MGN | Chapter 27

“You’re in a hurry.”

Yves scanned the room as he walked, grabbing a bottle of champagne. It was vintage, made in the year Philippe was born, placed on every tea table in the hotel to celebrate the wedding. He placed a glass on the table where Maël was sitting.

Pop.

The champagne opened without any cheer. Yves poured the golden liquid into two flute glasses and looked at Maël, as if proposing a toast.

“There’s nothing to celebrate.”

“Your sister’s liberation?”

What Maël wanted for Manon was a broken engagement, not pushing her husband to the bottom of the sea, creating a secret that would be hard to reveal for life.

Yet, Yves still waited with his glass raised. Maël suppressed his anger and downed the remaining glass in one go. The sharp bubbles and sweetness only increased his discomfort.

Only after Maël noisily placed his glass down did Yves slowly take a sip of his champagne. Maël waited until Yves removed the glass from his lips before asking.

“What exactly did you do there?”

Even if it was better for Manon not to know, Maël needed to. He had to hear it and correct any errors before they were exposed. Yves watched the rising bubbles in his glass for a moment before speaking.

“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.”

“What kind of island?”

“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.”

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.

“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.”

Yves drank the rest of his glass. Two empty glasses were placed side by side on the table.

“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.”

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

“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.”

Yves said, pouring more champagne into the glasses.

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

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

“Tell me. Why did you call me?”

Maël held the glass.

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.

He intended to apologize and offer help in any other way possible.

But he couldn’t say that now.

‘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?’

No. Absolutely not.

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.

‘I mustn’t say anything for now.’

Maël knew it was a cowardly act, but he had no choice. He desperately thought to suppress his guilt towards the man in front of him.

‘When Manon’s child is born.’

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

Selling and buying the inherited shares by the legal guardian would be possible under the condition of no loss. That decision could be made by no one but Manon.

If things returned to the best possible scenario by then.

Yves could get what he wanted without knowing that Manon currently had no casino shares.

He knew this was an optimistic best-case scenario born out of guilt. He also knew the chances of it happening were much lower. But Maël had no other way. After downing the champagne again, Maël spoke.

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

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

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

“Because Charles Duverger hasn’t been punished.”

It was a half-truth he brought up.

Charles persistently harassed despite all warnings. Maël reported it to HR as workplace harassment and stalking. But HR only told him to wait, with no other response.

“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.”

Maël quickly spat out. Sometimes, in trials, you had to lie for the defense. Words flowed smoothly, just like then.

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

It was a lukewarm, bland answer. Since they were left alone, the man showed no enthusiasm for this conspiracy.

His throat burned with anxiety. Maël bit his lip and brought up the unanswered question again.

“What should I do?”

Only then did Yves look up. He gave a chilling, somehow binding gaze.

“You know.”

“The role of a lover you mentioned before?”

“That opportunity has passed.”

“Then?”

Yves smiled faintly.

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

Marriage.

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

But it didn’t.

“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.”

Instead of a joke, the proposal became specific. The madman in front of him was utterly sincere. He was genuinely spouting all this nonsense.

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.

“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…”

“‘Do it’ or ‘don’t do it.’”

“…”

“Your words should be one of those two.”

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

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.

How many times did his lips move without sound?

The answer was one. An equivalent exchange for what Manon had done. If he could manage the situation with a two-year pretense, it was a choice worth trying. Just as he was about to answer, Yves added with a laugh.

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

“…Are you serious?”

“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.”

“What do you mean by showing…”

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

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.

It was rather clear contempt and hatred.