Where My Love Could Not Reach

It was the fifth year of my engagement to Jake Zimmer.

Just as we were preparing to get married, his first love came back.

Suddenly, every promise he had made to me meant nothing.

Because of her, he began to resent everything I did.

That was when I realized I was nothing compared to the woman he truly loved.

I was tired, so I let go.

I gave them my blessing and walked away from Jake’s life for good.

But then, he changed his mind.

He came back in tears, begging me not to leave.

“Grandma, I’ve made up my mind. I want to call off my engagement with Jake. After your birthday, I’ll leave North City.”

As soon as Madison Spencer spoke those words, Mrs. Cooper let out a long sigh.

“I know Jake’s been out of control lately, and I know you’ve suffered because of it. I’ve seen everything you’ve done for him over the years. I truly believe he cares about you, deep down. He’s just confused. Maybe if you give it a little more time, he’ll come around. Are you sure you want to end the engagement? My birthday is in ten days. Why don’t you think about it a little longer?”

Madison shook her head. Her voice was calm and firm. “The five-year promise I made to you is about to end.”

She had been only seven when her mother married into the wealthy Henderson family, bringing her along like unwanted baggage.

The Hendersons treated her terribly, and her mother only ever told her to behave and be understanding.

On her seventh birthday, they forced her to eat a large amount of seafood, even though they knew she was allergic.

Her reaction was severe. If Mrs. Cooper hadn’t rushed her to the hospital that night, she might not have survived.

It was also Mrs. Cooper who later spoke up for her in front of everyone. After that, life in the Henderson estate became a little less unbearable.

Madison never forgot that kindness.

So when Mrs. Cooper asked her to get engaged to her grandson, Jake Zimmer, to look after him and help him pull through a difficult time, Madison didn’t hesitate.

It was everything she had ever hoped for.

She loved Jake.

But now she finally understood that love could not be forced.

She was tired, and she was ready to let go.

Back in Jake’s sophomore year of college, his girlfriend, Xena Ford, had vanished without a trace. Even her identity records were erased.

Jake couldn’t accept it. He used every connection he had to look for her, but it was as if she had disappeared off the face of the earth.

When all his efforts failed, he broke down. His mental health started to decline.

The Zimmer family couldn’t just stand by and watch their only son fall apart. That was when Mrs. Cooper came to Madison.

“Please,” she had said. “I need your help. Get engaged to Jake. Be the one to bring him back. I'm not asking you to give up your whole life—just five years. After that, if you want to walk away, I’ll support you completely. Consider it a way of repaying me for what I’ve done for you all these years.”

Madison had said yes without a second thought.

Because she was in love with Jake, the eldest son of the Zimmer family.

When Madison first arrived at the Henderson house, Zac Henderson forced her to kneel and fight a dog for food.

Jake stepped in and stopped it. He stood up for her when no one else would.

At school, when someone mocked her for being illegitimate, it was Jake who spoke out and told everyone that Madison was under his protection.

Even when her own mother forgot her birthday, Jake remembered. He brought her a cake and a gift.

Falling in love with Jake felt as natural as breathing.

From the moment he pulled her out of that doghouse, he became the only light in her life.

After they got engaged, Madison treated him like something precious. She took care of him every day and never left his side.

She cherished him as if he were fragile, afraid he might get hurt.

Whatever Jake wanted to do, she supported him without hesitation.

She was most skilled at writing code, but in order to give him the best life she could, she followed the Zimmer family's wishes and pushed herself to study business and help run the company.

To outsiders, she was nothing more than a burden. A calculating girl desperate to marry into wealth. But she didn’t care what they said.

In the second year of their engagement, Jake began to recover. He met a live streamer who looked strikingly similar to Xena and started dating her in public.

When his father refused to invest in the woman's career, Jake turned to Madison. And she agreed to help him.

The entire city mocked her. People whispered that she was blind to the truth, clinging to a man who didn't love her.

