MGN | Chapter 1

Against the backdrop of pouring light, my client and his lover were kissing passionately. Pearl-colored nails clutched his pants, wrinkling them. His lover’s hands were busy exploring the client’s chest. The heat mixed with their sticky breaths could be felt even ten steps away.

When I entered the smoking room of the Monte Carlo Casino, I never expected to see such a scene. Especially not while holding the documents my lover had supposedly forgotten.

“Ugh.”

The moans flowing between them made my neck feel hot. Even as I tried to suppress my nausea, the man was unmistakably my lover. Blond hair, the jacket he often wore, and even the watch I gifted him for our anniversary.

Behind the two who couldn’t seem to part, outside the large glass window, was the mint-colored store of a brand famous for proposal rings. Not long ago, my lover had bought a bracelet there to commemorate our anniversary and put it on me.

I couldn’t stand still, nor could I turn away. I just bit my lip, and then our eyes met. It wasn’t my lover’s eyes, but the client’s.

“Oh my, Maël.”

“Ms. Clermont.”

With her face still flushed, the woman pulled away. Maël slowly approached and handed her a handkerchief.

“Huh?”

“Your lipstick is smudged.”

“Oh, my.”

The client awkwardly accepted the handkerchief. After wiping the mess of pink lipstick, she asked Maël.

“Is something wrong? Is it about the child support? Don’t tell me that bastard is cutting the money?”

“No, there’s no need to worry. The child support has already been settled.”

“Then?”

Only then did Maël make eye contact with his lover.

“A colleague left some documents behind.”

“Oh, right. You work at the same company as Charles, don’t you? Different departments, though? Are you close?”

Maël shrugged instead of answering. After handing over the envelope to his dazed lover, he advised the woman who had reapplied her lipstick.

“Pardon me, Ms. Clermont, but since the divorce proceedings are still ongoing, it might be best to avoid places where photos can be easily taken. You know how tricky the other side can be.”

“You mean that vile bastard might use it against me? Got it. But as long as we don’t get caught, like in a hotel room, it’s fine, right?”

With a playful glance at his lover, the woman asked. Maël gritted his teeth for a moment before managing a smile.

“Of course.”

“That’s a relief. Well, I have to go. I’ll return the handkerchief later.”

Satisfied with the agreement, the client waved her hand with an elegant smile. With a vague farewell, she left the smoking room.

“…….”

And then there was perfect silence.

The early spring sunlight clung to his lover’s pale cheeks. Charles finally spoke, crumpling the documents Maël had brought with effort.

“I told you to leave the documents at the entrance. At the ticket booth. I came here because I had someone to meet today.”

Not an apology or an excuse.

The moment I realized it, the composure I had been maintaining burst into laughter. As I laughed and looked at the lipstick-smeared lips, they opened again.

“So… I know what I’m saying sounds funny, but she was so tempting that I was momentarily swayed. Almost forced.”

“Forced?”

“Maël, ha, I know the situation looks misleading to you. But it’s not. It’s not.”

What isn’t? As I looked at him incredulously, he even reached out to hold my hand.

“I really realized when I saw you here. This is all a joke, and you should be by my side.”

“If you realized it by seeing me here, does that mean you wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t seen me?”

A lawyer who makes a living with words, yet such a sloppy self-defense.

I felt like throwing up. Suppressing the nausea, I shook off his hand. There was only one thing to say.

“I guess this is it. Let’s try not to run into each other.”

Maël pulled the bracelet hidden above the watch and broke it.

Thunk.

The bracelet, thrown, hit Charles and fell. While he bent down to pick it up, Maël turned away.

No matter how much you push, office romance is not a good idea. The only positive thing about this situation was that they worked on different floors.

“W-wait. Maël!”

As I reached for the door, Charles grabbed my shoulder. With that force, Maël’s body was roughly turned around.

“I can’t break up with you. Because of that crazy old woman coming on to me, we…”

“Charles, watch your mouth.”

“What?”

“She’s my client.”

“Huh… what?”

At Maël’s defense, Charles’s blue eyes glared from slightly above eye level.

“Did she try to seduce you too? Did you fall for it? Aren’t you gay? But since she’s going to get some money from the divorce, are you siding with her?”

“I have no personal feelings for Ms. Clermont. She wouldn’t have known about us, and even if she did, she has no personal arrangements with me.”

“…….”

“But Charles, you promised a relationship with me, and you didn’t keep it.”

My eyelids were still hot. It was a miracle my voice didn’t tremble.

Wasn’t that enough explanation? More than that, I really felt like throwing up, but instead of letting go, Charles shook my shoulder.

“We’ve been together for a year! We can’t break up like this. If you walk out, I’ll tell my father everything. All the partners are his friends anyway, so firing an associate lawyer like you is nothing.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“Do you think I won’t? Maël, you send away all the women who come to you for divorce consultations, right? I can tell them to fire you for that.”

He mentioned something he knew the reason for. As I stared at him in disbelief, he tightened his grip on my shoulder.

“Or, yeah. Your brother’s prenuptial agreement is still under review with us, right? With all the talk about the wedding, if you get kicked out and the lawyer changes, delaying the signing, the Grand Duke’s Palace won’t be happy. The wedding isn’t far off.”

The specific threat not to leave was disconcerting.

If his heart had left, wasn’t that why he kissed someone else? Then why did he have a reason to hold on like this? Maël thought for a moment and sighed.

“If it’s because of that nonsense about being a lucky charm, Charles, I told you I’m not that.”

“It’s not that! I love Maël Montmatier.”

A confession of love he never gave all year, brought out at the worst moment. Could it get any lower than this? My head throbbed, and my hands trembled.

Unable to bear it any longer, I closed my eyes tightly—

Creak.

The sound of a lever being pulled echoed.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I turned my head to the source of the sound. It came from one of the slot machines placed perpendicular to the wall to block cigarette smoke in the corner of the smoking room.

There was no need to doubt my ears.

Ding ding ding ding.

The noise of the slot machine spinning hit my ears.

I thought the crude love confession of a cheating bastard was the worst, but there was even an audience.

There’s always a deeper mire on the floor. How could a family law lawyer forget that?

Turning my eyes belatedly, Charles was pale and flustered.

“Not now, later, say it again. We haven’t broken up yet, okay? Maël, if you block me, I’ll tell the higher-ups right away.”

Watching his retreating back as he quickly fled through the door I had been about to exit, Maël rubbed his face dry and moved in the opposite direction.

‘Playing a game at that moment after being quiet all along.’

I have no idea what the intention is. Could it be a reporter? If it’s a reporter, that’s troublesome, and even if it’s someone local, there would be a lot to explain.

‘Please let it be an ignorant foreign tourist.’

Praying to a god I didn’t believe in, Maël approached the large slot machine.

What greeted him was a loud bell and celebratory fanfare.

“Huh?”

Jackpot!

In the screen filled with eye-piercing primary colors, 7-7-7 lined up in a row.

A jackpot. Maël’s lips parted at the sight he had never seen before.

Without needing to press the cash-out button, the slot machine spat out a white slip.

500,000 EUR.

Five hundred thousand euros.

The fortune printed by the machine was grasped by pale, long fingers with prominent knuckles. Those fingers pointed at Maël.

“Entrance fee.”

The crumpled white slip was waved.

When Maël looked up, the man leaning against the machine spoke in perfect French.

“I enjoyed the show. Homo love drama.”

The man, smiling vulgarly, exuded the scent of fresh roses.