Love’s Second Chance

Viewed on ShortsWave: Yikes. Poor Nikki (Christina Donnelly) is an unloved and unwelcomed burden to her husband (Ian Schutzman) and family. That all changes after a fatal car accident. By some magic never explained in Vertical Dramas, Nikki is sent back a year and given the chance to relive her life.

The High: I don’t think I’ve seen Christina Donnelly or Ian Schutzman in anything before and I love seeing new people. Also, this was the first “reborn” story I’ve seen that has ended this way, so that was fun.

All spoilers and no filters ahead.

Nikki is dying in the ER where the nurse helpfully calls her husband and family to get them to come and then announces within earshot of Nikki that no one will come for her. After hearing that, Nikki dies only to awaken healthy and safe a year prior. And it's the day her husband handed her divorce papers. How lucky for her! Nikki isn’t taking shit or prisoners and is determined to live her life on her own terms. Instead of fighting the divorce, she signed the papers and gave up her rights to anything. Her acquiescence confuses her husband. She leaves but Charlie is confused she actually accepted the divorce.

Charlie confronts her for being “dramatic” (umm, taking you at your word that you wanted to divorce her so she actually does?), but Nikki is in her “Fuck off and fuck you” era, so she tells him to peace out and meet her at City Hall for that divorce he wanted so bad. Here it’s revealed that he only married her because his grandma forced him to, so she couldn’t possibly be the right woman for him. While Nikki is trying to get started on her Eat, Pray, Love tour, Charlie’s assistant calls and tells him someone has been skimming money from the household account that were supposed to go to Nikki and it was his executive secretary. Charlie stalls and says that things have to be handled “properly” because they have family dynasties. Only, he pronounces it wrong (like when they someone is the “hare/hair” instead of the “air” - we don’t pronounce that “h” in the US.) so he calls it family din-esties. instead of DINE-esties. LOL.

Cut to the executive secretary, Ms. Winters, with her voice over that she’s been requesting more and more money to make it look like Nikki is money hungry, hoping when she’s gone Charlie will want to be with her. Charlie confronts her with security footage and asks what she said to his wife. Winters claims that Nikki attacked her and said she was Charlie’s mistress, but the footage shows her slapping Nikki and Charlie is done with her. He fires her and has security escort her out. Nikki calls to ask about the divorce timeline and Charlie can’t believe she’s in a rush. She rightfully reminded him that he’s the one that handed her divorce papers, so why is he so upset that she’s doing what he wants.

Nikki swears she won’t allow herself to be at the mercy of someone else. Nikki returns home to her stepmother, sister and father. She calls out her family for taking her mother’s things from her room. She announces she’s moving back into the house since it was left to her by her mother. Her father tells her to apologize to Charlie and get back in his good graces. They argue and as her father is going to hit her, Charlie walks in and tells him no one can mistreat his wife, not even her father. Nikki is all WTF, dude? Charlie says she’s still his wife, so protecting her is his job.

While at dinner, her father criticizes her but Charlie defends her again. Nikki is confused because she knows a year from now Charlie couldn’t be bothered to watch her die in the hospital. Later Nikki again asks about the divorce THAT CHARLIE ASKED FOR, and he uses it to pull Nikki into his body and press his own to hers. Charlie flirts with Nikki, but she’s able to resist him, especially since she remembers a year from now. She’s all have your lawyer call my lawyer, we have nothing to talk about.

Nikki snoops on her father and stepmother gossiping about her, and finds out her father cheated on her mother before she died and that Maggie, her illegitimate sister, will be inheriting everything. Nikki now knows enough to take them all down. At a bar, Nikki meets up with old college friend, Chris Henderson. They both apologize to each other for losing touch after she got married. She confesses that she wised up and it’s all over. He confesses that he’s had a crush on her for ages. Also, this convo reveals that Nikki is a genius medical researcher and she gave up her whole career to be with Charlie. He lays the breadcrumbs for Nikki to get with him after the divorce is final.