Madison still didn’t care. She believed that one day, Jake would finally see her for who she really was and be moved by her love.

Eventually, he did break up with the girl.

He promised Madison that he had finally figured things out. He told her he was done chasing the past and was ready to cherish the person standing right in front of him.

Madison was overjoyed. She truly believed her years of devotion had finally paid off.

For the first time, she thought she was the luckiest woman in the world.

Then, without warning, Xena came back.

From that moment on, everything changed.

Jake took Xena all around North City, from early morning until late at night.

He traveled with her and never even mentioned it to Madison.

If she didn’t call, he could go ten or fifteen days without sending a single message. And when she did call, all she got was impatience and scolding.

Eventually, Madison saw the truth. Everything she had done for him over the years meant nothing.

No matter how long she stayed by his side, she could never compete with the woman he truly loved.

So she made her decision.

She stepped aside and gave them her blessing.

After saying goodbye to Mrs. Cooper, Madison drove home.

The moment she stepped through the door, she heard unmistakable sounds of something intimate happening in the living room.

Her entire body tensed. Still, she couldn’t stop herself from walking in.

On the couch, two people were wrapped around each other, kissing like the rest of the world didn’t exist.

One of them was her fiancé, Jake.

Madison froze, the pain cutting through her chest like a blade.

Xena let out a soft laugh and murmured, “Hooking up in your house is kind of thrilling. But aren’t you worried your fiancée might get upset?”

Jake pulled her closer with a lazy smile. “Why would I be? You have no idea how much she loves me. Even if we went further than this, she still wouldn’t get mad.”

It felt like someone had torn open Madison’s chest. The air rushed in, sharp and cold, leaving her completely hollow.

She let out a bitter, self-deprecating laugh.

“So, because I love him, he thinks it’s okay to hurt me like this?” she thought.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t get angry. She just couldn’t bring herself to be angry with him.

But she was still human. And getting hurt still hurt.

Madison took a deep breath, forced herself to stay calm, and walked into the room with deliberately heavy steps.

The two on the couch didn’t even bother to separate when they saw her.

Jake looked up and gave her an order, like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Xena’s been drinking. Go make her some ginger-infused broth.”

Madison kept her voice calm. “We’re still engaged. If people see you with another woman like this, it could damage the Zimmer Corporation’s reputation. And how do you expect me to explain this to Mrs. Cooper?”

Jake suddenly snapped. “Don’t throw Grandma and my parents in my face. If it weren’t for them pressuring me, I would’ve never gotten engaged to you. I would’ve waited for Xena no matter how long it took.”

It felt like her heart had been crushed into a ball. The pain was so sharp she had to raise a hand to press against her chest.

Jake shot her an impatient look. “You’re fine. Stop pretending. Just make the broth. Don’t make me say it a third time.”

Madison laughed quietly to herself, bitter and numb. She didn’t say a word. She simply turned and walked toward the kitchen.

After Xena disappeared, Jake had turned to alcohol. Madison had gone out of her way to learn how to make a soothing, ginger-infused broth from a chef.

Every time he drank, she made it for him. However long his drinking lasted, she kept making that broth until her skills rivaled a professional’s.

Jake had once promised her that after he sent that live streamer away, she would never have to make ginger-infused broth again.

But now, he wanted her to make it for Xena.

At least it would all be over in a few days.

Madison tuned out the voices in the living room, prepared the ginger-infused broth quickly, and poured it into a bowl. Just as she was about to bring it out, Xena’s voice rang out behind her.

“You didn’t actually think I’d drink something you made, did you?”

Madison turned to see Xena standing there, wearing a smug, mocking smile.

Before she could respond, Xena stormed over, snatched the bowl from her hands, and dumped the steaming broth all over herself. The bowl slipped from her fingers and shattered on the floor.

She let out a sharp cry and clutched her arm, wincing in pain.

A second later, Jake rushed in. “What happened?”

