Shonee's POV

Vincent and I trailed the music to the living room where the sound of laughter and loud cheers grew louder with every step. I didn't exactly know what time it was, but I was pretty sure it was close to midnight.

The moment Vincent and I descended the stairs, my mouth dropped wide open.

Nancy and another woman were grinding on a completely naked man seated in the middle of the room. He lounged in the chair, looking thoroughly amused, while a small crowd of women cheered and hollered as if it were the highlight of their night.

"What the heck..." Vincent muttered.

Without a hint of hesitation, he strode over to the stereo system and yanked out the power cord from the wall. Abrupt silence wafted in, followed by shuffles and surprised gasps.

Nancy and her friend both stumbled away from the stripper, allowing the man to leap onto his feet, hastily covering his manhood with a pillow from the couch.

Eww! I've gotta remember to disinfect that.

"What the hell is going on here?" Vincent's voice thundered across the room. "Why are you all in my house?"

Nancy gave an exaggerated roll of her eyes and swayed slightly as she turned to face him. "Oh, calm down, Vincent. You're so uptight!" She gestured toward the other woman. "Sarah is getting married in a week, so I planned her bachelorette party. Thought we could have a little fun."

"And you thought this was the best place for it?" Vincent snapped, gesturing around the living room that now looked like a college frat house after a wild night.

"Well..." The woman Nancy pointed to, Sarah, stepped forward with an apologetic look. "We were at a club earlier, but there was... um... an altercation with one of the guests, so we got kicked out. And Nancy said we could come here," she added quickly. "She said no one would be home. I guess she was wrong, I'm so sorry, Mr. Beckham."

"No, don't be sorry!" Nancy interjected and waved her hand dismissively. "I wasn't wrong. Vincent isn't even supposed to be here! You said you'd be working late with the detective tonight. Right, sweetie?" She shot him a triumphant smile as if that explanation justified her decision to move the bachelorette party here.

But it only made Vincent's nostrils flare up. "This is my house. I decide who comes here and when. And I want you all out. Now." He jabbed a finger toward the stripper. "Especially you."

The man didn't need to be told twice. Grabbing his clothes, he bolted for the door. Sarah and the other women scrambled after him like mice fleeing a cat.

"Wait, wait, we're not done!" Nancy attempted to stop them by jumping in their path. "Vincent, come on, you can't do this!"

"I can, and I just did," Vincent shot back in an icy tone. "Out. All of you. Now."

The women hesitated, not sure who to obey. However, it took one fiery glare from Vincent to end their confusion and sent them all shuffling past Nancy out of the living room.

Once the door slammed shut behind them, Nancy whirled on Vincent, her expression twisted with anger. "What the fuck is wrong with you!" She yelled. "You won't let me touch you, you let us have sex, you won't let me have fun, and yet you expect me to act like everything's fine in this so-called marriage!"

"Yes, because that's what you signed up for when you came back!" Vincent snarled. "You signed up to be a mother! A mother of two kids who are currently sleeping while you're here, disturbing their peace with a drunken bachelorette party like some irresponsible teenager! When will you grow up?"

"I'll grow up when you grow a conscience and stop fucking the slutty nanny!" Nancy attempted to shove Vincent, but he barely even moved. "I am your wife for crying out loud, and all you've done since my return is neglect me and treat me like crap!"

"And you know why, Nancy?" He paused before adding, "You're not the woman I fell in love with. The sooner you accept it, the better."

She definitely wasn't accepting it anytime soon because Nancy strolled up to Vincent, leaving just the tiniest of gaps between them while looking directly into his eyes. "Go to hell!" She seethed, then walked past him.

Nancy's eyes met mine briefly as she stormed over to the staircase and climbed up. I turned to Vincent, wondering if he was ok, but he called out before I could speak.

"Nancy, wait."

Her footsteps halted, and she lazily leaned over the bannister to glare at him. "What now?"

"Clear your schedule tomorrow." Vincent's voice was firm. "We're going to the hospital."

While my eyebrows flew up, Nancy's tone grew suspicious. "What? What for?"

"I need a DNA test on Ben."

Nancy's face paled for a moment, and then her eyes landed on me, making her face turn red. "No...no, no, no, no!" She rapidly shook her head to the extent that she almost tripped as she descended the stairs.

"Oh c'mon, don't be so dramatic." Vincent rolled his eyes. "It's just a cautionary measure."

"Cautionary measure, my ass!" Nancy fired, then stomped right into Vincent's face. "I may be tipsy now, but I am not stupid! Ben is one hundred percent your son! I don't know what the heck she has told you..." She pointed a finely manicured finger at me. "But I know Goddamned well that it's a lie."

"Great, then you have absolutely nothing to worry about." With that, Vincent sidestepped her and marched up the stairs, not even bothering to look my way.

And the moment he was gone, Nancy barreled toward me. "What the fuck did you tell him?"

"Nothing." I crossed my arms and faced her head-on. "But if you're hiding something about Ben's parentage, you might as well come clean before tomorrow." Shooting her one last look, I also climbed up the stairs and headed to my room.

I had no idea why Vincent changed his mind all of a sudden, nevertheless, I thanked God for it. Now all I had to do was hope that whatever they find tomorrow cements my theory.

*****
Hi dear readers! Hope you had an awesome week.

This week's chapter dedication goes to rphillips2528 Thanks for all your support and I really hope you're enjoying the story so far.

More to come people! And remember, if you want a chapter dedication, all you've gotta do is show some love. (Genuine readers only, please!)