Ch. The Campus Queen’s Billionaire Husband Is My Secret Spouse” 24 The Campus Queen’s Billionaire Husband Is My Secret Spouse” 24

Chapter 24 

The institute honors ceremony went ahead as scheduled. 

Over three hundred people filled the hall. 

I sat in the front row, among the honorees. 

In ten years, this was my first public appearance at an event of this scale. 

Director Harrison had stepped up to accept internal awards on my behalf twice before, returning each time 

with the same message: 

“Coates, when the timing is right, you go up there yourself.” 

Today was that time. 

The citation was read by the Institute Dean himself. 

“Eleanor Coates, over her ten-year tenure, has led and participated in numerous critical research projects.” 

“Her work has been implemented in three national-level engineering programs, directly driving technical breakthroughs in the field and indirectly serving a population of over twenty million…” 

The Dean read slowly. 

The audience transitioned from scrolling on their phones to setting them aside, from whispering to one 

another to total silence. 

“Her father, Desmond Coates, and her mother, Catherine Coates, were both core research staff at this institute. They died in the line of duty, posthumously awarded the First-Class Merit.” 

“Eleanor Coates has inherited her parents’ legacy, showing unwavering dedication over the last decade…” 

As he read, I saw people in the crowd wiping their eyes. 

I didn’t cry. 

My parents taught me to smile when accepting an award. 

They said, when you’ve done something good, you don’t cry, you celebrate. 

When I stepped onto the stage, the entire hall rose to their feet. 

The applause was deafening. 

It was so loud I could feel the floor vibrating. 

After accepting the award, I walked off the stage. 

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I caught sight of Pierce Mason in the aisle. 

He was wearing a dark suit, sitting in the very last row of the guest section. 

He wasn’t clapping. 

His hands were locked together, his head bowed. 

As I walked past him, he looked up. 

He didn’t say a word. 

But the rims of his eyes were red. 

After the ceremony, the press release went out that afternoon. 

Targeted toward industry channels, several professional journals shared it. 

My name and achievements were now official. 

No classified secrets, no specific lab locations, just my field of study and a summary of the project’s impact. 

But for the Veridia Metro circles, it was more than enough. 

Enough for everyone to know exactly who Eleanor Coates was. 

That night, the silence in our high school group chat was finally broken. 

Cara sent a single message: [Is… is Eleanor Coates actually…?] 

No one replied. 

From that day on, the group chat never saw another message. 

Chapter 24 

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