Novels by Royalmary23💜

Adam reached his apartment later in the night, his mind processing the details from Maribel's old notebooks. The next day, after the systems engineering lectures ended, the afternoon sun cast long shadows across the main exit gates of the campus. Maribel packed her heavy reference books into her pink rose canvas bag, adjusting the strap over her shoulder as she walked toward the bus stop to board a public bus. Her steps slowed as she neared the perimeter fence.Standing right next to the curb was the sleek, black luxury sedan she had ridden in the previous day. Adam stood beside the passenger door, his attention focused entirely on his iPad screen.Groups of students streaming out of the campus gate instantly noticed the high-end vehicle and the quiet student leaning against its polished frame. Low whispers and murmurs broke out among the passing juniors."Wait, is that the scholarship kid?" a girl in a designer jacket whispered, nudging her friend. "With a car?""Nah," a male studen

Adam set the notebook down and reached for the next one. He opened the yellowed cover and turned the pages. He went through notebook after notebook, his eyes scanning the columns of handwritten code, peripheral interface configurations, and custom data-routing matrix tables.The more he read, the quieter he became. The soft sound of turning paper was the only sound in the small bedroom.Maribel noticed the silence. She shifted, her fingers tightening around the edge of the plastic storage bin. Her eyes tracked his face, looking for any twitch of his jaw or a frown that would signal a critical flaw in her project. She became nervous. Adam wasn't complimenting anything. He didn't nod, he didn't say good, and he didn't offer a single word of academic validation. He was just reading.While reviewing the third notebook, which detailed the network handshake protocols, Adam learned the truth about the project. Maribel's design wasn't an unfinished student idea. The main part was almost done.

The crisp air of the lower courtyard felt fresh as Adam and Maribel walked past the stone arches of the engineering sector. Maribel adjusted the strap of her canvas bag, and her earlier hesitation was completely gone. Her speech became faster, and her words carried a sharp, focused energy as she began explaining the structure of a system she had designed two years ago.“The main challenge of the Grand Prix is always resource constraints,” Maribel said, turning her head slightly toward Adam as they crossed the wide plaza. “Most teams try to solve warehouse optimization by upgrading hardware systems or buying expensive predictive modules. But that approach fails when the workload suddenly increases during real-time testing.”Adam listened while walking at a slow pace. At first, he thought she was only describing a normal student idea, something basic with standard formulas and simple expectations. 'Just throw money at hardware. Typical.'But as they passed the library intersection, her

The instant rush of excitement for the registration faded, leaving a quiet atmosphere at the small table. The blue confirmation bar on the iPad screen began to dim, but their linked names remained visible in the sharp digital font. Maribel remained slightly flushed, her eyes darting toward the confirmation layout one last time before she pulled her pink rose canvas bag onto her lap. She adjusted the straps tightly, holding the worn fabric against her chest almost like a shield to ground herself against the lingering tension.To break the sudden, heavy stillness between them, Maribel reached into her deep jacket pocket. Her fingers brushed against the small item she had stored away earlier. She pulled out the plain bagel wrapped in a paper napkin, which she had originally intended to save for her evening lecture gap. She hesitated for a fraction of a second, looking at the dry bread, then cleanly broke the bagel in half with a crisp snap of the crust.She extended one piece across the

Maribel slowly finished the last section of the double cheeseburger, then she cleared the tray. The warmth of the fresh, high-protein meal brought a noticeable touch of healthy color back to her cheeks, softening the lingering exhaustion that usually hung around her eyes. The heavy silence that had occupied the space between them after Adam dropped the paper bag began to lift, turning into a much more comfortable environment as the initial shock of the gesture faded from her mind.She looked down at the empty wrapping paper on the table. Her fingers carefully folded the greasy corners inward, smoothing the paper flat into a neat square, mostly to keep her hands from showing a slight tremble."I have not had a lunch like this on the main campus floor," Maribel said, her voice dropping into a quiet tone. She kept her eyes fixed on the folded paper, her thumb tracing the crease. "Usually, if I get a break between the morning systems lecture and the advanced lab block, I just drink water

The midday sun cleared the high glass roof of the central campus commons, making sharp shadows across the primary dining hall. The cafeteria was divided by a strict spatial hierarchy that everyone understood but no one openly discussed.On the lower floor, the main dining area was a chaotic environment of loud conversations, scraping chairs, and the smell of fry oil and floor bleach. This was where the scholarship students and most undergrads gathered.Three steps above the main floor, separated by a thick glass, sat the raised VIP section. It had leather seats, soft lights, and specialized dampening that kept the noise of the lower floor completely isolated. Rich students and high-tier faculty donors sat in this upper tier, where the air smelled of fresh herbs and expensive espresso.Maribel walked into the lower hall, carrying a worn, refillable water bottle she had filled from her apartment tap. She skipped the long food lines and walked straight to the back corner where the studen

