Chapter 21
Time moved forward quietly after the rapid expansion of Nova Group. The years that followed transformed both Ryan's personal life and the world around him. By the beginning of 2006, Ryan was no longer simply known as a successful investor or a technology entrepreneur. His influence had grown far beyond that. Governments paid attention to his decisions, major corporations sought his approval, and financial markets reacted to the smallest hints of his investments.
Yet despite all the power he now held, Ryan's life remained surprisingly grounded.
Every morning he still woke up in the same palace overlooking the Mediterranean coast of Genovia. The sound of ocean waves and the warm coastal wind had become part of his daily routine. Many nights he stood on the balcony with Mia and Rachel, watching the lights of the city below them.
The three of them had grown even closer over the past years.
Life had changed dramatically since the day Mia discovered she was the princess of Genovia, yet the bond between them remained the same. Mia had matured into a confident and graceful leader under the guidance of Queen Clarisse. Rachel, energetic and sharp as always, remained the one who kept both of them grounded whenever their lives became too serious.
Ryan often joked that ruling a country was easier than convincing Rachel to slow down when she was excited about something.
But while their personal lives grew deeper, Ryan's business empire expanded at an even faster pace.
By 2006 Nova Group had become one of the most powerful corporate conglomerates in the world.
Ryan's influence was especially visible in the companies he had invested in earlier.
Apple, Nvidia and Google were the most important among them.
Ryan worked closely with Steve Jobs behind the scenes. Jobs remained the public face of Apple, but everyone inside the company knew that Ryan's technological insights had accelerated several of their most ambitious projects.
Ryan constantly pushed Apple's engineers to move faster toward the future of mobile computing. During several long private meetings he explained his vision for a new generation of devices.
Phones, he argued, should not remain simple communication tools.
They should become powerful handheld computers.
Devices capable of running complex software, browsing the internet, playing media, and replacing multiple devices people carried every day.
This idea initially seemed unrealistic to many engineers.
But Ryan convinced Apple's leadership to heavily invest in touchscreen interfaces, mobile operating systems, advanced processors and long-lasting batteries.
These decisions accelerated Apple's development timeline by years.
Meanwhile Ryan's involvement in Nvidia pushed the company toward aggressive innovation in graphics technology. He encouraged the company to expand beyond gaming GPUs and focus on powerful parallel computing architectures.
Ryan repeatedly explained that graphics processors would eventually become critical tools not only for games but also for scientific simulations, artificial intelligence, and advanced computing systems.
Under this influence Nvidia dramatically increased its research funding and began developing the architectures that would eventually dominate the GPU industry.
Google was another company Ryan guided carefully.
He maintained regular contact with the founders, encouraging them to think far beyond search engines. Ryan believed that the future of the internet would depend on entire ecosystems rather than single services.
Under his advice Google expanded into email platforms, digital maps, cloud infrastructure, and mobile operating systems.
These strategic decisions positioned the company to dominate the internet landscape for decades.
Ryan's involvement in these companies became impossible for the financial world to ignore.
By the middle of 2006, business magazines and financial analysts were constantly discussing him.
Some called him a visionary.
Others described him as the most dangerous competitor in modern business.
But everyone agreed on one thing.
Ryan Giri had become one of the most powerful young businessmen in history.
That same year Forbes released its annual ranking of the richest people in the world.
For the first time, Ryan appeared on the list.
And he appeared shockingly high.
At only twenty-one years old, Ryan's total wealth was estimated at nearly fifty billion dollars.
His ownership in Apple alone had multiplied several times as the company's value surged.
Nvidia's growth added billions more to his portfolio.
Google's rapid expansion pushed his investments even further.
Combined with the massive success of Nova Group's divisions — Nova Games, Nova Investments, Nova Fashion, Nova Security, Nova Automobile and Nova Armory — Ryan's financial influence reached levels few people could comprehend.
The media attention that followed was enormous.
Newspapers across the world called him the youngest technology empire builder of the century.
But Ryan himself barely paid attention to the headlines.
Because something far more important was approaching.
The royal wedding.
Although Ryan and Mia had already been married privately years earlier, the official royal ceremony had been postponed until Mia completed her final training as heir to the throne.
That moment had finally arrived.
The ceremony was scheduled for December 16, 2006.
Once the ceremony was completed, Mia would officially ascend the throne of Genovia as Queen.
Ryan would stand beside her as king.
The small Mediterranean kingdom transformed as preparations for the event began.
Historic buildings were renovated.
Royal banners covered the streets.
Large public squares were decorated for celebrations.
Hotels throughout the country were booked months in advance.
International media arrived weeks before the ceremony.
The palace itself became the center of endless activity.
Royal planners, diplomats, security teams and event organizers worked around the clock preparing for the wedding.
Queen Clarisse personally supervised many of the arrangements.
The guest list alone was astonishing.
Leaders from several European monarchies confirmed their attendance.
Presidents and prime ministers from various nations were invited.
Technology leaders from Silicon Valley prepared to travel to Genovia.
Steve Jobs, several Nvidia executives, Google founders, and major investors were among the many important guests expected to attend.
But the arrivals that excited Ryan the most were not the political leaders or business elites.
They were his friends.
One afternoon a convoy of luxury cars entered the palace courtyard.
Ryan stepped outside with Mia and Rachel to greet them.
The first car door opened and Raj stepped out wearing a perfectly tailored suit.
He looked at the enormous palace behind Ryan and shook his head.
"I knew you were rich," Raj said, "but I didn't know you were royalty rich."
Chandler stepped out behind him laughing.
"I'm still trying to process the fact that the guy who used to copy my homework now owns half of Silicon Valley."
Ryan laughed and hugged both of them.
"You guys took your time getting here."
Raj pointed behind him.
"Try organizing flights for this many people."
More car doors opened.
Rachel's old friends from New York stepped out one by one.
Monica immediately started analyzing the palace decorations.
"Okay," she said, "who arranged these flowers? Because we need to talk."
Ross looked around in amazement.
"This place is incredible."
Joey stepped out next and looked around the courtyard.
"So… how big is the wedding cake?"
Everyone laughed.
Another car arrived moments later.
This time Leonard stepped out first, staring at the palace.
"Ryan… I think this might be the most ridiculous wedding I've ever attended."
Behind him Sheldon examined the building carefully.
"Architecturally inefficient," Sheldon said calmly. "But aesthetically acceptable."
Howard leaned toward Ryan.
"So let me get this straight… you're marrying a queen."
Ryan nodded.
Howard looked around again.
"I should really start making better life decisions."
More guests continued arriving throughout the day.
Technology leaders.
Royal families.
Business executives.
Investors.
Old friends.
The palace courtyard slowly filled with people from every corner of the world.
Mia stood beside Ryan watching the scene unfold.
"Your friends are interesting," she said softly.
Rachel laughed.
"You have no idea."
Ryan looked across the courtyard where his old friends were already joking with each other like nothing had changed.
For a moment the enormous scale of the wedding disappeared from his mind.
Because despite the global attention, the political importance, and the wealth surrounding them, the people gathered here were still the same friends who had once shared school days, bus rides and impossible dreams.
And now they were all here.
Together.
Waiting for the ceremony that would not only crown a queen…
But also begin something far greater.
Because once the wedding was completed, the final condition of the mysterious system would finally be fulfilled.
And when that happened…
The door to countless worlds would open.