He took one look at the broth on Xena’s clothes and the broken bowl on the floor, then turned to Madison with fury in his eyes.

“If you didn’t want to make it, fine. But why would you go this far? Why would you throw hot broth on Xena? Madison, I never thought you could be this cruel.”

Without another glance at her, he helped Xena up and led her upstairs to change.

Xena looked back at him gently. “Jake, she is your fiancée after all. It makes sense that she’d be upset. Don’t be mad.”

Jake’s anger only deepened. “She knew from the beginning that I loved you. What right does she have to be upset with you?”

Madison stood silently in the kitchen, staring at the mess on the floor.

She listened to their voices fading as they went upstairs.

And in that moment, she finally understood.

Mrs. Cooper had been wrong.

Jake had never loved her. Not even a little.

The moment Xena returned, Madison should have stepped aside instead of staying and becoming the person he despised.

But at least it wasn’t too late to walk away.

Once Mrs. Cooper’s birthday passed, she would leave North City for good and never look back.

After cleaning up the kitchen, Madison went upstairs, ready to rest.

But when she opened the door to her bedroom, she stopped in her tracks.

Xena was lying on her bed, wearing her pajamas.

Jake sat beside her, gently applying ointment to her arm.

When he saw Madison walk in, he didn’t even flinch. “You’ll sleep in the guest room tonight,” he said flatly.

Madison’s voice was tight. “This is my room.”

Jake replied coldly, “Xena should have the best room. You poured hot broth on her. Giving up the room is the least you can do to make up for it.”

He had already decided she was guilty.

Madison gave a bitter smile. “So her wearing my clothes is part of the apology too?”

Jake’s tone turned impatient. “I bought those pajamas. Why are you making a big deal out of one piece of clothing? You just don’t want her here, do you? You want to drive her out.”

He let out a sharp laugh. “Well, too bad. She’s staying. She’s going to live here, every day.”

Xena tugged at his sleeve. “Don’t be like this.”

Jake’s voice softened immediately. “Don’t worry about it. She needs to be taught a lesson.”

Madison looked at him as he leaned in toward Xena on the bed.

The image stabbed through her like a blade.

But she was so exhausted she didn’t want to say another word.

“Did you hear me, Madison?”

She nodded, her voice dull. “Okay.”

Jake blinked, surprised. “What did you say?”

“I’ll get a few things to change into,” she replied evenly.

She walked into the closet.

Jake followed her in, sounding slightly awkward. “Xena’s a guest. And anyway, you did pour hot broth on her.”

Madison didn’t react. She gave a quiet, neutral “Mm.”

Jake snapped, humiliated and furious. “So now you’re throwing a tantrum? I can’t stand it when you put on that dead look, just waiting for someone to beg you to feel better!”

He stormed out of the closet and went back to the bedroom, where he plopped down on the bed and started chatting loudly with Xena, completely unbothered.

“So, where should we go tomorrow? Want to visit the campus? It’s been five years. I wonder if that tabby cat we used to feed is still around.”

Madison finished packing her clothes and stepped out of the closet. As she walked past the hallway, something caught her eye.

Inside a glass display case sat a pair of sapphire earrings.

Jake had given them to her for her birthday after he broke things off with that live streamer.

At the time, he had made her a solemn promise that he would never hurt her again.

If he ever forgot, she only had to take out those earrings and show him. He swore he would remember and change.

But ever since Xena came back, he had broken that promise over and over again.

She figured if she showed him the earrings now, she would only end up humiliating herself.

Madison picked up the earrings and closed them tightly in her palm.

As she passed by the bedroom, she glanced inside.

Xena was leaning in close, whispering into Jake’s ear, one hand resting on his shoulder.

The two of them looked like they were sharing a deep, intimate kiss.

She ignored the sharp pain in her chest and walked away quietly.

Without a word, she dropped the earrings into the trash and stepped into the guest room.