Love's Second Chance novel Chapter 1

Zara Cardellini wanted to surprise Jonathan Xarr on the eighth anniversary of their relationship.

She specially requested a day off from her job at the dance company to visit his company. Little did she expect to hear an unknown woman's voice when she arrived outside the president's office.

"Writing articles is so difficult, Jonathan." The voice sounded demure, with a slight kittenish undertone.

It made Zara stiffen.

Subsequently, Jonathan's voice rang out. "Don't worry. I'll help you."

He spoke with a warm, gentle tone. It was a tone that Zara was once extremely familiar with.

Zara opened the door and entered, only to see that Jonathan wasn't sitting at his desk. He sat on the couch near his desk, and beside him was a young woman in a white dress. He was leaning in to look at the woman's laptop, which made him seem very close to the woman.

When Jonathan realized Zara had entered his office, he froze before standing like nothing was wrong. "What brings you here, Zar?"

Zara didn't respond. Instead, her attention was on the woman, who appeared young. She was probably around 20.

The more she looked at the young woman, the more she felt the latter had a striking resemblance to herself from eight years ago.

Jonathan stepped in to introduce the women when he noticed Zara's gaze. "This is Harper Gavino, Hayden Gavino's younger sister. She's currently interning at our company. Hayden asked me to look after her in his absence."

Zara nodded, suppressing any unsettling sensations she felt. "I came to ask you out for lunch."

Before Jonathan could speak, Harper shot to her feet with excitement. She exclaimed, "Zara? I'm a huge fan of yours!"

Zara was still in a daze, unable to process what had happened.

That was when Jonathan smiled at Harper, who was acting like a fangirl. Only after that did he explain, "Harper used to take ballet classes, too."

Zara was the youngest principal dancer at Yorwick City's ballet dance company. Because of that, many dancers saw her as their idol.

Harper immediately butted in when she heard the two were going out for lunch. "Can I come along?"

Zara would have agreed if this was an ordinary day, but today was her and Jonathan's eighth anniversary.

Before she could say anything, Jonathan patted Harper's head and said, "You little foodie. Come on, then. I'll take you out for a meal."

Zara naturally couldn't decline since Jonathan had already spoken up. So, she flashed a smile and went along with it. "Sure, let's all go."

So, the date went from a meal between two people to three.

…

In the restaurant, Jonathan had strict control over whatever Harper ordered. He seemed oddly responsible for the latter, almost like he was more than a friend or brother. Still, Zara kept mentally making up excuses for his behavior.

Harper pouted upon seeing Jonathan had ruled out over half of what she wanted to order.

Jonathan noticed the former wasn't speaking, so he said, "You can get a milkshake on the way back to the company."

Only then did Harper smile again.

For a split second, Zara felt like she was the unwanted third wheel at what should have been her eighth-anniversary date. She watched in silence as Jonathan took care of Harper in many ways.

She found his actions very familiar. That was because everything he did in that instant used to be specially reserved for her.

…

Zara was 20, and Jonathan was 22 eight years ago. He was a known wealthy heir and womanizer at the time. Meanwhile, she was the campus belle who devoted herself to practicing ballet and was never interested in dating.

They only interacted during Jonathan's graduation ceremony when Zara danced as part of the juniors' farewell to the seniors.

That was when she captured Jonathan's attention, and he began doing the extreme to pursue her.

Zara's parents divorced early on in their marriage. That caused Zara to have an unapproachable personality, and she didn't believe in love. So, she never planned on dating.

Even so, Jonathan was too passionate to resist. He had little patience toward women, yet he was surprisingly determined to be with Zara alone and courted her for half a year.

Jonathan invited Zara out for meals, making it a point to remember the foods she disliked. If she were on her period, he would even order warm, soothing teas for her.

He would show up at all of Zara's competitions. Whenever she won an award, he would be the first to deliver her a bouquet of fresh flowers.

He set off fireworks in the city for her and rejected several other girls because of her. Zara was the only woman in his heart. He only had eyes for her.

Zara's heart wasn't made of steel, so she eventually felt touched by his actions.

Since they started dating, Jonathan stopped his womanizing ways. Their relationship then lasted eight years in the blink of an eye.

…

Zara basked in Jonathan's boundless and meticulous care whenever they went on dates eight years ago. They were now on a date eight years later, but Jonathan's focus was on another woman.

Zara later snapped back to reality.

A waiter brought over some dishes. Alas, he accidentally spilled the hot soup on Harper's arm, causing her to shriek.