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.2d0928d6a890bf11

“Living in Nice? There?”0a4e72fb4cc78bac

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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.8280dea30e7bb2ed

Even though Nice was 825020c936 a famous French Mediterranean 41f2ea1672 resort, it was relatively 8e8cb2fe28 quiet compared to Monaco. Besides, buying d81fc24d17 a house 547ade4138 the size 0511857aaf of his 31bdf79813 two-bedroom home 95c375d552 in Monaco 8c57b32e7a would cost 4e4f2e9259 ten times c446c11078 more.e3562d63e7d70e2c

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“I’m here, oppa.”81cdbb055c1e5bee

Manon, who c07e9a1822 used to 5495378354 occupy a c69086205e room in fca7885cc8 the Nice 032d09c278 house, opened 64af2d1232 the front 1de47586bc door as a89bda795f a guest. Maël, who was 8f8356c1e9 slicing black olives 67dff0953e to remove the 386ca0a4ef pits, looked up 972568697a at his sister 28e9feb371 entering the kitchen.2343cd74aad07177

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“Just wait a bit. It’s almost done. Does it 8c9437ff25 smell okay?”e1c90bb6f3c87ce8

“Yeah, it’s fine.”c91f185c4c8ea34e

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Manon washed her ee31ebe776 hands and opened bb470cfb4b the kitchen window. The hesitant morning sunlight ae72ecc70a and the pungent scent 8db536a55a of garden plants wafted 8c26f54a91 in.7b2ce2d4ba8b86cf

“Aren’t the photographers 1e8f0f1aae coming?”5f32bcbe6007fbfa

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“Doesn’t seem like anyone 602afdc92a followed me. Maybe they’re resting since ff3cc946a7 it’s a weekend morning. They’ll probably be aac13dbc88 at the country 803129c1ba club. Are you really not 07ad7c482e working today, oppa?”98c713163c192645

For Maël, 60f9ca023a there was d356b78f83 never a 37df9ddf98 day without 57fec7426e work. There were just 857c3dd74e days with more 91b58e53fc work and days 577f553462 with less.dd05f92a7300dd90

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But today, he 7f8157504f had to eat ff26034894 simply and go d41ba9154f play tennis. Manon had 0402bacfd0 urgently called 056dbd14ef him in 1afdd84545 the morning, 966993651b begging him a6143df65d to go e2d541e6d5 with her. He didn’t 2fad3713fc ask who 979727e230 would be 2e3e834aa1 there, as 9150775cd1 it was 97e7528879 obvious.9f4988a58b4cc335

“I’ll answer if there’s 7b2ba5366a a call.”5bdf98383e93b5c8

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“I heard you f9e9730d4c told them it’s ce6525b2a8 okay to call 58590833d0 on weekends? Why do they call 09a7726476 you about their credit 8e35ae2b81 card being declined? Is it a lawyer’s 847d1eab94 job to deal with 085cc7b5b5 an ex-husband introducing a eb2d0d08a2 new partner to their 8151bfeb9a kid without permission?”ced7f0d913b3ede3

“Surprisingly, it is.”a3edac49f997627c

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“Then tell dd8d743844 them to 349ff248de do it e0ef3666ae during the c45c60c229 week.”d0a245ae036d21ff

“Let’s pray together. May all family 32b275bfc3 disputes happen between d49af37dcb 9 AM and bdd6488806 6 PM on 62a866e8b1 weekdays. They don’t listen when 4bd6e9f4a2 I pray alone.”1f6eadbb7e954cf7

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Maël said this while 9d8626a807 mixing the sliced olives c2e5611879 in a bowl. The ingredients were roughly a8c7a3b4a3 prepared, and as he fae09d46f9 chopped the tomatoes, he 88d9475b4f spoke.fd3d11655ce20208

“Why did 825b659909 you ask 1f60855959 me to 29738c7370 make this? You said 107181e342 my cooking a34ce5c3c4 isn’t good.”c211fb814d0ea45c

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“I didn’t 8dba52d398 say it 8167336fec was good. I just 3003df9b46 really wanted c68613c8d7 that not-so-good 273947b292 taste.”2382c7cf3521913b

His sister’s judgment 3e3b57e928 was harsh. Still, since f76aae0371 Manon had 58a76b035c hardly mentioned 8cca67ff72 any cravings fbc41ec031 since her 4f9151637c pregnancy, Maël 1a676e4c39 had gone 5c6366cf9c to the 8b72134cd9 market early 69c91753bd in the 38e158ff87 morning. Looking at her 2654441c1c cheeks, thinner than d8e2b14a4f a few days b9e8eebf25 ago, Maël asked.0fd7d9c04e09c218

