Love's Second Chance novel Chapter 7

After about half an hour, Hayden's mysterious retreat was finally revealed.

It was just a small hill. However, this place was sparsely populated, and the air was refreshing. It was indeed quite suitable for calming one's mind and taking a walk. While sitting on the hill, Zara could almost see the entire city.

"If only I hadn't developed feelings so early," she thought.

She had always known that Jonathan was a playboy, and she knew very well that old habits died hard. When he repeatedly refused her marriage proposals, Zara should have seen through his character and stopped wasting time on him.

If someone truly loved only another person, they would want to get married to offer the most basic sense of security for themselves and their loved ones. If Jonathan couldn't even manage such a simple thing, then he surely had other ideas in mind.

Zara sat silently, showing no intention of speaking. At this moment, Hayden felt a bit regretful. If he had expressed his feelings earlier and returned to the country to win Zara over, he wouldn't have appeared only after Jonathan had broken Zara's heart.

The only reason he had kept his distance while Zara and Jonathan were dating was that Jonathan was a good friend of his.

But now, Zara and Jonathan had broken up. Furthermore, Jonathan even got involved with his sister, Harper. This, in Hayden's mind, was a sign that he could rightfully pursue Zara.

"Zar, do you regret it?" Hayden asked.

Zara had previously told him not to mention anything about Jonathan in front of her. When she heard him bring up her and Jonathan's affairs, she became a little annoyed.

"Hayden, did what I said just go in one ear and out the other?" she asked, fuming.

This time, Zara was truly upset. But Hayden's intention was to help her sort things out and completely move on from that failed relationship. This way, she wouldn't carry the emotional baggage from her previous relationship into this new one.

Right now, Hayden couldn't shake the feeling that Zara might just be using him to get back at Jonathan. She might not really think that way, but this gnawed at his heart all the same.

Despite Zara's sharp retort, Hayden showed no signs of backing down. His expression remained solemn and composed.

He said, "Zar, I don't want you to keep running away from the issue. Whatever it is between the four of us, whether you want to get back at Jonathan or my sister Harper, we will all have to face each other sooner or later.

"We will run into each other eventually, so we might as well deal with it head-on."

Zara fell silent, realizing that she was wrong to lash out at Hayden. She apologized to him and then sat quietly without saying anything further, not responding to any of his heartfelt suggestions.

Hayden seemed to have anticipated this outcome. He merely glanced at Zara and didn't say anything. He then looked away and sighed heavily, sounding both resigned and permissive. After all, he was just an outsider to her at this point. He understood that he couldn't rush things.

And so, Hayden sat beside Zara sensibly. He pulled a few blades of grass from the ground and began weaving them together.

Since Hayden wasn't speaking, Zara continued gazing into the distance. It wasn't until she grew tired of sitting that she decided to get up and take a walk. She turned to invite Hayden to come along, but something caught her eye immediately.

It was a heart made of grass, with light shining through it. The small heart made from thin grass blades appeared to contain a smaller heart within it when held up to the sun.

Hayden looked at the heart within the heart-shaped grass and said seriously, "If you don't want to open your heart now, then keep your heart inside mine. After all, I've kept my heart hidden for a long time."

Zara looked at Hayden in confusion, and her gaze became more complicated. Hayden's feelings for her were intense, much like Jonathan's had been eight years ago.

The only difference was that Hayden's feelings were built on eight years of love for her. What had Jonathan felt back then? Perhaps he had just wanted to have some fun.

Zara held that heart in her palm and then got up to leave. Hayden watched as the heart disappeared from his hand and felt a fleeting sense of emptiness. Even so, a hint of tenderness appeared in his eyes.

He quickly caught up with Zara and asked, "Where are you going?"

Without turning around, Zara replied, "For a walk."

Upon hearing this, Hayden trailed after her.

Along the path, there were various types of flowers. Since it had rained that morning, some raindrops still clung to the leaves. Instead of having a relaxing walk, Zara found her thoughts and feelings stirred by Hayden's relentless attempts at pursuing her.