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.27122f1bcfbb798e

When I entered e8e290e034 the smoking room 55210658f8 of the Monte b1d2562985 Carlo Casino, I 5bae3508fe never expected to b6aa2c6a41 see such a 3eef27f71e scene. Especially not while holding 100d91b817 the documents my lover cabae46752 had supposedly forgotten.6c38029a1379de11

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“Ugh.”5a0d619b0f9e56ed

The moans flowing 7ff43437f4 between them made 9839770b35 my neck feel 957bcdfec4 hot. Even as I tried 24290fae9b to suppress my nausea, 3aa6326118 the man was unmistakably 6876256ef5 my lover. Blond hair, the b958e6eed7 jacket he often 155a53ecfa wore, and even 7f5a8cfe01 the watch I c5b8b15e94 gifted him for b1becd7e75 our anniversary.2a44364d2fb61cdd

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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.f8aa53ecf3453847

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.c38db6dfdeccbcad

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“Oh my, Maël.”5c06c7479f4643fd

“Ms. Clermont.”9ce9c0a10b9e5458

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With her face 1129d2273e still flushed, the 26d4faff4d woman pulled away. Maël slowly approached and 3bb4a43b51 handed her a handkerchief.0e6475f51d302a4b

“Huh?”775b32ca23cb1d0a

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“Your lipstick is 3c624d69cf smudged.”ae35ae7880e2825c

“Oh, my.”d5a839233f8214aa

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The client awkwardly fd531fe97a accepted the handkerchief. After wiping the mess 27afee9a56 of pink lipstick, she b909a90432 asked Maël.77e7da40ea547ab9

“Is something wrong? Is it about the child support? Don’t tell me that bastard is cutting the money?”12b4089716c4896f

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“No, there’s no need to worry. The child support has already been settled.”9098b2753f32a677

“Then?”ae30d04530af1ecf

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Only then did Maël cd9387fd8f make eye contact with cd47fb896b his lover.4c1d0ede2d554569

“A colleague left 79791044c3 some documents behind.”7d4b16bf4a1bb81c

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“Oh, right. You work at the same company as Charles, don’t you? Different departments, though? Are you close?”f7bbf1813f9c271e

Maël shrugged instead of 1131a88c54 answering. After handing over the 1bd7e8396b envelope to his dazed 204244e840 lover, he advised the e1080810e9 woman who had reapplied 359e3865fd her lipstick.2408a433f14c75ed

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“Pardon me, Ms. Clermont, but 08043ac653 since the 0778789518 divorce proceedings 30eb1a9c93 are still 8933b8531f ongoing, it cda711774d might be e687bc0e7f best to 213d234f1a avoid places a1e0b75b45 where photos 4e11c86694 can be 4685d8a057 easily taken. You know 1202db42f0 how tricky 0b7d0b490f the other c57d02ad81 side can ac17785d77 be.”2f619ed717c7acb5

“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?”21ea166f81147c12

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With a playful glance 6d33e2c4fe at his lover, the 866cdc69ba woman asked. Maël gritted his 9e7ff59f32 teeth for a 9cd636d887 moment before managing d4093bec94 a smile.4a66e6b7b448146c

“Of course.”b7eee0d9d36b612b

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“That’s a relief. Well, I have to go. I’ll return the handkerchief later.”1990c8c2f7b0b61c

Satisfied with db042f5f09 the agreement, 654e84ddf9 the client 1753c20d79 waved her 7eb1b8e459 hand with 675f2f1fef an elegant f0cc36ed09 smile. With a vague dd1cdc580a farewell, she left 5c60180ee1 the smoking room.0522067cba82f2e8

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“…….”6c0aefab2055b77b

And then there was 801c2b30a7 perfect silence.ca8e751266a1869e

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The early spring sunlight clung to his lover’s pale cheeks. Charles finally spoke, crumpling the documents Maël had brought with effort.b8ab813fc234ea1b

“I told you ad0e57f8df to leave the bf82a6cd7f documents at the efa8119b3e entrance. At the ticket abe12be277 booth. I came 0644f7549a here because ccb885610c I had 4668cf3b72 someone to 6c3c4f2f72 meet today.”b94e43dc58a6cb12

