Chapter 78 up
Morning arrived with a kind of quiet urgency that neither Vanesa nor Adrian could ignore.
The city was already awake—markets opening, news cycles turning, analysts searching for signals in every movement made by people like them.
And today, the world was waiting.
Vanesa stood in front of the large window in the living room, a tablet in her hand, reviewing the overnight updates that had accumulated while she slept. The eastern consortium’s freeze on negotiations had already begun rippling through financial channels. Commentators were speculating, investors were reacting, and somewhere in the middle of the chaos, narratives were forming.
She could almost see the headlines assembling themselves.
Division between Wibisana leadership.
Strategic disagreement at the highest level.
Internal fracture threatens stability.
Behind her, Adrian stepped into the room.
He was already dressed, tie loosened slightly as if he had put it on without thinking about it. His phone was in his hand, the screen lit with a steady stream of messages.
“They’re moving faster than expected,” he said.
Vanesa didn’t turn.
“They always do when uncertainty appears.”
Adrian glanced at the screen over her shoulder.
Several market indicators were flashing amber.
“Speculation is climbing,” he observed.
“Yes.”
“Have they released anything official yet?”
“Not yet,” Vanesa said.
“But they will.”
Adrian walked to the table and placed his phone down for a moment.
“Then we speak before they do.”
Vanesa finally turned toward him.
“That’s what you suggested.”
“And you agreed.”
Vanesa studied him for a second.
“Yes,” she said. “But agreeing and executing are different things.”
Adrian gave a faint smile.
“Not for us.”
She didn’t return the smile.
Instead she walked toward the table and set her tablet down.
“Have you considered what happens if they refuse the joint approach?” she asked.
Adrian leaned back slightly against the table.
“They won’t refuse.”
“You’re certain?”
“They want clarity,” he said. “And clarity doesn’t require obedience.”
Vanesa folded her arms.
“That sounds optimistic.”
“It’s not optimism,” Adrian replied calmly.
“It’s leverage.”
She watched him carefully.
“You’re assuming they still need us.”
Adrian tilted his head slightly.
“They do.”
“How can you be sure?”
Adrian gestured toward the window.
“Because if they didn’t, they wouldn’t be trying to force a choice.”
Vanesa considered that.
The logic wasn’t wrong.
Pressure was only applied where influence existed.
Still, something about the situation unsettled her.
Not the external pressure.
But the internal dynamic it exposed.
“You realize what they’re testing,” she said quietly.
Adrian nodded.
“Yes.”
“They want to see if we fracture under strain.”
Adrian’s expression darkened slightly.
“Then we disappoint them.”
The confidence in his voice was familiar.
Almost comforting.
And yet Vanesa felt something else beneath it.
Fatigue.
She wondered if he felt the same thing she did—the strange exhaustion that came from constantly fighting battles that blurred the line between strategy and survival.
Her phone buzzed on the table.
She glanced down.
A message from Nathaniel.
Media pressure increasing. Several outlets preparing analysis segments about the negotiation freeze.
Vanesa showed Adrian the screen.
He sighed quietly.
“Right on schedule.”
Vanesa picked up her phone again.
“They’re requesting comments.”
“Of course they are.”
She hesitated for a moment before asking, “Should we respond?”
Adrian didn’t answer immediately.
He walked back toward the window, staring down at the moving traffic below.
“If we say nothing,” he said slowly, “they’ll fill the silence themselves.”
“And if we speak?”
“Then we control the framing.”
Vanesa watched him.
“You’re comfortable standing beside me publicly again?”
Adrian turned his head slightly.
“That’s a strange question.”
“Is it?”
He walked back toward her.
“I never stopped being comfortable with that.”
Vanesa raised an eyebrow.
“That’s not how it looked.”
Adrian held her gaze.
“Appearances have been misleading lately.”
She couldn’t argue with that.
Too many assumptions had filled the spaces where conversations should have been.
“Then let’s make it clear,” she said.
Adrian nodded once.
“Yes.”
Vanesa opened the communications channel on her tablet and began drafting a brief statement.
Adrian moved to stand beside her.
“What are you writing?”
She read aloud as she typed.
