Batangas – Cliffside, Just Before Sunrise
The crashing of waves was deafening. Jade stood at the same cliff where Lance had died three years ago. Her black coat fluttered behind her, the morning air biting her skin.
Chase stood beside her.
No longer just a man. No longer just Lance.
He was both. And he was breaking.
Chase:
"This is where he died. I can feel it. My bones remember it, even if my mind doesn't."
Jade (quiet):
"Because this is where our thread snapped."
She reached into her pocket and brought out the burnt parchment Aurelia left behind.
Three threads intertwined. One soul to be reborn. One to let go.
Jade:
"The red thread gave me back the man I loved... but it also gave me you. And you're not just him."
Chase turned, eyes filled with a strange light.
Chase:
"But what if I can't survive without him?"
Jade (stepping closer):
"Then choose to live as you."
He closed his eyes.
And in that instant—the air shifted.
SPIRITUAL PLANE – Liminal Space Between Worlds
Chase floated in white space. Before him stood Lance—no longer a ghost, but solid, radiant, alive in spirit.
And beside Lance, Aurelia. Silent. Watching.
Lance (softly):
"You loved me completely, Jade. And I loved you to my last breath. But our time already ended."
Chase's knees buckled.
Chase:
"Why me? Why was I chosen to carry your soul?"
Aurelia:
"Because your thread intersected with hers in another life. You were meant to meet... not to replace."
Lance:
"Let me go, Chase. So you can live a life that's truly yours."
Chase sobbed.
Chase:
"But she'll lose you again."
Lance (smiling):
"She's not losing me. She's choosing you."
And with that, Lance turned into light. He wrapped the red thread around Chase's chest.
The thread glowed... then unraveled.
The old bond was gone.
REAL WORLD – Cliffside
Jade collapsed as the thread on her wrist suddenly snapped.
She gasped in horror—until she saw a new thread spark in its place.
Thinner. Brighter. Golden.
Chase (kneeling beside her):
"He's gone. But I'm still here. And this thread... it's ours now."
She cried and pulled him into a hug.
Jade (sobbing):
"I love you. Not because you were him. But because you're you."
He kissed her forehead, shaking.
Chase:
"Then let's write our own fate."
VERA TOWER – THAT EVENING
The penthouse was quiet, despite the clinking of wine glasses from the family dining room.
Jade sat with Elise and her estranged cousin, Rhea Vera, who had flown in from London to reconnect. Across the room, Isadora's portrait loomed silently—a reminder of legacy and pressure.
Rhea:
"So this Chase guy... he's the same man, reincarnated?"
Jade:
"No. He's... more complicated than that. He's the same soul, but a different man. And somehow, I love them both."
Elise (softly):
"Then you're brave. Kasi hindi lahat kaya mahalin ang bago habang may anino ng nakaraan."
They all toasted to that.
THE FOLLOWING MORNING – MANILA MEDICAL CENTER
Chase was in the OR. His gloves were bloodied, eyes sharp.
A car crash victim—bleeding out, minutes from death.
Nurse:
"BP dropping fast!"
Chase (firmly):
"Clamp the artery now! No one dies today. Not on my table!"
His voice echoed with command. The staff obeyed. Lives were saved.
As the heartbeat stabilized, Chase stepped back, letting out a shaky breath.
Chase (to himself):
"Not again... No more death today."
THAT NIGHT – ROOFTOP BAR, MAKATI
Jade, Elise, Rhea, and a few friends gathered at a posh rooftop bar to unwind. It was loud, rich, full of light and clinking glasses.
Elise:
"I'm just saying—Chase looked damn good in scrubs. Kahit may dugo pa 'yun, girl!"
Everyone laughed.
Even Jade smiled, though her eyes kept drifting to the horizon.
Rhea:
"You know he loves you, right?"
Jade (quiet):
"I do. But the truth is, I'm still learning how to let go of a ghost."
Suddenly, a familiar song played—"Breathe Again" by Toni Braxton. The same one Lance once sang to her.
Her breath hitched.
Chase arrived moments later, dressed in black slacks and a white linen shirt, eyes searching only for her.
Chase (sincerely):
"May I have this dance?"
She hesitated—but stood.
They danced, slowly.
As they swayed under the city lights, Jade felt something shift. The weight on her chest eased.
Jade (whispering):
"You're not him."
Chase (nodding):
"And I'm okay with that. Because I want to be the man who chooses you every single day. Not because fate demands it. But because I do."
LATER – CHASE'S APARTMENT
The room was dim. Rain tapped against the glass windows. They sat on his couch, barefoot, nursing wine.
Chase (nervous):
"May tanong ako."
Jade:
"Go ahead."
He pulled something from his pocket—a velvet box.
Inside was a ring. Simple. Elegant. Gold. With a red thread loop encased in crystal.
Chase:
"I know we're still healing. I know it's messy. But I'm not afraid anymore. Not of the past, or of fate. Will you marry me—not as Lance's reincarnation—but as Chase Alexander Miller, the man who loves you now?"
Jade's hands trembled.
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
Jade:
"Yes. A thousand times, yes."
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...
