His Contractual Mistress

It was Geoffrey and James who first rushed toward Vincent. His first landed well at Bryan's right jaw, swollen lip, and blood coming from his mouth. However, Pitt blocked James' punch by dodging it using his arms while Bryan uses his body to shield Vincent from Geoffrey's attack. 

Geoffrey attempts to throw another punch, but he is pulled back by the other men. James was in a rage, not able to land his knuckles on Vincent's face because Pitt was using his martial arts on him. 

"This is crazy! Are you three good buddies now? Huh?" James blurted out. He's laughing ridiculously. 

"Are you seriously protecting that a**hole!" Geoffrey seconded, pointing at Vincent. He was struggling to come closer again.

"If we didn't do it. How are we going to explain to the princess that Vincent was beating up badly?" Pitt reasoned out. 

"How outrageous!" Geoffrey tries to get free, but Trevor and Josh are holding him tight. "Let me go! That's not enough, for you Bryan! I will beat you up, good!" 

"I'm sorry if you meet me in this kind of situation." Vincent apologized, where the men-only scowl at him.

They cannot accept him, and Vincent was fully aware of that. So then, he went on...

"I didn't mean to make Hailee my mistress. God knows I want her as my wife. I would love to marry her. There's no other woman I wanted to walk down the aisle and bring to the altar but her." Vincent looked at every man in that lounge until his gaze fixed on Jacob. 

"But if you didn't hide her from me. There is the possibility that I won't be forced to marry another woman but have my chances to meet her before my life gets messed up." He added it confused everyone. 

"What are you talking about now, Mr. Shen?" 

Vincent took a long-breathed to express himself. "I look for her...." he began.

"I searched for her! I asked hundreds of people. No, thousands! But no god damn one told me the truth that the woman I am looking for is a princess of a High Royal Family member. Am I right, Chairman Davies, sir?" 

The men shifted their gaze toward the chairman. He perfectly knows that the boys wanted an explanation.

Jacob sits upright in his chair. Both of his elbows rested on the armrest, clasping his palms, then rested his chin on it. His gaze never left Vincent. 

"Do you know about this, Uncle Jacob?" It was Leo who dared to ask. 

"Yes. Shun informed me," Jacob replied without blinking an eye. "But Vincent Shen is just one of the hundred men who is looking for my daughter, and that includes Liam in the numbers." 

The men groaned and mumbled in a low voice. Each of them isn't sure what to reckon now. 

"Whatever then, it won't change the fact that Hailee had an affair with a married man! Does she even know that?" Someone from the knights raises the question. 

"The Princess knows about it," Pitt replied. 

"You are becoming biased now, Pitt, so stop speaking for Mr. Shen!" 

"But that is true." Kristian, who stood in the corner near the glass door, chimed in their dialogue. 

Every head turned in his direction. Now, the men are ready to roast him. 

"What did you know about this, Kris?" Now they 

"You all know that all reports and information go through me. But the princess had talked to me ahead first and made me swear to zip my mouth if I got reports about her activities in P Country." 

"So, you know on the very first day that Vincent Shen is the Princess's boyfriend, and he is married." 

Kris is nodding at his response. The lounge was filled with noise from the men's complaints. 

"I'm sorry if I kept the truth from you, sir." He apologizes. 

Jacob looks at Kris for a moment, then turns to Vincent. He asked, "What happened, and my daughter almost had a miscarriage and had wounds on her body. Is this your wife?" 

"Yes, sir, and I'm sorry about that. I should have dealt with Eva myself and gotten your daughter involved in my divorce if I had known. But we didn't know that she was pregnant until this morning." 

"So you were saying you just learned about her pregnancy?" 

"Yes, sir," Vincent replied. "I am truly sorry, sir. If only I could..." 

Vincent stops speaking after Jacob raises his hand, motioning for him to stop. 

"I heard enough," he said.

"Uncle Jacob?"

Some men aren't satisfied. They could not get off Vincent just like that. They wanted to vent their anger and annoyance. Beating him up could make their blood relax a little. 

"You guys can punch me. But please, avoid breaking my arms and fingers." Vincent suggested; his request made the men snort. They think he is becoming egotistic. 

"Don't give us crap!" James roared at him. 

"I just wanted to keep my promise to Hailee. I can't disappoint her." He reasons out, and everyone falls silent. No one attempts to counter that. 

When it comes to the princess, they cannot have the heart to argue further. And this made them helpless, but they shot sharp stares at the guy. 

"Alright. Let's call it a night. All of you can go back to the apartment. We still have work to do later. It's almost sunrise." he urges them.

"No. We are staying, Uncle Jacob." And the rest of the men said the same. 

Jacob just let them. He knows already that these men would throw a fuss if they talk to Vincent by themselves; that is why he leads this meeting. Besides, he is interested in knowing everything about Vincent, aside from being the son of Frederick Shen. 

Jacob stands from the chair; Vincent walks over. 

"Sir, can I speak to you in private?" 

"Is this about my daughter?" Jacob guessed. 

Vincent nodded, "Yes, sir." 

Jacob stared at Vincent. He sized him up and searched his face with emotions he wanted to see.