Jasel Corporation has been the top book publishing company in Manila for three years since its founding date. It is supported by the Salvador Company, since its founder and owner has been a Salvador heir, the famous Viel Salvador.
Viel Salvador is a handsome bachelor and a successful self-made billionaire even if he came from a billion-dollar worth family.
Viel Salvador had started his own company with minor help from his family. He had worked as a manager, carrier, and delivery man before founding the publishing company.
His publishing book has published tons of popular books that are gems in a different genre. One of his famous authors under his company is Kaitlyn Mercedes who was a former journalist at a magazine company.
As for now, the two together with other authors are at their press conference regarding the upcoming book of Kaitlyn Mercedes who might be released on December 18.
"Question for Mrs. Kaitlyn Mercedes! Is it true that your upcoming novel is based on a true story?" The reporter asked the author.
"It is inspired by the love story of my friend and until now, I am hoping for their happy ending." Kaitlyn answered the question smartly while trying not to make eye contact with her boss.
"Question for Mr. Viel Salvador! Is it true that you have a secret child?" Another reporter asked the boss.
Viel frowned at the reporter as he was shocked by his question.
"I do not have a secret child." He answered.
"Another question, your parents have been seen in the United States. There are rumors that you keep your ill child there. Is that true?" The reporter insists.
"The rumors are not true." He answered dryly and exited the press conference.
He drank his mineral bottle of water. He still follows her rules. She told him not to drink anymore and he did. The one his parents were visiting in the United States is not his secret child, it was Jasmine who is still having therapies.
For these years that have passed, he still has not stolen a glance at her. Every time he calls her, she kept forgetting his name. It hurts him.
He dialed her landline number and was greeted by Dave.
"Hello, Viel." Dave greeted him.
"How is she?" He asked him not even trying to contain his excitement hearing her voice.
"Jasmine, Viel is calling. He wants to talk with you." He heard him call his Jasmine.
"Viel? Who is that?" He paled as he heard her mutter his name in confusion.
"Your boyfriend." Dave told her.
"I have a boyfriend?' She asked him.
"I do not want to talk with him. I do not even remember him." Jasmine whispered at Dave but enough for Viel to hear her.
"Jasmine!" Dave softly shouted at her.
"David. He might hear you. Shh!" Jasmine quietly scolded him. Viel heard everything, he bites his lips as he notices that Jasmine even forget Dave's name.
"I am sorry Viel, but she is busy reading." Dave tried to cover her.
"I heard everything. It looks like she can't also remember your name. I will call again later." Viel told him and ended the call.
He headed back to his office and found Liane, Santhe's daughter, and her father playing on the sofa while waiting for him. He sneakily grabbed one of the children's books and put it in a paper bag and gave it to Liane.
"Book!" Liane told his father excitedly and started reading it.
"I should have named her Belle. She loves reading, I might just build a library for her instead of a playhouse" Santhe told his friend.
"Yeah, clearly she did not inherit that from you." Viel teased his friend.
"Yeah, by the way. Herles's wife, Channel, is currently in labor for their first child. When do you plan to marry and have kids?" Santhe asked him.
"I am still waiting for my queen." Viel told him.
"How is she? And is Monica bothering you again?" Santhe asked him again with concern in his tone.
"She still forgets me, but she did not suffer from headaches from time to time anymore. As for Monica, our last conversation was when I had known that she was the one who recommended me." Viel told his friend while he reviews his documents before signing them.
"Is that so? I do not want to be negative but what if Jasmine finds someone new in the US? What if she falls in love with Dave?" Santhe asked his friend with a worried expression.
"Dave and Hannah are together. Besides, Dave always tells Jasmine that I am her boyfriend." Viel tried to calm himself.
"If you say so, but when will you guys meet again? Auntie and Uncle are already old. You and Jasmine should get married already beside you are already a successful businessman." Santhe encourage his friend.
"We have decided that they will come back to the Philippines and meet each other at the annual celebration of Jasel Publishing Company." Viel told his friend and closes the documents.
"Are you nervous?" Santhe asked his friend.
"Of course, I am. Every night since she left for treatment, I could not stop thinking what if she does not want to be involved with me anymore? I am nothing but a stranger for her." He confessed and stare at Jasmine's photo in his wallet.
"I never expected that I and Herles would have children before you. We always thought you will be the first one to build a family." Santhe commented and sipped his tea.
"Same here."
"Would you tell her everything or keep it a secret? About why she had developed amnesia?" Santhe asked him.
"I would tell her everything. I would not keep a secret from her again. I did it once and I regret it." Viel confessed and stare at jasmine flowers beside his desk.
As he heals himself from his guilt. He had realized the mistakes in his actions before. He had taken advantage of her amnesia to keep everything a secret which he should not have because as her partner; he should have helped her and been brave to face everything. He should have taken the responsibility and not run away from it.
Viel sighed as he had realized everything too late, and he knew; he must prove himself once again to have her and this time with no secrets.
In the United States, a lady is currently reading her favorite novel by Kaitlyn Mercedes. A famous author in the Philippines. She could not help the smile on her lips as she finished another chapter.
