MGN | Chapter 27

“You’re in a hurry.”dd05c08f84695abb

Yves scanned the room 427ec96509 as he walked, grabbing b79e5bee20 a bottle of champagne. It was vintage, 9d6f8440ac made in the 8e8e19f653 year Philippe was 76f3f8b003 born, placed on 96d976b33f every tea table 62374050d1 in the hotel dda6b799c4 to celebrate the 284b13481f wedding. He placed eb9ae6e4ff a glass 696a97c845 on the 270ef23f86 table where 2c002dba50 Maël was 63dfa45978 sitting.446041de97e9cfd6

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Pop.26c19c030411fcf6

The champagne opened without c7fc464f24 any cheer. Yves poured the golden e41c756f36 liquid into two flute c45183cdcc glasses and looked at 16cea62870 Maël, as if proposing ae4b6a96b0 a toast.9c8b18af4a018db1

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“There’s nothing to celebrate.”2335872c8d748e97

“Your sister’s liberation?”1321664b27f11e38

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What Maël a19cbe78aa wanted for 93ab939212 Manon was f897018b9d a broken 2a365f068a engagement, not a409ed6546 pushing her b18d98041c husband to b8c161b6e7 the bottom 0db084eaf1 of the 20c638e5f7 sea, creating 05f6871fc5 a secret 89a2448d39 that would c311381907 be hard bc0bd878b4 to reveal 0ed43f65a4 for life.4e79fbde11b1d52b

Yet, Yves still 5737b20bf0 waited with his dbab567640 glass raised. Maël suppressed his anger 69ec370903 and downed the remaining a0bf9dea05 glass in one go. The sharp bubbles 70ea8fd65c and sweetness only d16b5f3115 increased his discomfort.f1ebf062b70d832e

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Only after Maël noisily d59c283384 placed his glass down 9c4056929b did Yves slowly take b83a87fb2c a sip of his b2026e5909 champagne. Maël waited until Yves 9fab70db67 removed the glass from d5c6a537a7 his lips before asking.1d53101fbc7d8ba0

“What exactly did you do there?”930b028f9506f36f

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Even if it b53f66f833 was better for c5ebbefa06 Manon not to b426e05410 know, Maël needed 9302e0c525 to. He had 3c2680318f to hear 929428dfe3 it and 7a72108a86 correct any 18e3332470 errors before e4d1677bab they were cb36cfa8e2 exposed. Yves watched the ce696a9d9b rising bubbles in 7456347174 his glass for 0b4c963497 a moment before d9bac8ef41 speaking.bd4afe7b4373e2d3

“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.”ef23d9d26b2f4a26

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“What kind of island?”48b37272e9d79ad0

“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.”0f7459b4583f1679

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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.54254eda6cbfee61

“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.”8b6778d2a3481de7

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Yves drank the rest f5e003c749 of his glass. Two empty glasses were 4654761fe2 placed side by side cfadacf251 on the table.6a23784cabc786b7

“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.”5995d41f11ebddee

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“There won’t be any signs of life during that time.”2e967fc94c46a866

“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.”c926025c94960783

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Yves said, pouring more 85a3558707 champagne into the glasses.2aecc2130eb1fc89

‘I know more about the people who will become my family than you do.’75061bdeba3db98a

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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.e2cfd3ab7e8454f1

“Tell me. Why did you call me?”f0645afbfe9b3a24

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Maël held the glass.2e14967e36799f8f

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.b91860ed974bc76f

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He intended to 5a85b91962 apologize and offer 524a18fbdb help in any 51ebe1fabe other way possible.076861269f0bbd89

But he couldn’t say that now.aac3b82562b7cb69

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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?’f974f71ee41b368f

No. Absolutely not.b5735ab4663a1332

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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.f243f22f3a981645

‘I mustn’t say anything for now.’ab598102f6190489

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Maël knew it 07b7cdd656 was a cowardly 52f42fa6ac act, but he 6d85e2e387 had no choice. He desperately thought to f47228e258 suppress his guilt towards c371028247 the man in front 7b52ba9de2 of him.1188b7e34832dc7a

‘When Manon’s child is born.’9bcd3859303ce432

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Then at least, the casino shares that were Philippe’s might be inherited by the child.daccb455bb9eba39

Selling and buying the 164fe63d3a inherited shares by the d89c739642 legal guardian would be c74ff0b149 possible under the condition 5ab9ef6224 of no loss. That decision e3365eaca3 could be ff39e5bf02 made by 625be6b7fd no one 81a90dab9a but Manon.eb9f99208038f4dd

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If things returned to 03c220c2e0 the best possible scenario 0e62524de2 by then.a5f1b2fdcbc0539c

