Novels by Mai Elfkhrany

Chapter 7Silence hung heavy over Ethan Cross’s office after the daylight had faded through the tall windows.The faint scent of paper mixed with the bitterness of cold coffee on his desk — a quiet testimony to the long, exhausting hours that had passed.Olivia stood near the door, watching him, her worry growing with every heartbeat.He hadn’t moved in minutes. His head was tilted forward in a way that looked… wrong.She took a cautious step toward him, hesitating with each movement.— “Sir?”No reply.Her blood froze. She reached out a trembling hand and touched his shoulder — it was strangely cold.She gasped, fear gripping her chest, then rushed to the intercom, her voice shaking as she cried out softly:— “Doctor! Quickly — to Mr. Cross’s office!”Moments later, the doctor entered with calm, steady steps, a quiet seriousness shadowing his face.He checked Ethan’s pulse and blood pressure, then lifted his gaze to Olivia and said reassuringly:— “Don’t worry. It’s just severe exhau

Chapter 6Olivia walked into Ethan Cross’s office with quick but cautious steps, trying to look confident despite the tension pressing against her chest like an invisible hand.The air in the room was strangely heavy — silence filled it completely, and even the air itself seemed hesitant to move around his desk.The office was spacious, elegant, and obsessively neat. Everything was in its place with almost clinical precision — papers stacked in perfect order, pens lined up in one corner like soldiers at inspection. Even the wall clock ticked so softly it felt afraid to disturb him.Ethan sat behind his desk, brows slightly furrowed as he flipped through some documents with meticulous care. His features were sharp, sculpted — but his eyes carried something darker: exhaustion laced with anger, or maybe anger wrapped in control.When he noticed her, he stopped moving. Slowly, he raised his head, meeting her gaze. His eyes were cold and steady — yet beneath that calm, there was something

Chapter 5Olivia had finished the files Ethan had assigned to her in record time.It hadn’t been easy — she had spent the entire night reviewing, checking, and rewriting every single line.And when the morning sun rose, she was already done, two full hours ahead of schedule.She walked into his office with hesitant steps, carrying the small bag that held the reports.He was sitting behind his glass desk, flipping through some papers with meticulous focus — as if nothing outside those pages mattered.She knocked lightly. He lifted his gaze toward her without saying a word.She simply said, her tone steady and confident:> “I’ve finished the reports, sir.”He reached out slowly, taking the files from her without even glancing at them. Then, in a low, detached voice:> “That fast?”“I went over them more than once. Double-checked all the numbers,” she said.He stayed silent for a moment before replying in a tone so cold it could cut through air:> “Speed doesn’t impress me, Miss Olivia.

Chapter 4The clock was nearing eleven in the morning, and the apartment was wrapped in a heavy silence.Olivia sat on the couch, staring at the television without really seeing what was playing — as if her mind were still trapped in the office she had been fired from the day before.The cup of coffee in her hands had long gone cold, yet she kept holding it, as though the warmth it once had was the only thing keeping her together.Grace stepped out of her room, wearing her elegant coat and searching for her keys. She lifted her handbag onto her shoulder and said,— “I’m heading out for a bit, Olivia. I’ll stop by the store, then visit my friend. Do you need anything?”Olivia looked up slowly, a faint smile curving her lips.— “No, Mom, I’m fine. Thanks.”Grace studied her for a moment, then said gently, her tone filled with motherly warmth,— “Don’t weigh yourself down with worry, dear. You’ll find a better job soon, God willing.”Olivia only nodded silently as her mother left the apa

Chapter 3Olivia woke to the sharp chime of her computer.Her neck ached from sleeping on the desk, and her eyelids felt as heavy as if she hadn’t closed them in days.The morning hadn’t fully broken yet, but daylight was beginning to creep across the glass floor, revealing scattered papers and empty coffee cups that bore witness to her long night.She lifted her head slowly, rubbed her eyes, and let out a deep breath as she stared at the glowing screen before her.The message that had ruined her night was still there — like an open wound refusing to heal.Despite her exhaustion and the pounding in her temples, a spark of thought flickered in her mind.She straightened up, put on her glasses, and started scribbling in her notebook in quick, messy handwriting:> “If I can’t delete the email... maybe I can hide it.”Her eyes widened as she whispered to herself, voice trembling:> “The system allows update submissions... yes! If I resend a new version with the same subject and code, it’l

Chapter 2Olivia couldn’t tear her eyes away from the screen — as if staring at it long enough might somehow undo the disaster she had just caused.From the moment she hit send, her heart had been pounding so hard she could barely hear her own thoughts.She knew that in this company, any mistake was unforgivable… let alone one like this.Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she whispered in a trembling voice,> “If he finds out… I’m finished.”She could almost see his cold, sharp face, hear the chill in his tone when he was angry — she could almost feel his breath behind her just from the thought.With shaking hands, she reached for the mouse, trying to reopen her email, praying she’d imagined it all —but the disaster was real.Her name gleamed right there in the company-wide inbox.Next to it, the words that sealed her fate: “All Departments.”> “No… no…”Her hand flew to her mouth, fingers trembling, her brain refusing to process what she’d done.> “I sent the reports… to the entire