It’s not true forgiveness if it’s not forgotten

How often do we forget or overlook the mistakes of others after

accepting their apology? Most of the time, we accept the other
person’s apology but we still hold grudges against that person
because it deeply affects us which is truly understandable. It's
probably hard to forget than to forgive and we must understand
it is an internal process of letting go of feelings and thoughts of
resentment, bitterness, and anger. It is not something that we can
do in a minute. It takes time and it's incredibly important for the
offender to give as much time as needed by the other person to
heal.
The true definition of forgiveness suggests that it doesn’t mean
forgetting, nor does it mean condoning or making excuses.
Forgiveness is a choice but forgetting isn’t. Forgiving might free
you from the pain that the other person has caused you. You
basically let go, but you somewhere you know that the other
person is not trustworthy and you try to set and maintain
boundaries in your relationship with that person.
Some people may say you are lying to yourself if you simply
just forget about it, but the truth is that forgetting does not mean
that it is permanently gone. It means you just do not worry about
it at the moment or even try to think about it.
Lewis. B. Smedes has beautifully captured the essence of
forgiveness by saying “to forgive is to set a prisoner free and
discover that the prisoner was you”.