The Red String Between Us: Part III Eternal Thread

第6章 Between Intimacy and Stage

      The noise of the ballroom swelled again as Mallory's figure disappeared into the crowd, her champagne flute glinting under the chandelier light. Eden held her own glass, though she hadn't touched it. The chill of Mallory's words still lingered in the air.

Kenji's hand brushed against hers, deliberate and steady. "Don't let her rattle you," he murmured, eyes softening as he leaned just close enough for their voices to belong to no one else.

Eden glanced up at him, the question she hadn't spoken since stepping onto the carpet tugging at her lips. "Do you realize what we just did? We didn't say a word, and still... everything's changed."

Kenji's lips curved faintly. "That was the point."

Her breath caught—not at his certainty, but at the way he looked at her, as though the chaos around them couldn't touch this small circle they had carved out together. It was the most vulnerable she had seen him in a long time, yet his composure never cracked.

"Then we stand in it," Eden said, her voice firmer now, as if testing the strength of her own resolve.

Kenji reached up, tucking another stray strand of hair behind her ear. The gesture was intimate, unhurried, grounding her against the storm. "We do," he said simply.

Before Eden could respond, a chime rang across the ballroom, cutting through the chatter. The lights shifted subtly, spotlighting the stage at the front where a podium stood flanked by banners of the New Liaison Initiative. Conversations dropped to a hush as officials and dignitaries began to take their seats.

Claire reappeared, slipping into the chair beside Eden with her ever-watchful grin. "Showtime," she whispered, adjusting the folds of her gown.

The emcee's voice carried through the room, welcoming attendees and outlining the importance of the night. Eden felt the gravity of it press against her shoulders—not just the eyes on her and Kenji, but the weight of the initiative itself. Alliances were being shaped here, strategies revealed, and reputations solidified.

As speeches began, Eden and Kenji took their places near the front. The cameras, though officially positioned toward the stage, still found them. Every time Kenji shifted closer, every time Eden's gaze lingered on him a second too long, the photographers were ready.

When the keynote speaker—an influential policy leader—took the podium, his remarks turned pointed: "This initiative is not about individuals, but about unity, collaboration, and the strength found in trust."

Whispers rippled at the words, some glancing toward Eden and Kenji as though their very presence had become a living metaphor for what was being declared. Eden's spine stiffened, her hand brushing against Kenji's beneath the table, hidden from view.

Mallory, seated just a few rows back, noticed. Her eyes flickered between them and the stage, her expression unreadable, but her jaw set with determination.

As the applause filled the room, Eden leaned slightly toward Kenji, voice low. "We've stepped into something much bigger than just us."

Kenji's gaze never left the stage, though his hand pressed lightly against hers in quiet affirmation. "That's exactly why we can't step back."

Eden swallowed hard, her pulse racing. He was right. And now, under the glare of lights and the scrutiny of the world, there was no hiding.