It started with a sound.
A faint hum that Jade couldn't place - soft, constant, almost like static - that echoed in the corners of her penthouse bedroom. Or maybe it was inside her chest. It had been two days since the Tagaytay trip, and yet the feeling it left behind refused to fade.
She lay on the bed, sheets tangled around her legs, the city lights outside bleeding through the windows like silent fireworks.
On her wrist, the two bracelets - the new one from Jules, and the red string from Lance - sat quietly beside each other.
Still no sign of what they meant.
The next morning, Jade walked into Vera Holdings HQ, the empire her father built and the legacy she now partially ran - when she wasn't actively avoiding it.
The lobby smelled of fresh orchids and leather polish. Everyone moved with purpose, dressed in designer cuts and corporate armor. She entered the elevator with her assistant trailing behind her.
Elle (assistant): "Miss Vera, Mr. Salazar is waiting in Conference B. Also, the Mindoro outreach proposal came back. There's a new name on the medical lead."
Jade: [distractedly] "New name?"
Elle: "Dr. Chase Alexander Miller."
Her hand stiffened on her phone.
Jade: "Why does that sound familiar?"
Elle: "Viral humanitarian? No social media. Works in remote areas. They call him the Ghost Surgeon. Weirdly poetic, actually."
Jade: [coldly] "Send me the file."
By mid-afternoon, the boardroom smelled like bitter coffee and sterile air-conditioning.
Jade's laptop screen glowed with Dr. Chase Miller's name in bold. No picture. Just stats, field reports, and glowing praise.
A video was attached - a clip of him being airlifted to an island community after a landslide. The camera shook. The crowd cheered. He never looked up. His face was hidden beneath a surgical mask and cap.
Still, something inside her jolted.
Her hand moved before she could stop it.
She clicked "Save."
That night, Ally barged into her place with two bottles of red, a tub of truffle popcorn, and a mission.
Ally: "This is not about wine. This is about intervention."
Jade: [raising an eyebrow] "Why do I need an intervention?"
Ally: "Because ever since we got back from Tagaytay, you've been weird. Not sad. Not numb. Just... haunted. You keep checking your phone like you're waiting for something."
Jade: "Maybe I am."
Ally: "Okay. Spill."
They sat cross-legged on the couch. The city twinkled outside.
Jade hesitated.
Jade: "There's this name that keeps showing up. Dr. Chase Miller. He's connected to our outreach project. But it's not just that. I feel like I've heard that name before. Or seen it. In a dream maybe. Or..."
Ally: "Or maybe it's the universe pulling at your red thread."
Jade: "That's the part that scares me."
YOU ARE READING
The One I Cannot Touch
Romance"How do you love someone who carries the heart of the man you already lost?" Jade Celestine Vera is rich, guarded, and grieving - still haunted by the death of her fiancé five years ago. Dr. Chase Alexander Miller is Manila's top trauma surgeon, sav...
