told her that she would be marrying him, not his parents, and there was no way in hell he was going to let her go.

"Unless you tell me right now that you don't love me. Look me in the eyes and tell me that you want nothing to do with me, Eliza, and I'm gone."

She had been unable to do it because she had fallen head over heels in love with the extremely difficult and moody man she had fought with behind the scenes. It was a first time for her, too.

Now she was losing him. They shared the same elegant townhouse but had been sleeping apart for months now.

Oh, there had been the usual excuses. They both had hectic schedules.

His was more frenetic than hers. Not only was he a producer in high demand, but he was also on the board of directors of his company.

He played his part in the running of the vast company.

But it was more than that. At first, they could barely stand to be away from each other and could not keep their hands off each other.

Now they were hardly speaking. And whenever they did, it was to argue.

He wanted children, and so did she. As the years progressed and nothing happened, it pushed them further and further apart.

The distance between them had now become a chasm that she wasn't sure they could ever bridge, but she had to try. Before she fell in love with him, her career had come first. It was time to choose, and she was choosing her marriage. Her husband. And she had nothing to apologize for.

"You're making a mistake," Sally predicted, her expression pained.

"That might be the case, but it's mine to make." With her disarming smile, she moved forward and took the woman's hands in hers. "I need to do this. And I would like you to understand why I have to."

She squeezed Sally's hands. "You've been so wonderful to me, putting yourself out there and working your ass off. I'm grateful, but now it's time for me to fight for my marriage."

She shook her head as Sally opened her mouth to speak. "I'm not willing to go into the specifics, because you know me better than to talk about my personal business, especially when it comes to Samuel, but this is something I need to do."

Sally stared at the extraordinarily beautiful woman who had been called "incomparable" in looks and sighed.

She never had a husband and had never yearned for children the way some women seemed to do, but Eliza had come close to being a daughter.

The young woman was not only extremely talented, but she had a very unusual quality in this fake and fickle business.

She was genuine and really cared about people.

She had never been one to arrive on location late and had never made impossible demands or even considered herself to be a diva.

She gave back to charity and even volunteered at several homeless shelters and children's homes.

She was frank and upfront about her past and was a straight shooter.