Yves could get 34a430c982 what he wanted d9555d698f without knowing that 860b0f8182 Manon currently had 1e8514d438 no casino shares.497d43a82cb82776

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He knew 21e8e31d24 this was d1b165bacc an optimistic 440353cc47 best-case scenario ca75ed87cc born out 400272606e of guilt. He also 7386d0806d knew the 3e5377468e chances of 40f73ca9ee it happening a0e9a7c914 were much 9c2eeced92 lower. But Maël 20b7564d15 had no cc044c38a3 other way. After downing the a0e84bb949 champagne again, Maël 74fc6bada2 spoke.0cffcaf68304d953

“I’m changing law firms. I’m quitting 377 and working with Attorney Diane Croix, just the two of us.”530eae0bfd7e4b5c

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“Why the sudden change when you didn’t want to?”e994688c8526ef17

Because he was convinced Antoine had colluded with the Grand Duke’s family to trap Manon. But he couldn’t reveal that either.7f1850f036d3bfef

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“Because Charles Duverger hasn’t been punished.”c3a387e0b4b654d2

It was a 34e3b705d8 half-truth he brought 4dca220b7e up.b06839c01929fb2d

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Charles persistently harassed despite 7f181b2acc all warnings. Maël reported it to f2dd55ee68 HR as workplace harassment 4003e7e098 and stalking. But HR only c55802141e told him to 8446fe1645 wait, with no 47a610341d other response.4615bd04798591aa

“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.”92a0368582db7c55

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Maël quickly d6342e556f spat out. Sometimes, in trials, 32911be82e you had to 6cfc41db2d lie for the 2a35413bdb defense. Words flowed smoothly, just 58eef79ed4 like then.4f951e7694ba6ada

“It wasn’t particularly because of that. But it’s not important now.”331dc866a12382a2

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It was a lukewarm, 4fec3f538b bland answer. Since they were left 8862bbea1f alone, the man showed cbc750d773 no enthusiasm for this dc52696be5 conspiracy.94b74e955de32620

His throat burned eb7339accd with anxiety. Maël bit his 7532fde5ea lip and brought 5f8d2e80e8 up the unanswered b79c528f0f question again.6f6e0dc982b23cb0

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“What should I do?”1f16317451595412

Only then did 813f50b54b Yves look up. He gave 97b30f0c85 a chilling, fd4589de54 somehow binding c1422a3cc0 gaze.342e0049604e8742

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“You know.”76910a91219f1d24

“The role of a lover you mentioned before?”578e4544aca6bfa0

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“That opportunity has passed.”589b4796772725a2

“Then?”49ff14e86e8fb4e8

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Yves smiled faintly.771900defa74e77a

“You need to become my family. Same-sex marriage is approved.”cdef0b97a221dcf0

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Marriage.29644d8a3668b3ef

Maël quietly looked at Yves at those words. The word ‘joke’ should have come from his alcohol-soaked lips.819182c8419794f5

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But it didn’t.d685169447ea75bc

“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.”67f71fd0c6fbccac

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Instead of a 48b2ef6275 joke, the proposal ad08610fc0 became specific. The madman in bc2bfbc308 front of him ecd4e0573a was utterly sincere. He was genuinely ff71d30a3d spouting all this 8ddb885d13 nonsense.4abc6601abb5d3af

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.55b6f069aad7bb45

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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…”55125f2ef81706b3

“‘Do it’ or ‘don’t do it.’”b434cf38a589a201

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“…”7c42da628d5c2c08

“Your words should be one of those two.”405e1afb059a48bb

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Yves cut off Maël’s words like that. Silence remained between them.c4b5f4b0f0500f1f

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.6fcee04800fefa47

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How many times did a102fcdc98 his lips move without 5cac3727d5 sound?ec7272e38aea064b

The answer af14bc5716 was one. An equivalent exchange 25836ef979 for what Manon a293987a3a had done. If he f58c165ba3 could manage a507e0edb2 the situation 447cfae1b7 with a 47d8c5c40e two-year pretense, a12764e0aa it was 1dbe05fe01 a choice a4da7daaca worth trying. Just as 3a874c482a he was e762ecde25 about to 5644f0cc38 answer, Yves 88e473a556 added with 490b8720cc a laugh.0d3ad7fa35d7b911

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“If you decide to do it, I’m thinking of starting to have sex with you from today onwards.”b271da0c10e0ba09

“…Are you serious?”a0b846d804635e7b

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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.”e17eadd67956e930

“What do you mean by showing…”650729fa3b0bfb2b

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The words didn’t even finish. A gauging gaze stuck to him again.0ba843d2a53e400c

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.4d5015d026a7462a

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It was rather clear 0d2776a06e contempt and hatred.2d65fd413b946951