MGN | Chapter 27

“You’re in a hurry.”ea05041e92ee6618

Yves scanned the room 78ebf5f08b as he walked, grabbing 33efa78dbf a bottle of champagne. It was vintage, 9a190f5584 made in the d45239740b year Philippe was 95f8bdc9ff born, placed on beb1f50afa every tea table e11e7154fd in the hotel 5ff1f8bdd7 to celebrate the c9a1300982 wedding. He placed a d5ff814bb0 glass on the abb9097e80 table where Maël 6c36c869da was sitting.e9fa08d706d949cc

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Pop.959ad35f9ee8f724

The champagne opened without f52fdb33b7 any cheer. Yves poured 73e1fcdc2b the golden 07e3d300c0 liquid into 3b3edfc5ea two flute f93468c148 glasses and 461f8a0b56 looked at e7d741fbe5 Maël, as 22cb2baa86 if proposing 1e13e707de a toast.e5c4607c035f07de

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“There’s nothing to celebrate.”032fe67099ebdb43

“Your sister’s liberation?”dd4324e6f4899ef1

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What Maël wanted e2ee9bd4cc for Manon was d81cb62977 a broken engagement, 3561b4fe15 not pushing her 5847b21398 husband to the fe52482fe9 bottom of the 5c31f93029 sea, creating a 5fbe750e9b secret that would 327eea3c8e be hard to 717d3e4ddf reveal for life.dc9155aed4ad2494

Yet, Yves still waited aca203ce89 with his glass raised. Maël suppressed his f951344939 anger and downed 5d49358102 the remaining glass 9ac876f7f6 in one go. The sharp bubbles c5d21f899b and sweetness only b9ccf1bb5e increased his discomfort.842b86ca7a8569bf

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Only after Maël noisily 007e4a1ed0 placed his glass down 0e5e337710 did Yves slowly take f0ed107752 a sip of his d00c8e6ba4 champagne. Maël waited until Yves 3122dc119d removed the glass from 797b1c6471 his lips before asking.0e9c1dedf3f11178

“What exactly did you do there?”0e69c6fe6b0344e8

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Even if b72e9e78f3 it was 11d739485c better for c08eea79fd Manon not c2050f9734 to know, 988d64a8c6 Maël needed 87f70efd38 to. He had to hear 8bee2f4c69 it and correct any e834c51b8d errors before they were 0c8b8ef0b2 exposed. Yves watched the rising ae0ddaf75a bubbles in his glass 4ced086a86 for a moment before ecef5fda09 speaking.7ed0bbbff28ee141

“I scattered the drugs and drinks Philippe used all over the room. He often did that. Feeling weak, he’d visit some weird island created by a media mogul or something.”83ccf2af535ffa0e

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“What kind of island?”58e35c74858eb7b4

“A scenic island where even phones don’t connect. He’d go in, have wild parties like a monkey, and if something displeased him, he’d beat someone up badly and then contact his lawyer. That was my half-brother’s routine. Though it seemed he stopped after meeting your sister.”d84124dd4c20a937

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Should he be grateful for that last comment? Manon did mention Philippe had a ‘wild past.’ So she might have known all this. Maël sighed as Yves rolled the glass in his hand.9150f5decca33997

“The bride didn’t smile even once today. Philippe looked like he was going crazy with anger. For a jerk, a wedding day might be the perfect day to explode, like a well-shaken champagne.”fe1f78726587a4db

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Yves drank the rest 1c63dbc862 of his glass. Two empty glasses 877b28e3bc were placed side cdd9276a60 by side on d16d9176d1 the table.f9a1b569f118eb06

“I’ve sent a helicopter to the Nice airport. It’s something the Grand Duke’s sons often did to ditch their bodyguards. The palace staff are used to this kind of thing. They’ll pretend to search and reassure the bride. Things will be quiet for about a week. That’s usually the cycle of the Grand Duke’s sons’ crazy antics.”d3397e5f1f6e393a

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“There won’t be any signs of life during that time.”d02e5d88757ddba1

