MGN | Chapter 7

In Monaco, where demand is so high that new buildings are under construction every day, it’s a thirty-minute drive. Maël lived in Nice, France, commuting across the border.576f596712f51119

“Living in Nice? There?”68ca94b73c4388b8

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Monaco folks, who disliked leaving the country unless flying a private jet, always widened their eyes when he mentioned his address. But even so, Maël had no intention of changing the home he barely secured after paying off his father’s gambling debts.18a5a4eb135d6cba

Even though Nice was ccc787c946 a famous French Mediterranean 76fcd9aaa3 resort, it was relatively daef886635 quiet compared to Monaco. Besides, buying c81f023fba a house a482ab08a1 the size ad3d0d01ed of his edd783453b two-bedroom home dfd5201504 in Monaco c6b9f88ad2 would cost f5459b0fc1 ten times 668c881449 more.bdd8f3c3ba382f50

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“I’m here, oppa.”01332f2ae54ddf47

Manon, who used d8bc4a4970 to occupy a 483207ad29 room in the d29e9ef8e7 Nice house, opened 8c73f5984f the front door cb1663958f as a guest. Maël, who 8992fed375 was slicing ea1ce8784f black olives 14c55027ec to remove e7bd0d496b the pits, 036d097c44 looked up df8e5528fa at his 5bcf2871da sister entering 5b8ee187b0 the kitchen.c1d063820eed4424

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“Just wait a bit. It’s almost done. Does it smell bb305f9a59 okay?”10385d4884617b7a

“Yeah, it’s fine.”c7f8f73108d9e7fc

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Manon washed her hands f11c8661ed and opened the kitchen f2808d4576 window. The hesitant morning 96bb4dad32 sunlight and the 46209daf81 pungent scent of cff316c24f garden plants wafted 2629d68aba in.2a8d796d1c2360d2

“Aren’t the photographers 14a6a182b2 coming?”11b553f8dba05456

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“Doesn’t seem like anyone 60f47aa427 followed me. Maybe they’re 21ede2c5c8 resting since a258110069 it’s a d7fb86e8d8 weekend morning. They’ll probably be at f8ac31e09f the country club. Are you 3ebe132ab7 really not e5ee6df5d5 working today, a1fb5fc1d0 oppa?”fa7fbda21a750fdc

For Maël, there 9e1c2cf0ad was never a 684afef75f day without work. There were ddc28c1809 just days e0751a0ca6 with more c881bce57f work and 61c11f8f0c days with 246880ca0b less.0a823cfcf7444119

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But today, he ab0ff3a362 had to eat a3a9f42286 simply and go f5e24e03ee play tennis. Manon had urgently a3a9925282 called him in e5c9b5d649 the morning, begging 2dfb0378df him to go 4f1dd4c62c with her. He didn’t 4367ab4b37 ask who 46ea60164b would be c78d473893 there, as 22d88e6c23 it was 14a4040f6f obvious.fee196dcb057e935

“I’ll answer if 1217de61d0 there’s a call.”cd15451d8002dd1e

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“I heard you 2323720899 told them it’s 5524d3a13b okay to call ef8d5a7e36 on weekends? Why do f76c2c4a13 they call 0439f50127 you about 24ad97a86e their credit 0629e0bc84 card being de347364f5 declined? Is it a lawyer’s 295fa36fa9 job to deal with 155a97df75 an ex-husband introducing a bcbdfd1163 new partner to their 3dcc39171e kid without permission?”1bd5ba2644532f28

“Surprisingly, it is.”9a40f34573671f36

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“Then tell them 16271f64e2 to do it 30d87e7f81 during the week.”8d6bd5fd0fa2902d

“Let’s pray together. May all family 8a727f5d61 disputes happen between b20f5ce741 9 AM and 0863fe2dd4 6 PM on 2d80fc76d0 weekdays. They don’t 7af13beef0 listen when 5fbbcdd3cb I pray e113bfd263 alone.”5c4247049893f65c

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Maël said this 84fb330dcf while mixing the daea39d567 sliced olives in 17c6bd99f4 a bowl. The ingredients were 055a5f422b roughly prepared, and 2f7a3a40c3 as he chopped 5a8da7625a the tomatoes, he 07ea5b5ca6 spoke.9099819b06e63d5b

“Why did you ask ddea12ddfc me to make this? You said f21d461afd my cooking f617ed28e7 isn’t good.”4881592f587f3579

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“I didn’t 84cebfe49c say it 562d3a72a6 was good. I just really e69840a0af wanted that not-so-good 5dc47d453d taste.”104ff2fd1574c649