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“Are you 9bce5bc67e getting any c3107644b4 sleep?”e6480460c9829d50

“The nausea meds make 3a724694d7 me so drowsy. I feel 8992586fa2 like I c63865c768 could sleep 97fedd407d all day. But if I 33ab893933 don’t take them, 457fab58b6 I can’t sleep, fe3fcee5a0 so I can’t b219fd1d75 complain.”666d7609e85d2d49

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“No injuries or worries…?”7867cbfe49fc585b

“Injuries?”72a20f8444b2be06

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Her wide eyes were 967cbb7d22 gentle.29b1d2cb3c4f0b22

“What would 8e152751ef I get 3101f9e7c6 injured from? But I do have 2c32b906ac worries.”99287d0804d6e2ff

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“What worries?”2e1aaa356297be19

“Not looking pregnant by c818a59de5 the wedding day.”32d6f2129d361da3

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Her chatter 8a37a2ac10 didn’t seem 9999c84a7f to hide a379742755 any violence. She was just 3176403ef7 innocent, and Maël 2f0a5e4eb2 knew he should 96baba7d0e be grateful for 43b730cbd2 that, yet his 9946a5003a mind was complicated.c0f2cf84d86d0ae9

Because of ca7443dc7e the images d559c25d37 Yves had 3881b87e99 shown him.8e475de7bd625929

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People with bruises 25ebb56068 almost blackened, spreading 8faf3424e8 like spots over 9074f6426f their bodies.f67daef1bdf23515

“Manon.”9f035df917cba128

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He wasn’t unfamiliar 8e9ea66f81 with photos or b1701c0d2e medical reports as c24e03cdb2 evidence of domestic f20a91838c violence. Any form of 6a8d36efda violence is horrific, f55398c411 but what was eea4bb1f85 done to the d6d2d27c21 people in those 326fd0e9a2 photos was severe 4e6f208bbe and malicious, even 34b2ee2576 among what Maël ad1742b6eb had seen.d23f860d89470184

Such marks could remain b1a6533005 on his sister’s body. Maël bit d7d0d1cb93 his lip 4959d10125 at the 4401fc0d18 thought of cb31094f53 that dreadful a549c555d2 possibility.ede3991b55a75cdb

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His hands moved busily. He opened a 9b2bda64ab can of tuna f564687584 and mixed it 72b90026c4 with olive oil. By the time the e653ac9c56 filling for the bread 23d92e4a5c was ready, he managed f5667a5ba2 to speak lightly on 32fb333870 purpose.fadfd01741a05b59

“Manon. Do you really want d37c2e6a44 to get married?”90fc0246e69a1258

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“Huh?”4dfce37112938716

“If you don’t d65a6eade3 think it’s right, 687d92675f you can stop 2c6d35c0c2 anytime. Breaking an engagement 1ac8b8406b is much simpler 86189b7f7c than a divorce.”1ff8ef4a66cb5269

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“What’s up, oppa? Is it because 2f159caf9d of the prenuptial 2a5da24f84 agreement?”bdac876e03409304

Philippe, who cafb800590 would be b2503c917f Manon’s husband, f2b8e89ce2 was born 1c538d8943 the grand 8d6f9a207c duke’s eldest 39c9692362 son but 558f13e8a6 had to da108cd5e9 pass the a576317cf6 crown prince dc0d626f18 position to 5ed34779e1 his younger 70b0a75224 brother at 6803d42aa5 an early d4746dc9c4 age due 0ff6cd976c to health 0faa15efa9 reasons.70d795ef62331ce9

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What effect 495d6776e1 that had 143da4e133 on him eebda8c159 was unknown, 3d80ca1243 but the 6435c2e2f4 man, who da86afdc55 had lung 3000755a90 issues from 19057d3110 birth and fcf4d09042 feared attention, 1ddc319350 always had 312a095dae a smiling b5cbc07c94 face. Among the group hanging d9d6eceddc out with the grand 2b2728c8cb duke’s sons, Philippe was cdf7d57d6d considered the calmest.81171a93a9265db4

So, it could be 6ea22a352e dismissed as not being ba2dfcebb3 Philippe who did it, 856df14a53 that the photos Yves 07aeb162c2 showed were fake, and 7c6b45274a this was all a c415c4f48d ridiculous scheme. But Maël didn’t 50931a5864 deny that it 644b6c3a04 was Philippe who 66bd8f38b8 had done that 90137662b3 to the people 1889f31316 in the photos.68d875e83d7b8fef