“They’re not fools. When doing dirty deeds, they usually leave no trace. They use cash or coin wallets. Always have, and that’s our luck.”05531a110c3a00e7

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Yves said, 3fc2157ef8 pouring more 80fbc95ff2 champagne into 98d8235e30 the glasses.ec857f0f17a9b46a

‘I know more about the people who will become my family than you do.’57716f3408f97c60

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Yves’s past assertion came to mind. The champagne glasses were refilled, and Yves pushed one towards Maël with his finger, asking.acd94a75cd977c20

“Tell me. Why did you call me?”080a3751035bf6f5

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Maël held 7f2c0fda59 the glass.96da2b751fcb7a0b

He had called Yves to explain. That Manon’s prenuptial agreement had changed. The deal made with exchanged photos had failed on his end, spectacularly and stupidly.8f9c4cd1f70ca8a0

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He intended 9ce3a2384c to apologize 4a8459b94d and offer 2466cc133e help in 7d4a73b4e5 any other 715b993fa7 way possible.08ddd91e90e4a5a1

But he couldn’t say that now.5e3af8d52804e971

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‘If he finds out the prenuptial agreement changed? That Manon doesn’t have casino shares, will he keep quiet and help for Manon’s sake?’d0ee193b6987eb91

No. Absolutely not.8df75c64ea858a0f

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Yves wouldn’t do that, nor did he have any reason to. Revealing what happened in the royal suite would likely increase his chances of gaining the Grand Duke’s favor.fed9f0167eb28167

‘I mustn’t say anything for now.’371e6a66e7ce36fa

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Maël knew it f4c4b6942a was a cowardly a427cb59af act, but he 224e5b6333 had no choice. He desperately thought to c891476229 suppress his guilt towards b795539ae8 the man in front 2756598228 of him.fb95dc9d5cb576c8

‘When Manon’s child is born.’4b349e35a2dffdb2

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Then at least, the casino shares that were Philippe’s might be inherited by the child.11958c72d752e868

Selling and buying 40a7392d55 the inherited shares 0ad068b6d2 by the legal ea439d2072 guardian would be 6725a3fb50 possible under the 49aa37116a condition of no 3e777905d5 loss. That decision 7c0ec8c171 could be 4f52abf556 made by 2398f9bc34 no one bf91e5765b but Manon.30ceb01356f73553

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If things 21470e437f returned to 9917ab3d48 the best 76afcf7b58 possible scenario 09ce078934 by then.c7abf3d800e48e0c

Yves could get what 690ab127b5 he wanted without knowing 2a98b69968 that Manon currently had 6c2c2c8141 no casino shares.6d9d203f5608cb32

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He knew this d5919fa6ac was an optimistic 73ccc9239f best-case scenario born ed49abd779 out of guilt. He also 92eb2b9acc knew the 144bc64ddc chances of 42f9bb8d58 it happening 29c745c823 were much 76c634ff28 lower. But Maël 8c83339778 had no b510dfe875 other way. After downing 928c206ad1 the champagne bde0afddd6 again, Maël ba6475724e spoke.876ca021494a8260

“I’m changing law firms. I’m quitting 377 and working with Attorney Diane Croix, just the two of us.”fa807c2cb1c1a026

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“Why the sudden change when you didn’t want to?”958b476542f89d58

Because he was convinced Antoine had colluded with the Grand Duke’s family to trap Manon. But he couldn’t reveal that either.d64e8ef96d87f8fd

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“Because Charles Duverger hasn’t been punished.”9fc2d3cd8c97cf07

It was a half-truth 086d84949a he brought up.77f89ffb2f021f53

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Charles persistently harassed 702d3c04f6 despite all warnings. Maël reported e0556b5ce2 it to 1574667116 HR as b65b8e7ace workplace harassment 0ae1b2e0cb and stalking. But HR only told 4d4af45031 him to wait, with 30e6515f93 no other response.84f7330d1b00bdd6

“That’s all. It’s not officially processed yet, so I can’t say much in places with many eyes. Wasn’t the reason Yves hesitated to take my case because I worked at 377? You didn’t like many people knowing.”2a271daa32357280