Her brother Dave told her that the author knew her personally and is a great friend to her together with Marilyn and Hannah. She may forget their names from time to time but when she saw them, their faces, she feels the familiarity of comfort and happiness.
She sighed as she declines to talk with Viel, who Dave describe as her boyfriend. The name does not ring a bell to her. She is still hesitant if she would meet with him at Jasel's annual celebration. Maybe if she met him, she would remember him, she does not know.
"Jasmine, it's time for your therapy." The guy called her once again. She squinted her eyes as she tried to remember his name.
Was it Damien? Or David? Dave?
"I am Dave. Your therapist is already in the living room waiting for you." Dave told her as he notices that she forgets his name again.
"Thanks." Jasmine told him and hugged him. She headed to the living room to consult her therapist.
"Hello, Jasmine. Do you remember my name?" The therapist asked her.
Jasmine took a few seconds and nodded at her.
"Mrs. Lee? Am I right?" She asked her to be sure.
"Yes, you are. How are you since our last session?" Mrs. Lee asked her with a smile on her face.
"I am fine. I do not suffer from severe headaches anymore." Jasmine excitedly informed her and grabbed a sweet one at the table. She feels so comfortable with her, Mrs. Lee became her only friend in the US.
"That is good news. Do you still forget most of the time, your friends' names?" Mrs. Lee asked her once again.
Jasmine scratches her nape as she smiled at her in embarrassment.
"No need to be shy." Mrs. Lee assured her.
"I tend to forget their names, but I could remember it also or like called them a name that has similar pronunciations with their true names." She explained.
Mrs. Lee smiled at her as she finds her patient amusing.
"Do you keep your diary with you?" She asked her.
Mrs. Lee asked Jasmine to write everything that happens to her day by day in her journal so that she could read and remember the happenings in her life.
"Yeah." Jasmine told her but not with a soft voice.
"Do you read it?"
"Yes, I do. But not like before that I need to read it every day. If I feel like I forget something. I read it." Jasmine confessed and smiled shyly at Mrs. Lee.
"That is okay, but you need to read your diary every day. Do you want to play some games?" Mrs. Lee asked her.
"Sure!" Jasmine gladly accepted the offer and put down her book beside her table.
Mrs. Lee arranges the game board and its pawns.
"We are playing chess for today." Jasmine exclaimed as she helps her therapist arrange their game.
"Yeah. We are. Could you beat me though?" Mrs. Lee asked her.
"I will try."
As the two are playing. Dave secretly watches them and records their game. He smiles as he also notices the improvements made by Jasmine.
They tend to practice Jasmine's memory by playing memory games and having her read her diary. For Dave, these approaches are actually paying off for he lives with her and witnesses the improvements in her memory day by day.
As he ended recording the video. He sent this to Mr. and Mrs. Salvador. He smiled once again as he remembers every time the old couple visited them. The old couple treated them as if they were their children.
He also decided to email Viel, to assure him regarding Jasmine. Dave is aware that she did not remember him, and she thinks of him as a stranger. However, he also knew that there is a possibility that once Jasmine sees his face, she might find him familiar. Her heart might remember him.
Back to Jasmine and Mrs. Lee. The therapist smiled as she was beaten by Jasmine in their game of chess. She could not contain her happiness as she proves to herself that her patients who could not remember anything now have beaten her in a game of chess where they base it in the use of memory.
"I won." Jasmine said softly.
"I won!" She yelled in happiness and grabbed her diary and write what just happened.
While Jasmine writes in her diary. Dave seated at the vacant sit in front of Mrs. Lee and asked her a few questions.
"Mrs. Lee, do you think we could go back home for good? I am just worried that her amnesia might be worsened if she felt overwhelmed by meeting dozens of people she knew before." Dave told the therapist.
"She is ready, but she still needs to continue her therapy to prevent her suffering from severe headache." Mrs. Lee informed Dave.
"Will it be okay for her if she changed therapist?"
"Yes, it is. But to make sure that her new therapist will know exactly what to do. I suggest Ms. Salazar. She is an incredibly good and hands-on therapist." Mrs. Lee told him.
"That is good. Actually, Ms. Salazar was her therapist before, but she could not follow the proper process because of some people who had forced her to remember her memories." Dave confessed.
"Do not force her and make sure that she follows the proper process. That might be the reason why she had developed anterograde amnesia. Let her be ready to remember everything and follow Ms. Salazar." Mrs. Lee scolded him and drank the juice Dave had offered her.
When their session had finished, Mrs. Lee hugged Jasmine as this will be their last session and she will pass her on to Ms. Salazar. Jasmine hugged her back and promise to inform her once she heals from her amnesia.
A few days later, Dave had contacted someone and began to process their visa to go home to Spain. As for Jasmine, she could not contain her excitement, a part of her wants to see her friends physically while a part of her, her heart, misses someone and is excited to see him again.
"We are going home the day before the event." Jasmine heard Dave talking to someone over the phone.
"Who was that?" She asked him.
"Viel Salvador, your boyfriend." He said and Jasmine does not know why her heart suddenly beats so fast.
At first, she was always annoyed by that man but as time passes by to the day they will go home. She could not explain the exact reason but a part of her wants to see him.
"I will remember you even if you might completely forget about me." She shed a tear as she hears a man's voice from her head.