The One I Cannot Touch

String 6: Between the Pulse and the Silence

Present – Monday Morning
Vera Holdings, Makati Headquarters

It was 7:15 AM when Jade Vera arrived.

Too early for most of her staff, but not for her. She liked the silence before chaos. She liked hearing the soles of her heels echo across the marble floors, like proof she was still grounded, still alive, still in charge.

Elle: "Miss Vera, your 9 AM board review was moved to 8:30, and you have a call with Geneva at 10:15 regarding the new tech partnership."

Jade: [nodding] "Get me the updated deck before 8. And Elle—coffee. Stronger than my last heartbreak."

Elle: [smiling] "Copy."

Inside her private office — an elegant space of black, gold, and glass — Jade opened her laptop and loaded the reports for Project Hila, the CSR medical outreach co-led with Chase Miller and his humanitarian group.

It was supposed to be just PR.

Now, it was personal.

Flashback – Weeks Before the Project Launch
CSR Division, Vera Holdings

Jade had been handed a CSR proposal from a mid-level director named Miguel, who looked like he hadn't slept in three weeks.

Miguel: "It's rural health development. Remote islands. High-risk zones. It's low-return, high-impact."

Jade: "Then why are you nervous?"

Miguel: "Because your father never approved anything with the word 'low-return' in it."

Jade: [smirking slightly] "My father's dead. And I like high-impact."

Her eyes had landed on a name at the bottom of the page.

Dr. Chase Miller.

She didn't know it then, but her hand had paused, just for a second.

Present – Northern Luzon, Project Hila Base Camp

Chase stood beneath a makeshift canopy, stethoscope around his neck, surrounded by children.

They were in a rural village, far from the skyline and sterile polish of Vera's corporate halls. Chickens wandered freely. A grandma was cooking beside the clinic tent. There was dust in his hair, sweat on his collar, but his voice remained calm.

Chase: "Deep breath. Again. Good. You're okay."

His team moved quickly behind him — nurses, logistics heads, volunteers, translators.

A young girl tugged on his pant leg. She pointed to her chest.

Girl: "Dok, my heart fast."

Chase: [crouching down] "How fast?"

Girl: [giggles] "Like boom boom boom!" [beat] "Maybe I like you."

Laughter rippled through the tent.

Chase smiled, but inside, he remembered another laugh — slightly husky, always biting sarcasm with elegance.

Jade.

He hadn't been able to get her out of his mind.

Present – Vera Holdings, 10:25 AM

Jade was on her third Zoom call when the CSR director chimed in:

Miguel: "Doc Miller sent his week one report. He included recommendations for medical supply vendors we haven't used before."

Jade: [leaning forward] "Are they ethical? Fair trade?"