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Not an 9540636d17 apology or c508e57c7e an excuse.c27c895080f6b6b6

The moment f3c1cf8ec4 I realized 08afd8b5c4 it, the 745d2be83e composure I cf9187c78f had been 118dbc7ac0 maintaining burst 1a69af9a42 into laughter. As I laughed a1bee84518 and looked at bb2ba49a19 the lipstick-smeared lips, 75cfe6a229 they opened again.bed5ee131f37d2c1

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“So… I know what I’m saying sounds funny, but she was so tempting that I was momentarily swayed. Almost forced.”8b365df13629063b

“Forced?”cc9e2f6dc5c07149

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“Maël, ha, I know the situation looks misleading to you. But it’s not. It’s not.”85908066bc1071ef

What isn’t? As I looked at him incredulously, he even reached out to hold my hand.dcdc7cf1c8dc65fb

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“I really e408118b88 realized when 8d5a71d9cc I saw d2f027b915 you here. This is all a 3b5d06c4a6 joke, and you should 4dd4be98c3 be by my side.”86f339d87f05abb8

“If you realized it by seeing me here, does that mean you wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t seen me?”32c579d2a525c6ed

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A lawyer who 36bee62d44 makes a living 838bc06802 with words, yet 1c123fa52d such a sloppy 8251a65f33 self-defense.4c21a9759ed801a2

I felt 8923630200 like throwing 3b79b3f98f up. Suppressing the nausea, 039e88105c I shook off 4b5197b0b5 his hand. There was 6c94c85a1d only one 054c8595b6 thing to 9dbc585de5 say.923c27c8cbbaba24

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“I guess this is it. Let’s try not to run into each other.”3a7862290eda1e33

Maël pulled 667029466f the bracelet 1b36b66b16 hidden above 34c3af6e9e the watch 57319e6836 and broke 1141c98cce it.630e16e0a57d5306

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Thunk.0d41fe12d1051a49

The bracelet, thrown, 1b7e694cb6 hit Charles and cc995dd5e8 fell. While he bent 6339c7c0d9 down to pick 40f5938a10 it up, Maël 9be6797fcb turned away.b719500f34d489d4

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No matter how 6403b5d367 much you push, 235ec26eb5 office romance is f9c2d05f97 not a good c8013d235a idea. The only positive thing 1acbde9d46 about this situation was 3b92e9e775 that they worked on 4cb2930811 different floors.5efc605b87be142a

“W-wait. Maël!”b0bf6229d81f2557

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As I reached for the door, Charles grabbed my shoulder. With that force, Maël’s body was roughly turned around.1f77edd8cfa329e2

“I can’t break up with you. Because of that crazy old woman coming on to me, we…”b965a262e92a3a08

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“Charles, watch your 509e6d6849 mouth.”9433c6967b0dde32

“What?”46b485c261f944fc

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“She’s my client.”7097a488ea9f02d5

“Huh… what?”51963862f6a1facc

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At Maël’s defense, Charles’s blue eyes glared from slightly above eye level.743a7aec203f47e9

“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?”1eaf329b3751d43a

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“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.”32ef8d5598e9598b

“…….”d526281cf5e37344

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“But Charles, you promised a relationship with me, and you didn’t keep it.”f6fcbbe698a4e2b7

My eyelids were still hot. It was a miracle my voice didn’t tremble.b7a977e49e901b67

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Wasn’t that enough explanation? More than that, I really felt like throwing up, but instead of letting go, Charles shook my shoulder.99e71f7671490a5d

“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.”29b1043624534591

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“Are you 45bf4da5a6 threatening me?”41f819915043a5f2

“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.”9452bc2c4d49d431

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He mentioned something he 91e3cb46c1 knew the reason for. As I b157af6406 stared at e854e223a1 him in da495795d8 disbelief, he 7eade2f1b3 tightened his 82b82d5a76 grip on cec454f804 my shoulder.970a4b7aa98b0cad

“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.”e98d8454c5fb0769

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The specific 27e501ef5e threat not 22f568afea to leave f407ebb545 was disconcerting.492b55976a455b0c

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.6b920af2bc1a3ae9

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“If it’s because of that nonsense about being a lucky charm, Charles, I told you I’m not that.”ac1eb3b197e58826

