Where My Love Could Not Reach

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.

Early the next morning, Madison got up and began getting ready for work.

As she passed the guest room, she noticed the door wasn’t fully closed. Inside, she could hear Jake murmuring in a daze.

“Madison...”

Without thinking, she pushed the door open.

He was lying on the bed, half-awake, mumbling her name.

Jake’s health had never been the same after the trauma of losing Xena. Searching for her had worn him down, and since then, he had gotten sick easily.

Madison walked over and touched his forehead. Sure enough, he had a low fever.

Just as she turned to get his medicine, Jake suddenly came to.

“Madison, what do you think you’re doing?”

The suspicion and hostility in his eyes pierced her like a knife.

In that moment, she found herself hating her own weakness.

Why was her heart still stirred the moment he called her name?

She had given him her heart, and now it was only fair that he trample it.

She closed her eyes for a second, then calmly said, “You have a fever. Don’t forget to take your medicine.”

Without waiting for a reply, she turned and left the room, heading for her car as quickly as she could.

But not long after, her phone rang.

“Where did you go?” Jake snapped. “I don’t even know where the medicine is, and you just walked out and left me?”

Madison’s tone was even. “The medicine’s in the first-floor storage closet, inside the emergency kit. I have work. And I’m sure Xena can take better care of you than I ever could.”

Jake sneered. “Is that supposed to guilt-trip me? Even if Xena’s not around, the housekeeper could take care of me better than you.”

“You’re probably right,” Madison replied quietly, then hung up.

She spent the whole day at the office, busy with back-to-back meetings.

When she finally stepped out of the conference room, her assistant was waiting, clearly hesitant to speak.

“What is it?” Madison asked.

The assistant looked uncomfortable. “Miss Spencer, during your meeting, Mr. Zimmer and Miss Ford attended a charity auction together. He bid an outrageous amount on a gemstone called “Heart of Sincerity” and gave it to her on the spot. The news is trending everywhere. It’s not reflecting well on you or the company. You once said that anything involving Mr. Zimmer should be reported directly to you.”

Madison had already given up hope, and yet her chest still ached faintly.

After a pause, she replied, “From now on, let the marketing department handle incidents like this.”

Her assistant blinked in surprise, then quickly masked the expression with a flash of sympathy.

She gave a short reply and turned to relay the instruction.

With just two weeks left before her departure, Madison wanted to settle all the company’s affairs properly.

She owed that much to Mrs. Cooper. No matter what, she would leave the Zimmer Corporation in good shape.

She worked late into the night.

But when she returned home, she ran into Megan Henderson.

The moment she saw Madison, Megan burst out laughing.

“Still clinging, huh? Did you see the news? Jake gave Xena a gemstone that symbolizes true love. Looks like you’re getting dumped after all. How does it feel, being the pathetic girl who gave everything and got nothing?”

Madison didn’t understand it.

After her mother married into the Henderson family, her mother had worked hard to erase her presence, sending her to boarding school and never mentioning her in front of the Henderson siblings.

She had been invisible in that house.

She never posed a threat to anyone, never expected anything from the Henderson family.

So why did they hate her so much?

From the bullying and humiliation when she first arrived to the open hostility now, it never stopped.

There had been a time when she fought back.

And the result was a slap from her mother and a look of bitter disappointment.

“Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to survive in this family with you around?” her mother had hissed. “How could you raise your hand to Zac and Megan?”

That was the moment Madison learned her place.

Living under someone else’s roof, she didn’t even have the right to defend herself.

And so she endured for more than ten years.

But now she was about to leave. And suddenly, she didn’t feel like enduring anymore.

Her voice was cold. “Did you finally land that Jackson family heir?”

Megan’s expression turned vicious. “You must be asking for it!”

She raised her hand to slap Madison across the face.

But Madison stepped aside and grabbed her wrist mid-air. Then, without hesitation, slapped her back.

“You vixen! How dare you hit me!” Megan screamed, flailing wildly.

But she was pampered and spoiled, used to luxury, not real fights.

Madison, on the other hand, had been disciplined since she was young, and even now, despite her long work hours, she never skipped a workout.

Once she got serious, Megan didn’t stand a chance.

She was soon curled up on the ground, shielding her head and wailing.

Madison was about to strike again when headlights suddenly swept across the driveway.

Jake and Xena had returned.

“What’s going on?” Jake asked, stepping out of the car.

Megan scrambled up and pointed to the red mark on her cheek.

“I came home late and ran into Madison. All I said was that Xena was back, and she completely lost it and attacked me!”

Madison opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get a word out, a sharp sting exploded across her cheek.

Jake had slapped her.

His hand was still in the air, his eyes dark with disappointment.

“Madison, you know how much I hate women who throw tantrums and act hysterical.”