She asks Chris to help her find proof of what happened with her mother, weird. She’s tipsy at the bar so Chris decides that would be a good time to tell her he’s been in love with her for 10 years. Charlie interrupts and tells Chris to take his hands off his wife. Chris and Charlie argue before Charlie hauls her out of the bar. He gets her home and she starts getting talkative thinking she’s talking to Chris, telling Charlie she’s going to take all of his money and ruin him. Then, she is going to date all the young handsome lab boys. When Charlie questions her she tells him that Charlie doesn’t love her, so he’s not going to care she’s with all those guys. Charlie stares at her intensely she gives him a quick peck, startling him.

He, again, doesn’t understand why all her things are missing from her closet, again dude, do you not understand the word DIVORCE? He finds something for her to change into because she apparently “you can’t sleep in those clothes.” Umm, okay my guy, I sure think she can. Nikki is still very tipsy and starts undressing Charlie. Cut to the next morning when Nikki is confused why she’s wearing his clothes. She mistakenly thinks the butler helped her, but Charlie pops in and confirms it was him. They start sniping at each other when Nikki pulls out the “you couldn’t perform even if you tried.” Charlie looks like you threatened to kill his cat and asks where she got that idea. Nikki is all, what did you expect when we were married for years and never fucked. Charlie can’t let his pride take the hit, so he swoops Nikki up and says, let me prove it. They kiss and as Nikki is asking if that all he’s got, the phone rings and kills the mood. Charlie answers the phone and Maggie is on the other end asking if Charlie will be coming to her birthday party.

At Maggie party, Nikki walks in looking like a Goddess with Chris at her side. Charlie is all shock and awe at seeing her and tells Chris he can go, but Chris isn’t having it. Chris tells Nikki he has what she’s looking for and Charlie hates being out of the loop. Stepmom rushes over and tells Nikki to stop making a scene, and Charlie, confused, asks her how she’s doing that when she’s been silent since she arrived. Nikki says I won’t hold my breath for an apology stepmom, but that company was my mom’s legacy and I’m taking it back, you bird-legged ho.

Nikki takes the stage and announces the family secret with evidence, and announces she’s divorcing Charlie. Charlie follows her and tries to offer her a job at his company. He tells her she has become interesting so he doesn’t want a divorce anymore. Nikki tells him tough cookies, jackass. He tries to emotionally blackmail her with a visit with grandma. The grandma that told Charlie to marry Nikki, but Nikki isn’t budging. Shortly after, Nikki joins the Research Institute when Sara Dawson, Charlie’s ex, comes back to town trying to get a job at the Institute too, but he’s ignoring her.

Sara’s father goes straight to the board and gets her a job. She complains Nikki is a college dropout and convinces her colleagues to challenge her qualifications. While she’s working, Sara sneaks in changes her experiment causing an lab mishap. Luckily, Charlie was observing and able to rescue Nikki after she passes out. Charlie pulls the tapes and kicks Sara out. Charlie tries to invite Nikki out for lunch to talk and Chris arrives at the same time and takes her out. Sara tries to convince Charlie that is was just a prank. Charlie finds out that Nikki is Dr. Moorehead and he realizes that is a lot about her he doesn’tknow.

Nikki’s family is scheming because she is working on a cure for her uncle James that has been in a coma for year. They set Nikki up trying to get an emotional outburst will prove to the board she’s unstable. They continue being terrible to Nikki and Charlie comes in and cancels the business deals between the families. Her shitty family kneels and begs forgiveness and Nikki doesn’t even entertain the idea. Charlie follows her out a tried to gift her with gifts, but she tells him his gifts are unwelcome because he doesn’t know shit about her and what she wants. Then she hears Charlie’s assist talk about the profits they’re making since Dr. Moorehead joined the team, so Nikki accuses hm of just liking her for the money she is bringing in. Nikki tells him off and tells him to complete the divorce.