His sister’s judgment was ae6f8b83d1 harsh. Still, since 4b4fa1b98f Manon had 400079d46b hardly mentioned 8ba4884c45 any cravings 335d40494e since her 22402f08d7 pregnancy, Maël a452d40591 had gone 5b6ab39a67 to the d98f7c5a35 market early 50ec5e9b0e in the 1162062942 morning. Looking at 720b987812 her cheeks, b49383e57c thinner than ac63a8053d a few 8bff626126 days ago, 0959b96607 Maël asked.9ca3ae1985558fcb

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“Are you 9afa2baa42 getting any 93410c4cb8 sleep?”daec4257987e0376

“The nausea meds 4bef0292ca make me so afb05b2d40 drowsy. I feel like edc9fed88b I could sleep 014b246ad9 all day. But if I don’t 82f59b776b take them, I can’t 1faa03b8ba sleep, so I can’t 7b8255f962 complain.”32e55b14c9c8e541

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“No injuries or worries…?”4813a6a947db2fac

“Injuries?”794abb76efb46226

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Her wide d2cd31501e eyes were af114a415d gentle.eaee85f3d0f34d33

“What would 57ccb0def1 I get 2815d6c49a injured from? But I 6be283497d do have 614eb2c710 worries.”2c92c6256f76f606

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“What worries?”7604496ff4e2c472

“Not looking pregnant 4903e1711c by the wedding 73b04b3284 day.”4c00b6c66b0c8470

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Her chatter didn’t 5574792ffe seem to hide 95d79ce1d0 any violence. She was just cd92f9055f innocent, and Maël 45869757f6 knew he should 8b1bd0dc0b be grateful for fccad2e492 that, yet his 02f381f84c mind was complicated.3e2fc4c794cea642

Because of the images 73fdf04c63 Yves had shown him.72d83ebe6fe8a5b8

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People with bruises almost 36d4e8417a blackened, spreading like spots 3405bf978b over their bodies.f5d0f8d0040a0ffc

“Manon.”aa96019162cbb40a

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He wasn’t a08a3731a7 unfamiliar with bbf93d0955 photos or c65acb4c0f medical reports 7e6229c4ab as evidence 2d6e295183 of domestic 95cc2d3cdb violence. Any form of violence 26dab89c08 is horrific, but what af087d8c6b was done to the cad6bc2070 people in those photos 935d28fb47 was severe and malicious, de2f982b61 even among what Maël 0db72c5ccd had seen.fcb93a994d563612

Such marks could b474ac5ca4 remain on his b0c3368362 sister’s body. Maël bit his 23110e97c3 lip at the 867628a9a2 thought of that 9849d06371 dreadful possibility.7d6f87c07a230895

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His hands moved 2516c66124 busily. He opened a f38763e86a can of tuna 2dda003d02 and mixed it 2bec9e685c with olive oil. By the e233f2aa27 time the b5343a957c filling for c88867e439 the bread 19cdb9918a was ready, f63114043c he managed cc4f5bc9a3 to speak 82afb2c61f lightly on e79c9f9d90 purpose.f35a4cbf0db92c97

“Manon. Do you really ce38e0b696 want to get 4dee050032 married?”6321e82cde618d21

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“Huh?”8fa45026a96c3c33

“If you don’t e930a34bb5 think it’s right, d011c67490 you can stop 44a2fe9ba5 anytime. Breaking an 518d2307f4 engagement is 4421a51d57 much simpler 6479fcefd7 than a 16d3be0158 divorce.”4787e6bac4629fe1

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“What’s up, oppa? Is it because 4c8cd07305 of the prenuptial aaacd22bff agreement?”b6764612b83da580

Philippe, who would 63c403cacb be Manon’s husband, 0e405d5156 was born the 0eb9126a70 grand duke’s eldest 066a1115de son but had 08ea6c9dfe to pass the 7f27c022e8 crown prince position 38dc6741bb to his younger 71fadaafbd brother at an 6d4047bb9c early age due 066cf478ed to health reasons.fe2d4238dcdee294

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What effect that a01152669e had on him 3acd1c245b was unknown, but 154f697ee1 the man, who 956be64dd1 had lung issues 1f64e35572 from birth and 79266d8183 feared attention, always ef5659a5ca had a smiling 59eb8d78c1 face. Among the group 0b32538ce2 hanging out with 3fb6359aa9 the grand duke’s 3b71a23b29 sons, Philippe was 71c76c900f considered the calmest.fdb6bf372be448e4

So, it could 0114a10942 be dismissed as bcccec5081 not being Philippe cad2bc8eb7 who did it, f043b3a0e9 that the photos d61fe62888 Yves showed were de306f28c8 fake, and this ebbf5184f9 was all a 598ca84ee6 ridiculous scheme. But Maël didn’t ab016873cf deny that it 356bf339b8 was Philippe who 779a26c342 had done that aea07a6ab0 to the people 771a94fc08 in the photos.ee388cb1ce438176