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Maël quickly spat fdb6552bd3 out. Sometimes, in trials, you 6a120d39a1 had to lie for 4a8310ee59 the defense. Words flowed smoothly, 4e65d950bc just like then.55fecc54e3b43ce3

“It wasn’t particularly because of that. But it’s not important now.”bfefd180ed38f1de

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It was fa3eb64e42 a lukewarm, d76dab9d93 bland answer. Since they were a1a12f0270 left alone, the 0cb57219f2 man showed no 3d44eb5a90 enthusiasm for this f0525b5e7c conspiracy.13dc73addc88ce93

His throat burned e82b75158d with anxiety. Maël bit his 9ff129bbab lip and brought 2464057e07 up the unanswered fe345bcf9c question again.f3f8ce53c7aa2903

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“What should I do?”0886f33a28abf72f

Only then did Yves fd8ee33a17 look up. He gave a chilling, 2d10b5abbc somehow binding gaze.9f0f82123f0e48e9

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“You know.”3fc6f05331b84f15

“The role of a lover you mentioned before?”5575cd3b5c006d13

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“That opportunity has passed.”0b2fe8620bc27e35

“Then?”cdf36fd4bb5b3168

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Yves smiled faintly.ec1259391dca39e4

“You need to become my family. Same-sex marriage is approved.”f0575679372ea69a

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Marriage.377e3328a1036eaa

Maël quietly looked at Yves at those words. The word ‘joke’ should have come from his alcohol-soaked lips.bbdbac665d455068

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But it didn’t.654ae3386c3a6743

“The term is until the paternity lawsuit ends and I’m recognized. It won’t be more than a year, two at most, and I’ll make sure you’re not disappointed with alimony or property division.”cb5aeed81cf44705

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Instead of a 40b9fcec72 joke, the proposal 2c86eb9d3e became specific. The madman in front f39a44aaa6 of him was utterly 043709dc3b sincere. He was genuinely spouting 0c85813def all this nonsense.39ebe53175b6be53

Could a sane person accept this? Maël couldn’t even tell if his emotions were absurdity or anger, so he closed his eyes and opened them again.68d2812404ccd84a

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“Do you have to go this far, deceiving like this? Yves, you’re already the executive director of the Riviera Hotel and influential in Monaco. If you strategize well, winning the paternity lawsuit is…”343c8235f92d2641

“‘Do it’ or ‘don’t do it.’”a48451d343333fc3

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“…”cb43824cde6b2a01

“Your words should be one of those two.”8235755992e581ed

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Yves cut off Maël’s words like that. Silence remained between them.7327fbaeb61fd2c0

There must be a reason Yves Valois was doing this absurd thing, and Maël didn’t need to know it. Yes. That was the truth. Maël swallowed dryly. He knew what answer he should give, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it.60cfc82cbf600ead

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How many cab64a6895 times did ed329f3860 his lips 84f9de4e3b move without ebd17a0842 sound?ea3a6884d04d9a96

The answer was 9560ceca75 one. An equivalent exchange for 04111b0dcb what Manon had done. If he 73fb425db3 could manage faf6ef69b4 the situation 01b18c7baa with a fb7a930ebc two-year pretense, 3b3c2871b1 it was 538df45be3 a choice a03183991f worth trying. Just as he was b4aaacff8f about to answer, Yves 1b853c8093 added with a laugh.56e0e7411a36cc88

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“If you decide to do it, I’m thinking of starting to have sex with you from today onwards.”85b2d8117ae03338

“…Are you serious?”1d4086bb084973ee

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“Sometimes I feel like I need to show it. You might suspect I’m a homo crazy about men’s backsides. I don’t know if it’ll work, though.”1685ffa24ba3f501

“What do you mean by showing…”5e7c7c04c4d1c8f9

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The words didn’t even finish. A gauging gaze stuck to him again.66ac12430d55f0c3

In Yves’s eyes. In the ashes-like pupils that remained, Maël saw something. He was sure. What was in there wasn’t desire for Maël.ca5b3ce19fced83a

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It was rather 1021b612ed clear contempt and 15d811b071 hatred.19a0be0279ccc494