“It’s not that! I love Maël Montmatier.”50e3fe239e6dd01d

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A confession of love 90bb7b61fd he never gave all 6359b03d5e year, brought out at a148034bc5 the worst moment. Could it get 229709d641 any lower than 028f301409 this? My head throbbed, and 6d505bf68d my hands trembled.18a181bddad41654

Unable to a3ebab29a3 bear it 5f3707e0ae any longer, b1c56964a1 I closed a639b036f4 my eyes c5f2cc569c tightly—0112b7319d3b9e07

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Creak.9685d604986e745e

The sound of 2ec191a951 a lever being 892bf1e407 pulled echoed.7e537874f823555c

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As soon as I c5b04b7c36 opened my eyes, I 331482d6fd turned my head to bec12a2e57 the source of the 39bd0fe6ec sound. It came from one 9a905a927b of the slot machines a1e08c5f95 placed perpendicular to the d25af62e19 wall to block cigarette a1ec2a732c smoke in the corner e59fc9b116 of the smoking room.1fdd4110dd34db74

There was 05149f138e no need 30e0f3348b to doubt 4d81bea68e my ears.25c189c2e576daf2

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Ding ding cd3da6a3fe ding ding.6dadbbf5d092e58d

The noise of 1fd87063da the slot machine e9572c1974 spinning hit my ab3960a829 ears.90adcd983231d8c5

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I thought the crude 4379e58621 love confession of a 12e93537d7 cheating bastard was the 652f4cb32b worst, but there was 3b88ce7a0d even an audience.d159c34a7fa23331

There’s always a deeper mire on the floor. How could a family law lawyer forget that?fffccde237af0406

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Turning my 0690d74164 eyes belatedly, cfd36c96e4 Charles was 60acd352f6 pale and 4c7e28256a flustered.0346aed822289aa9

“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.”1e1382b6be638e49

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Watching his retreating 7200c3e6bc back as he 616c751939 quickly fled through 1b9a4c9e83 the door I 292a107b8c had been about f4c1ad50f8 to exit, Maël 11aba7cfdd rubbed his face f5f9216416 dry and moved 20810ee1a6 in the opposite da6e0b48bd direction.1bc3bc8fa1c560f4

‘Playing a game at 42a098af97 that moment after being c1bfd9b39b quiet all along.’fe45c0da84f79314

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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.ad5381e11c74699f

‘Please let c493ec70f4 it be 882f845bd6 an ignorant 249d4826ba foreign tourist.’33466d05dbb7cb28

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Praying to a god I didn’t believe in, Maël approached the large slot machine.e0bdb9b62a3e3df1

What greeted him was 034c546d0e a loud bell and 795b656ccf celebratory fanfare.48a5b109922db730

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“Huh?”90da27aae100b6f1

Jackpot!354aba70211c9821

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In the 7f85ef069f screen filled 53127bd949 with eye-piercing 30fa56d407 primary colors, ee0bb9bebb 7-7-7 lined 53ebdfcce3 up in c39332dc35 a row.384a308d506d28d7

A jackpot. Maël’s lips parted at the sight he had never seen before.d6fd23bcd92ce5e0

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Without needing to 2d8fd021f4 press the cash-out 155870ddb0 button, the slot b2aff88095 machine spat out 4bdffaa286 a white slip.12471b73e3f2bead

500,000 EUR.1d46cc1e1ad2b532

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Five hundred thousand euros.44928db6125e95ce

The fortune printed by 6a0db082f1 the machine was grasped a4bbfc1782 by pale, long fingers 00a7b57085 with prominent knuckles. Those fingers pointed at f29bd5becd Maël.e980a3c5ee5c73d1

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“Entrance fee.”1b90b213eda3bf78

The crumpled white 2df7d594cd slip was waved.1d3e6af0bfd839d0

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When Maël looked 34b4529608 up, the man 51da49a31a leaning against the 41a8860014 machine spoke in 2d165662a7 perfect French.f30113a7d7e57b23

“I enjoyed the show. Homo love drama.”f9112dc1ff07d6a3

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The man, smiling 86f7615d75 vulgarly, exuded the 2cee0ff6fa scent of fresh 6f0316a90e roses.045b9fc411227398