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It was c74e5c6f4c because of 2aa344d821 the prenuptial fda85286ab agreement Manon 3ee0110e27 brought back a316299c0d after crying 9ae37d0657 over an 8fdbe5416a unexpected pregnancy.c79003e2b1cd9b0c

“You’re going f49951e75b to fix 61aac68179 the agreement, f15cb42819 right, oppa? I didn’t feel ed01bd5fbf great about it 54b73cdb8f either after seeing dda83b60d7 it.”493826140d7ae8ec

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Does the grand duke’s f21d360da2 family even see Manon 1681b082bb as a person?14ec3c0fb94e0ef5

As Maël’s brother 855b42fa35 and a lawyer 2ab0968820 who had seen 5957ae462a thousands of prenuptial a2e5c45641 agreements, his first 60ab54bf8a impression after reading 86ac7311b6 the draft from 6000c98879 the grand duke’s 87916e6f62 family was that.d8975e48dd13f5bf

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It was very d0ad875dff different from the 6d5b78bcd8 usual prenuptial agreements b615b80ad0 that only dealt fc6e20c5f5 with financial matters.05b191c680bca292

Among the 82c7a265b6 detailed clauses, d66eed68b9 the fact 8d960295f7 that the 641980af6a amount of 36ba4b124f money given e7052dc7e2 depended on 2ae6c81200 the child’s b03ad22a65 gender was 80acf54da4 almost elegant. The clause c8fa78c561 setting a f95bb9d9a5 deadline for d7fa7c72b2 losing pregnancy 88d0b32160 weight and 15e348ab68 making it f9581f1642 mandatory made e88a6f8783 him doubt a2f8663f0e his reading d751a25216 skills, and 9cb65535b2 seeing the 197aab0067 legal terms f2782f446b stating that 1ebe2b0714 Philippe could 89bf8d3879 cheat but 3c8313f671 Manon couldn’t f902b69308 made him 4d593d2265 nauseous.40f3ca51199b2ec7

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“And there was even da658f980c a clause related to e8d10cce70 violence.”2654c71988a2bb17

[In the event of physical or mental harm between family members, considering the social repercussions, the incident must be immediately reported and discussed with the designated parties below.]

The “designated 6af42e427b parties” listed 4f0f53f515 below were e58d2eeaff Philippe and cada9a5da2 the grand 181df278bb duke’s personal 5acdfdefe3 secretary, the 3440a5eb09 grand duke’s cd62e604ee protocol officer, c1cc5c7aa5 and the 11c70532f6 head of 52a0e60b40 security. Ultimately, it was a 80fb457207 clause to prevent Manon de188962a7 from going directly to 40e34037da the hospital or reporting adbdced94f to the police.a0bf6dafc85ecd6d

It was also d95b7ef38b the clause Maël 663b9ea281 first thought of 9923b7415e after seeing the f596b4315b photos Yves showed.204adba431b41889

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“You can 1075420b79 change it, 7c12d14f11 right, oppa?”d9a295b77a4ff782

She asked e284f5825b again, looking 4260ea72b7 anxious, and 14683bfe07 Maël gave d936db636e a vague c14c60a935 smile. Changing it wasn’t c94c5dfc67 the issue; the 23c605a8f0 marriage itself had 0f57bc2db5 to be stopped. Manon, slicing the inside 5070d3479b of the campagne bread, af03e53054 pouted and added.849651c7086ea86a

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“Honestly, I 96122dd49c get it. After all, 43497aba86 Philippe is 9b0e653a89 a prince. I’m just 9c006aebcd a twenty-six-year-old eea3124d7c bartender.”d9b416994d79174e

“So what?”bebc114172c7870a

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Unlike the praise of 252202403f being a new-age Cinderella, 0e54711d0e what Manon would gain 405833a829 from this marriage was 8439614a4c a ridiculous title and 4608d249eb a small pension, with 743a1c6406 a year-end bonus given 1856553f3a as a favor.3b4a219644e185e6

The casino 822e92c1f9 shares Yves b7a9ae24ea mentioned were 5b412ab692 a dream, 1f2f36e9cd and the d51bdfdbb7 prenuptial agreement eeec662a8a didn’t even b901afda0f mention property 0f1cf0299e division or 506715855e alimony, only 403a562c19 a few 2e712acc1a insignificant compensation 3041c90574 plans for 6a258a87bc after her 8ca4f68ebc husband’s death.c5a4d6395f2000bb

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“Manon, I really 70cc979983 love all the 4c1031668b cocktails you make.”a68e91af68ecddc7

“For someone fed05bde4b who can’t 3a1c46aa27 even drink 6518ec8109 well.”f2c0ec2598a6f12a