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It was because 6e922c7f3f of the prenuptial 81e4b0e471 agreement Manon brought 7da68dc615 back after crying 0b47dce1bb over an unexpected 2dea0c3c21 pregnancy.b5e38738cbe53a93

“You’re going to 5dfd636c53 fix the agreement, d2c3f05a67 right, oppa? I didn’t feel 39e42a07be great about it 8cd1e7a286 either after seeing 6f2ac62045 it.”0f678a188ca64832

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Does the grand duke’s 0be2f0e7c4 family even see Manon ce297120c9 as a person?7bf034d2ad712d4b

As Maël’s brother e801fe399e and a lawyer 024fa0684d who had seen f1eea5cd06 thousands of prenuptial d78d99c895 agreements, his first 214d5c7df7 impression after reading 29eacebf03 the draft from 84ec7730e1 the grand duke’s 777c281e18 family was that.af238f676d955fa2

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It was very 246b24b978 different from the fc41c64c99 usual prenuptial agreements cbedf48820 that only dealt e58132cdf7 with financial matters.cbe5f45afef517e6

Among the detailed clauses, bac4816510 the fact that the 2eac2be58f amount of money given 25f7766d62 depended on the child’s 79a90fc68f gender was almost elegant. The clause 8b16a964cf setting a 711e058ab5 deadline for 192a7ec9b4 losing pregnancy 7031fe534e weight and d18561ec34 making it 021452a185 mandatory made 8fa1521e20 him doubt a5e66a77dc his reading c5ddb14519 skills, and 53c2f8c23e seeing the 2cb1368886 legal terms f4512c3283 stating that f39679454b Philippe could 208d168e4b cheat but a0d04a89da Manon couldn’t 8d13e94d37 made him 08d650d056 nauseous.f06c9877ec2e2e63

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“And there was even 7fbc9c4001 a clause related to 42ab483462 violence.”402980909f1526f5

[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 452293002c parties” listed b26070c03f below were a64380c93a Philippe and fceb44cdd1 the grand eeecbaa205 duke’s personal 7ab07344e0 secretary, the 14bef3e542 grand duke’s fb4e557cf5 protocol officer, af82c66d52 and the 63ac1e9e68 head of 0e4b35d7f2 security. Ultimately, it was a 2f3cf3421d clause to prevent Manon e329b35675 from going directly to d0602df9a3 the hospital or reporting cdfd7832a6 to the police.e0cc908e37166a0b

It was 3dc189db3e also the 11c0620e80 clause Maël 26f2189269 first thought 7f29edb971 of after d3657f7360 seeing the e30cef53b0 photos Yves 3dbcd06df6 showed.5da7f93ef06d25fc

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“You can change 0bb180b3f6 it, right, oppa?”2341e1f4a43b1bf2

She asked again, looking d69079f442 anxious, and Maël gave 60f89877bc a vague smile. Changing it 0cd15aac83 wasn’t the a9b99719c0 issue; the 8773c37ac2 marriage itself 7f3d5747d2 had to bca0697a16 be stopped. Manon, slicing the cc6f262f8f inside of the 90eb4ee62d campagne bread, pouted 0cdb967b24 and added.f9c95118269e32aa

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“Honestly, I get it. After all, Philippe cbd34d2c79 is a prince. I’m just a twenty-six-year-old 314d26902f bartender.”4cd2926c2c3a35ef

“So what?”c9607034ece7f150

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Unlike the praise of 4b22ef9a3e being a new-age Cinderella, b98aae53c4 what Manon would gain 48dc91d578 from this marriage was e452af54bc a ridiculous title and d7bc38538c a small pension, with 71903dbb8c a year-end bonus given c221033275 as a favor.60ab059e69306a57

The casino shares Yves 68dad13256 mentioned were a dream, 60b3306f77 and the prenuptial agreement dfbc2e0178 didn’t even mention property f7a7316d59 division or alimony, only 46bb4e26dc a few insignificant compensation 3f28021af2 plans for after her b8cef20388 husband’s death.490931cb6d18d4c3

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“Manon, I really love ab2c3a3747 all the cocktails you 262f80ddc6 make.”eef1290fa911c1ab

“For someone who 72d861fe07 can’t even drink 3235adea81 well.”84eb11d730f49d33

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Manon laughed as she 17bcc9f692 placed the completed two 21804898b3 pan bagnats on a 733b303b61 plate.af3c460c847e601c