At Evelyn’s villa, the maid escorted Fiona to the living room, and Fiona reached there, waiting for Evelyn patiently. As soon as Evelyn reached her side, Fiona approached her and muttered, “I need to talk to you.” “Alright, have your seat,” Evelyn responded, gesturing toward a nearby couch. Hastily, Fiona sat on the couch, and she spoke, “Ma. Evelyn, you need to listen to this recording. It is a conversation I recorded between Mrs. Bella and I.” As soon as she completed her statement, she played an audio she recorded which revealed how Bella intended to kill Daisy and have the entire empire to herself. Fortunately, Fiona didn’t follow Bella’s orders because she understood how it would feel if she was in the victim’s shoe. Also, the other time she injected a fluid into the IV fluid bag that was connected to Alex, it was the normal fluid she was supposed to inject. But, she pretended like it was a bad fluid, just in case Bella had a spy that was watching her. “Gosh, I knew she wa

“His entire empire?” Fiona mouthed, dumbfounded with Bella’s plan.“Yes. Now, get back to work,” Bella rasped before ending the call. She took a peek at the maid approaching her with a glass of juice then she gazed at her warily, recalling that the maid was always around her whenever she received a call. As soon as the maid placed the glass of juice on the table, Bella smiled, and she picked it up. She pretended to take a sip from the juice, and she got engaged with her phone.Meanwhile, the maid walked to a corner that had no CCTV camera, and she pulled out her phone to dial a phone number.The phone number was nicknamed, ‘Boss, Thomas.’As soon as Thomas answered the call from the other end, she narrated everything she heard quickly, while Thomas chuckled at Bella’s plan.After the maid completed the narration, Thomas instructed her to continue her work and he ended the call swiftly.Pushing her phone into her pocket, the maid turned around to leave, but what stood before her fri

“You have been diagnosed with liver cancer,” Diana explained, approaching his bed with steady steps.She pulled out a chair, pushed it towards Alex’s hospital bed and she sat on it.“Yes, Grandma Evelyn told me today,” Alex replied softly, his voice sounding weak and slow.“As your primary nurse, I will advise you to have more rest.”“Alright.”“Also, be careful. Something fishy is going on with Bella, but thank goodness, Fiona is the doctor taking care of you. She is more trustworthy than Doctor Ben-” Diana uttered, then she paused upon realizing that Alex’s eyes got shut.“I will leave you to rest then,” she uttered. She understood that he had fainted, and with his present condition, he needed more rest. So, she moved away from the chair, intending to leave the ward.Just as she was about to leave, Fiona walked in with a fake smile on her face, and her hands were dipped in her lab coat’s large pockets.“You must be working very hard to make him better,” Fiona muttered, gazing at Ale

Diana’s stomach clenched with worry as she absorbed Bella’s statement. Slowly, she released her hands from Bella’s collar with a web of worry lines forming on her face.“You let Daisy be in that condition because of your greed. Don’t you have any soul?” Diana asked, causing Bella to huff and straighten her blouse.“No, you are the one who allowed her to be in that condition. Stay away from Alex and I will stay away from your family. Also, you should visit your daughter at the hospital. She needs her mama,” Bella spoke sarcastically and she walked away with her head held high.Just then, Diana’s anger turned into concern, and she rushed out of the villa, intending to meet Daisy who had been admitted to the hospital.***“Ma. Evelyn, the CT scan reveals that Alex has liver cancer, and thank goodness we found out earlier; otherwise, it could have been too late,” Fiona uttered, causing Evelyn to gasp in shock.“But he will be treated as soon as possible, right?”“Yes,” Fiona replied with

Evelyn’s statement rang in Bella’s head and she stammered, “What?” with her body trembling at the statement, ‘Get rid of her.’“Guards, you should do your job or you will be fired. Meanwhile, Diana and Fiona should follow me,” Evelyn instructed and without a second thought, Bella moved away, being aware that the guards would definitely obey her.Immediately she moved away from them, she shot a glare at Diana, then, Evelyn, Diana, and Fiona walked away. Meanwhile, Bella was stunned by Evelyn’s actions.She didn’t expect Evelyn to visit the villa, or instruct the guards to get rid of her, especially when she is Alex’s wife, and his soon-to-be mother of his children.Just then, the same maid who repeatedly poured a liquid into the glass of water she offered to Alex passed by, with a tray and a glass of water.However, Bella spotted her and her eyes widened in shock.“Gosh, not now!” She muttered to herself, then she stopped the maid immediately. Dismissing the guards, she turned to the

“Though, you are very lucky. It will be easy to get rid of your allergy since it’s only been a few months,” Bella uttered, and she leaned forward with a smirk playing on her lips, “I know you love Daisy, Iris, and Melissa so much, so do this for them.”Afterward, the smirk on her face was replaced with a fake smile, and she leaned back, “You will do it, right?”With that, Diana’s eyes turned red as tears threatened to stream down. Earlier, she had decided to keep the baby and convince Jeffrey, but now, Bella is threatening her with her family.“Yes, I will do it,” Diana replied.“Alright, I will send a car to pick you up tomorrow. Then, we will get rid of your allergy,” Bella replied tartly, and afterward, she walked out of the restaurant.As soon as Diana watched her leave and her car sped off, Diana reached for her phone and she dialed Alex’s phone number quickly. But unfortunately, Alex could not answer it. He was in a wheelchair, sitting motionless as he stared into space in the