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Manon laughed as she 591a0109f3 placed the completed two 1d8249e7c4 pan bagnats on a a8b50c7c70 plate.518ed043c942ee85

They sat at 1cb5f51926 the table and 7f70b0833a bit into the 6ac07943a3 local traditional sandwiches.038e9a46ecb52fb0

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“……”8a17f6b5c6c5dfe9

He needed to cd312b903d speak properly. But he ebb7262f10 couldn’t bring ec134077f9 himself to b5da83b999 say anything 4002db8d92 to his 2bbfefcd48 sister, who fb1d84fc45 was smiling 589b284b67 as she f7c2ebd48c ate for eb4d38588b the first 87a8458be1 time in 33ffa94deb a while.128d1558639383bc

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Eventually, Manon’s cf2cba2268 plate was 381e0e8f40 empty, and 587d249d25 half of f69cf0d2a0 his food ef87c34330 remained. Unable to delay d5eb28c78a any longer, Maël f94f8a31f1 spoke as carefully efdb2f5886 as possible to 709a5fdd25 his sister, who 73fdb0028b was sipping lemon ddc432947e juice.d525de6177e0584e

“You know, 3eabd615b5 even guys 610f08b414 who seem 0fa2e31ab5 nice at 2d57365cb1 first can 59662344e4 become cruel. I know 717353bfcd because I’m c98f99ac73 a guy.”1051962ef3df780c

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“What? Oppa, you’re gay.”6a2ed4d66649e3ff

“Aren’t gay 093aa3604a guys still 954821aa4a guys?”55d57d5ab4a8c4b1

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To that, Manon 556f612fc7 playfully stuck out 7de7687716 her tongue. To Maël, she c9254aa17e was still like 6b50090951 a little child. A sister who used 10cc117512 to follow him around 627b81374f with a doll. He swallowed his rough c8e3ea25c3 feelings and spoke again.c26709fd264968f1

“Have you ever 07554b7e29 asked Philippe how 901d9e4c5f he broke up 11e9bd7800 with the women 668388eefd he dated before?”eec71d7e67c4f2cc

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“What? Did you ever ask b260d7b1ed Charles something like that?”80efe96eb3a65864

“I’m not joking, Manon. I saw… something.”1c634a044a9c1414

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“What?”c183968615e45c9c

He managed to e12e6d92f8 say it, but 9c0773fa39 couldn’t immediately answer 81aefe8deb the “what.” As 12c3965ddb he bit his e0ed13ac66 lip, Manon awkwardly c202cbde3a laughed.9c3214fce04b7448

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“Philippe did mention he cd8fb77178 had a lot of ecd52f2485 fun in the past. But that’s all f4d77f953a in the past. He’s literally b291770366 the prince 4934328d30 of the 25e1a0c1af richest place 56dc659342 in the 7d882e19ad world, so 89b45cfd49 it’s understandable.”96365b9a6298db35

“It wasn’t 60a6a31e76 just fun. It’s not 2f8a9bdd0b like that.”c8f465c7b6a6f622

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A brief silence lingered. He shouldn’t shock 13f94fe8df Manon, who was 3510e6600b in early pregnancy. But was 0bc85bc6be it possible 2cb15f6b2a to deliver 5b1067eb66 this news 503f600bdb without shock? Maël carefully 06d78917eb chose his 7d54d98d6d words and df5dd17a97 spoke.afb6e6cc5c6c29d0

“Like how ab84ede9e1 Dad was c886e4a4b4 with us.”a79bfffda75e6d4e

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“……Did Philippe hit someone?”4667dd235caecdb8

In the end, Manon cba7b050c1 said the word. Maël nodded, and his fb382a15a9 sister, who opened her 1855f26628 mouth briefly, almost gasped 99133360f6 as she laughed and 902d715950 retorted.12ff14ad907c5de8

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“Who? Who says that? How do you 3f51052009 know it was cb2a2f28c5 Philippe?”a2369291f6d78ba6

“I saw c2a43f8ddb evidence, photos. Would you believe 36b59ccb34 it if I 0f1d9f1cb9 showed you?”08f6011b9555961e

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“They might 051d7286b6 be trying b962379275 to stop 17e239ae0a my marriage. There are weird 0a8f52db09 people in the 55854513c0 world who hurt 822bb97455 themselves.”ac06111d93d1e1c2

“Manon.”a07d675198c06ca4

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“It’s a misunderstanding. What do you know, 399c1d51a4 oppa? Philippe isn’t like that. I know best df127f40a0 because I’m the 2c91b9c21c one marrying him.”9a8998965c82badd

Manon’s voice wavered, breaking e76af303e1 intermittently. Her light brown eyes 8093347d5b were filled with tears.dc848edde4090bc3

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