Chapter 2

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.