Present — The Vera Foundation Gala, Manila Peninsula Ballroom
The ballroom glittered with old money and new power.
Golden chandeliers bathed the room in warm light. Strings played a soft, sweeping version of Clair de Lune in the background. Every table was dressed in ivory silk and crystal, with centerpieces of fresh lilies flown in from Amsterdam. Waiters glided through the crowd in black and white, serving champagne and delicate hors d'oeuvres that tasted as expensive as they looked.
It was the kind of night where everything looked perfect.
Except Jade.
She stood near the balcony, away from the flash of cameras and the calculated smiles of Manila's social elite. Her gown — a dark emerald piece that hugged her frame with quiet power — shimmered under the lights, but her expression didn't match the glamour.
Elle (whispering beside her):
"Ma'am, everyone's looking. And by everyone, I mean... including him."
Jade didn't have to ask who.
She turned slightly, gaze shifting across the room — and there he was.
Dr. Chase Miller.
Dressed in a perfectly tailored black tux, clean-shaven for once, hair slightly tousled, looking like he didn't belong to this world of wine lists and whispered scandals — and yet somehow commanding it.
Their eyes met.
It was less than a second. But enough to change her breath.
Earlier That Day — Vera Holdings Private Lounge
Jade: "Why does it feel like everything lately is a test?"
Elle looked up from the pile of invites she was sorting.
Elle: "Maybe because it is. First gala since your dad passed. First time you're the one everyone's watching. First time... you're the story."
Jade (half-laughing):
"God, I miss being invisible."
Elle: "Invisible ka lang sa office, Ma'am. Sa love life mo? Trending tayo."
Jade rolled her eyes but didn't argue.
Because Elle was right.
Back to the Present — Inside the Gala
Seb arrived late.
His suit was dark blue, his smile well-practiced. But his eyes — they went straight to Jade the moment he walked in.
Seb (leaning in to kiss her cheek):
"You look like a storm tonight."
Jade: "Good or bad?"
Seb: "The kind I don't want to escape from."
Jade smiled, but her eyes flickered again — to Chase, who was now talking to the chairman of a partner NGO.
Seb caught it.
And it hurt.
But he stayed. Because part of him still believed that maybe tonight, he could rewrite his ending.
Half an Hour Later — The Balcony
Jade escaped the main room, heels clicking softly against marble.
The air outside was cooler, quieter. She leaned against the railing, watching the lights of Makati flicker like grounded stars.
Then:
Chase:
"You always run when it gets too bright inside?"
She didn't turn around immediately.
Jade: "No. Just... checking if the world still exists outside the illusion."
Chase:
"It does. Just less filtered."
He moved beside her, close but not touching.
Jade:
"You clean up well, Doctor."
Chase:
"I was about to say the same. But then I realized you don't clean up. You just arrive."
Jade (quiet laugh):
"Smooth."
They stood in silence for a beat.
Then:
Chase:
"You ever feel like you're playing a role you didn't audition for?"
Jade:
"Every damn day."
She turned to face him now. And for a moment, the weight of the ballroom, the people, the eyes — all disappeared.
Jade:
"Why are you here tonight, Chase?"
Chase:
"You asked me to come. And I couldn't say no."
Jade:
"Why not?"
He looked at her, really looked.
Chase:
"Because you look at me like you've lost something. And I keep hoping I'm what you're looking for."
Her breath caught.
But before she could reply, a staff member stepped out with a note.
"Miss Vera, urgent call from Geneva. It's about the foundation's EU tie-up."
She nodded, took the call, and walked back inside.
Leaving Chase alone on the balcony, staring at the night sky like it held answers he couldn't reach.
Meanwhile — Inside the Ballroom
Seb stood near the string quartet, watching.
He saw Jade return, calm and composed, her face unreadable.
He also saw Chase, alone, with a look that Seb knew too well.
Longing.
Later That Night — Seb's Apartment, Alone
He pulled out an old canvas from the back of his studio closet.
It was unfinished — a portrait he started a year ago.
Lance.
He stared at the familiar eyes. The jawline. The subtle curve of a smile Seb never got to know personally, but had memorized from pictures and stories Jade used to tell.
Then he started painting again.
Because maybe, just maybe, the answers weren't in chasing Jade's heart.
Maybe they were in understanding who still lived in it.
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...