They sat 50b362748f at the b4bfb46620 table and ba664d90c2 bit into 51bb6605fc the local 58a24d80ce traditional sandwiches.72f23e1ee0e37c12

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“……”e57ff61611336b4d

He needed b59fabfaba to speak 44a81b1e8f properly. But he deeaddaa46 couldn’t bring 3194dd9d5b himself to bd047a9702 say anything 11ddc16fea to his 1d6bd1047c sister, who 88b311d294 was smiling 6655d8ff4d as she d6b4587f54 ate for e8a381f951 the first 371c82a536 time in c2845989c6 a while.d00b6ba67bab904b

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Eventually, Manon’s 4431e85da3 plate was 4b6cc3774a empty, and 567b237dae half of 2f52597192 his food be9b4547e6 remained. Unable to delay any 3042767570 longer, Maël spoke as 3a9adf54e1 carefully as possible to 99775f435e his sister, who was 3c5a09cb04 sipping lemon juice.99e41297443a0457

“You know, even guys 4591841508 who seem nice at 8bf2174fc8 first can become cruel. I know because I’m 655a510ad2 a guy.”5f4255f9c8c21bc6

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“What? Oppa, you’re gay.”4c21f938b9f18351

“Aren’t gay guys still 8b6833aed2 guys?”d8c5f7a14f5f2a11

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To that, Manon playfully a8dc01bd48 stuck out her tongue. To Maël, 2d0ad2ca61 she was 0aa7095caa still like 9a24699549 a little dc80358098 child. A sister f69057ac2e who used 641384b780 to follow a84858db60 him around 1d402b228f with a fefab06114 doll. He swallowed his 387a6a0ef6 rough feelings and 3cdb63f2aa spoke again.44f37630025093d2

“Have you ever b6114be2bd asked Philippe how 6217fe75f5 he broke up 87d079efd1 with the women 012f40cfa5 he dated before?”e1972a33b58c0af5

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“What? Did you ever 6a5790efa0 ask Charles something be68f81c98 like that?”a023667ccd767f22

“I’m not joking, Manon. I saw… something.”41e440e0f270b722

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“What?”b28da1e6f2410c2c

He managed to c4ada5602f say it, but 55929af617 couldn’t immediately answer 05d9572d76 the “what.” As 58123da939 he bit his c985625525 lip, Manon awkwardly 65e767e3cc laughed.3fde94f48062f768

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“Philippe did mention he 4900efd4dd had a lot of 40761f2e93 fun in the past. But that’s all in 1309413efa the past. He’s literally the prince e70acc4cd0 of the richest place 22f2b2215d in the world, so 277405271d it’s understandable.”1bc90ef0f0db6b56

“It wasn’t just fun. It’s not ca3a4561a0 like that.”81985e70a8bf1f04

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A brief silence ec5f90e5ba lingered. He shouldn’t 80a2d762ea shock Manon, 17d1ebe7d8 who was 9add6fa813 in early cbe2bcbf6a pregnancy. But was c035d972a9 it possible c88c8fa145 to deliver d49ec0a8e1 this news 28fc91034b without shock? Maël carefully chose 06336d424c his words and bddbd14aab spoke.796457032350a386

“Like how 5f3661f2cb Dad was e69f9aef5a with us.”c1228b302a1087b5

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“……Did Philippe hit someone?”251907a5141f40cf

In the end, Manon 6d827caa6f said the word. Maël nodded, and 54788aa1c9 his sister, who a74e4b5854 opened her mouth 1db9f8ae5b briefly, almost gasped 624d61e288 as she laughed d007729225 and retorted.126fd3c6c7eb0f62

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“Who? Who says that? How do f96cd3bdfc you know 38b8cca74b it was 4324f020f1 Philippe?”c9e75d2676e4132e

“I saw evidence, photos. Would you believe cd75fa9cea it if I a731f75f61 showed you?”7d42b7c015fc9157

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“They might be 149d0815ab trying to stop 1cc53ac3bd my marriage. There are weird bd1a2caa65 people in the e797f9447e world who hurt 8b3f386d60 themselves.”8fbf4bbb008aafe6

“Manon.”77befc46d275061f

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“It’s a misunderstanding. What do you know, 69f416da03 oppa? Philippe isn’t like that. I know best because 3b54695e80 I’m the one marrying 12431e02c1 him.”0c537ed69434e74f

Manon’s voice wavered, 7765eb8da5 breaking intermittently. Her light brown eyes 2f24be4a0a were filled with tears.153fc3d1981caa96

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