“The negotiation pause with the eastern consortium is a procedural reassessment, not a structural conflict. Strategic leadership remains unified and fully engaged in resolving the matter constructively.”
Adrian listened carefully.
Then he said, “Add something.”
Vanesa glanced up.
“What?”
He leaned slightly closer to the screen.
“Clarify that the reassessment was anticipated.”
Vanesa frowned.
“That isn’t entirely accurate.”
“No,” Adrian said.
“But it reframes the narrative.”
She considered the wording.
Then slowly nodded.
“Fine.”
She adjusted the sentence.
“The reassessment phase was anticipated as part of the negotiation process and does not reflect internal division.”
Adrian exhaled quietly.
“Good.”
Vanesa finished typing and hovered her finger over the send button.
“Once this goes out,” she said, “we can’t step back.”
Adrian’s expression was steady.
“I’m aware.”
Vanesa pressed send.
The message disappeared into the network.
Within seconds her phone began buzzing again.
Adrian’s did the same.
“Reaction time is impressive,” he muttered.
Vanesa glanced at the notifications.
Several outlets had already picked up the statement.
Some analysts were questioning it.
Others were cautiously revising their earlier speculation.
“It’s working,” Adrian said.
“For now,” Vanesa replied.
But the real test wasn’t the media.
It was the consortium.
And they didn’t have to wait long.
An incoming call request appeared on Vanesa’s tablet.
She looked at the name.
“They’re early,” she said.
Adrian stepped closer.
“Put it on.”
Vanesa accepted the call.
The screen filled with the image of three executives seated in a conference room thousands of kilometers away.
Their expressions were professional.
But tense.
“Ms. Wibisana,” the lead representative said.
“Mr. Adrian.”
Adrian nodded politely.
“Good morning.”
The representative folded his hands.
“We’ve received your statement.”
Vanesa kept her tone calm.
“I assumed you would.”
The man glanced briefly at his colleagues.
Then he said, “Your public response suggests strategic unity.”
“That’s correct,” Adrian replied.
“However,” the representative continued carefully, “our request for a single negotiation authority remains unchanged.”
Vanesa and Adrian exchanged a quick look.
Here it was.
The pressure point.
Adrian spoke first.
“You already have one.”
The representative frowned slightly.
“We requested clarity, not ambiguity.”
Vanesa leaned forward slightly.
“And you have it.”
The three executives exchanged glances again.
Finally one of them said, “Forgive the directness, but your internal dynamic has created uncertainty.”
Adrian’s voice remained calm.
“Our internal dynamic has produced every successful negotiation we’ve conducted in the last decade.”
Vanesa added quietly, “Division would look very different.”
The room on the other side of the screen went silent.
The representatives were evaluating them.
Testing.
Searching for cracks.
Vanesa felt Adrian shift slightly beside her.
Not away.
Closer.
Subtle.
But intentional.
And suddenly she understood what he was doing.
Not just presenting unity.
Rebuilding it.
At least where the world could see.
The lead representative leaned back slightly.
“If we proceed,” he said, “we require assurance that strategic direction will remain stable.”
Adrian answered immediately.
“It will.”
Vanesa followed.
“You have my word.”
The representatives watched them for a long moment.
Then the lead executive nodded.
“Very well.”
Vanesa felt tension release slightly in her chest.
“Negotiations will resume tomorrow,” the man continued.
“Under the existing structure.”
The call ended shortly after.
The screen went dark.
For a moment neither Vanesa nor Adrian spoke.
Then Adrian exhaled slowly.
“That could have gone worse.”
Vanesa nodded.
“Yes.”
He looked at her.
“You handled that well.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“You sound surprised.”
“I’m impressed,” Adrian corrected.
Vanesa studied his expression carefully.
There was no sarcasm there.
Just quiet respect.
And maybe something else.
Relief.
She sat back in her chair.
“The problem isn’t solved,” she said.
“No.”
“They’ll keep watching.”
Adrian nodded.
“Of course they will.”
Vanesa turned the tablet off and leaned back slightly.
“But today,” she said softly, “we didn’t give them what they wanted.”
Adrian met her gaze.
“No,” he agreed.
“We didn’t.”
The room grew quiet again.
But this time the silence felt different.
Less like distance.
More like possibility.