"FLATLINE"

Grand Piano

*That Same Night*
March 12, 2025
Beyoncé POV

The eeriness of silence crept up on me as I entered my bedroom. I was stressed, tired, and sure it showed on my face as I barely keep my eyes on. It was like my body would rather shut down than face Onika. I was hoping she had been too busy with our baby to have time to get on her socials. I wanted just an hour to shower and prepare myself for this argument. However, when I walked in Onika was in bed, phone in hand, and Zoie was nowhere in sight.

"Hey. Where's Zoie?" I said as calmly as possible as if I knew of nothing that had just happened. Just had to check the temperature in the room.

"Where were you? That's the question." She snapped back, eyeing me down and daring me to lie.

She knew.

I sighed, sitting my Louis Vuitton bag down on the floor.

"Bab-" I began but was instantly interrupted by her getting up quickly and walking over to me with her phone in hand. Once she reached me, she lifted the screen to my face and played the video that now was trending on several social media platforms.

"You didn't want ME to know where you were while I was home with your child right? Well guess what? The entire world knows exactly where you were." She said while laughing in disbelief. "PUBLICLY outside of a hotel arguing with that bitch!"

Instead of attempting to speak again, I stood there looking at the phone and then turned my attention back towards her as I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed.

"Giselle my mom is upstairs with our baby and I packed a bag for both of us. You better tell me what the fuck you were doing in that hotel and it better make sense."

As she said those words it was like she turned into a different woman. I tensed up, afraid to move let alone speak. But I took a deep breath anyway and tried my hardest to explain the situation without sounding like a liar and cheater.

"I wasn't IN the hotel Onika. I wa-"

"Right she was clearly climbing out of your vehicle. So what was she doing in it?"

"Are you going to let me talk?" I said.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes as she waited for me to finish.

"I wasn't in the hotel. I was questioning her about who leaked the info of our baby's birth to Jamie. You know I can't just ask these questions over the phone or text Onika... Anyways, I found out that she was the one who did it. I found out why too which is why she was going off like that. I never touched her."

She looked at me intensely as if she was studying me. Then she turned around and paced a few steps before she finally spoke.

"Why?"

"What?" I responded.

"Why did she do it? This isn't about a fake breakup of a fake relationship. She could have went to the media months ago if she wanted. This is close and personal. Why would she jeopardize my innocent baby?" She tilted her head as if she knew it was more to the story.

Still standing in the same spot, I shrugged as I responded. "She was upset." As if that was the full picture. When talking about the past women and the abortions to Onika that night, I had purposely for my own convenience left out that Rubi was one of them.

"Don't fucking play with me Giselle. I am not the same woman you manipulated before. I'm a mother. Don't you dare keep disrespecting me by lying." She retorted under her breath like she was trying to restrain herself.