Sara gets her hands on the set-up video causing a showdown between Nikki and Sara and Nikki slaps her. She is threatened by the head of the board to lose her spot, but she has proof of the set-up on her side so she’s able to keep her spot. Later at the hospital, Nikki hugs Chris and Sara captures it sending it to Charlie. This prompts Charlie to signing the papers and giving up. Chris reveals the truth that James is likely in the coma due to an attempted murder by her father. Meanwhile, her father is plotting another attempt on James’s life now that James is showing signs of waking up.

Charlie’s Grandma calls which warms Nikki’s heart so she returns to Charlie’s to keep Grandma happy. Nikki sees her flowers are still in Charlie’s house because Charlie didn’t let the house staff get rid of them. Nikki flashes back to all the sweet moments with Charlie and she worries that it will trick her into staying with him to be hurt again. Grandma returns to stay at the house so Charlie and Nikki put on the lovey dovey act, but Grandma ain’t no fool. She serves them a horny tea which they both drink before Grandma locks them into their room for the night and despite his best? (Uh, I hope those aren’t his best) moves Nikki is all good sleeping alone. When she leaves the next morning, Charlie and Chris argue about Nikki, but she still leaves with Chris. Drinking at the bar and Sara shows up and a assistant talking about how Charlie just married Nikki because he was heartbroken over losing Sara so it’s no surprise he didn’t want her now that Sara’s back. Charlie finally realizes that he loves Nikki.

Nikki is being followed by a masked man who grabs her, she’s able to fight him off and hide. She calls Charlie for help but he’s left his phone at the bar where Sara intercepts it. Charlie grabs his phone and is able to make it to Nikki in time to prevent her from being hurt. Charlie tries to use Sara’s gratitude to get her back, but she can only think of talking to Sara on the phone. Charlie’s focus returns to who was behind the attack. Nikki is searching her parent’s house for evidence of her father’s bad deeds and finds a hidden room. Great news! Uncle James is awake from his 7-year coma.

Uncle James tells her that her mother was leaving her father because of his mistress and the prenup would have left him with nothing. That very morning her father took the car out for maintenance and then the car crashed. Her father returns to the secret room to find it empty. Her father and stepmother are trying to find money to be able to control the company, but there is no money to be found. He schemes to raise the capital, even promising Maggie in marriage. Nikki crashes the party and kicks her family out of the house and reveals the debt her father is in and his murdering schemes. Nikki tells off each of her family members. Her stepmother and stepsister leave her father.

Somehow Sara calls Nikki with information about her mother and the accident, and Nikki is an idiot who meets with her at the bar. Sara has drugged Nikki and bribes a bartender to once again set Nikki up. She snaps a bunch of pics and sends them to Charlie who rushes into action threatening Sara and her father. Charlie arrives in time to rescue Nikki and takes her to the hospital. And she confesses that she cannot be Sara’s replacement anymore. Charlie denies that he ever had feelings for Sara, but Nikki isn’t hearing it and kicks him out of her hospital room.

Sara and her father and giggling over the prospect of Charlie proposing to her and instead shows the security footage of Sara drugging Nikki then withdraws their family from all D’Onofrio businesses. He returns to the hospital but Nikki is already gone. Nikki’s father is talking to be board, and Nikki pops in and reveals to the board that her father has altered the will and is shaddy AF. He tells her he has another shareholders voting rights, so having 40% of the shares he wants to remove Nikki. However, Charlie pops open the doors and stops the proceedings. He is now a shareholder too and has 21% of the shares and he’s combining them with Nikki to votes to remove her father from the company. Uncle James is wheeled in as evidence of her father’s crimes and Charlie has additional evidence he dug up to support Uncle James’s claims and then the police arrive and arrest him.

Nikki thanks Charlie for his help and he apologizes for hurting her. He declares his love to her and lists all her traits. He pledges to always be by her side and she decides to give him another chance. They kiss. The end.