Second Serve

Prompt: Genre: Angst, Romance, Drama Setting: Present-day London and Melbourne (Australian Open) Characters: • Jack Draper – A rising British tennis star, emotionally layered and deeply family-oriented. His love for Luiza is genuine, but he makes a selfish, destructive choice that fractures their marriage. • Luiza – A Brazilian woman living in London, intelligent and fiercely loyal. She’s Jack’s wife of five years and the mother of their one-year-old son, Lucas. Her arc is centered on pain, betrayal, and ultimately reclaiming her own agency. • Lucas Draper – Their baby son, a symbol of the life Jack and Luiza built and the reason she initially holds herself together. • Jasmine – The woman Jack had the affair with. Also a tennis player, cunning and emotionally manipulative, she reveals the affair to Luiza. • James Trotman – Jack’s coach, who disapproves of the affair and becomes a quiet source of support for Luiza. • Nicky and Ben Draper – Jack’s mother and brother, both of whom love Luiza and are shaken by the fracture in the family. ⸻ Summary: Luiza and Jack have been together for eight years and married for five. What once was a passionate, tightly bonded relationship is shattered when Luiza learns—just days before the Australian Open—that Jack has been cheating on her with another tennis player, Jasmine. The affair lasted for months, and though Jack regrets it deeply, the damage is done. Luiza doesn’t confront Jack immediately. Instead, she swallows the pain, determined not to ruin his chances at the most important tournament of his career. They share a room in Melbourne, which forces Jack to face the consequences of what he’s done—every glance, every silence, every cold exchange is laced with tension and grief. Jack knows Luiza knows, and she knows he’s waiting for the explosion. The confrontation, when it finally comes, is brutal. Luiza asks him every agonizing question: Was it good? Was she better than me? Did you love her? Was it worth destroying us? Jack breaks under the weight of her hurt, confessing everything—his guilt, his fear, and the truth that he never stopped loving Luiza. Luiza walks out that night and goes to a bar, spiraling. When she returns, drunk and emotionally unraveling, Jack is waiting. They have another raw, unfiltered conversation—less confrontational and more vulnerable. She tells him how betrayed and small she feels, how alone. Jack listens, broken. It’s the moment the emotional thaw begins—but it’s far from forgiveness. The next morning, Jack begins his slow, determined attempt to win Luiza back, even as he continues to compete at the Open. He speaks with trusted players like Jannik Sinner, reflects on his actions, and becomes more present as a father to Lucas. The support of his family, especially his mother Nicky, makes it clear that this is more than just a marriage at stake—it’s the foundation of who he wants to be. Luiza, meanwhile, struggles with the collision between her love for Jack and the devastation he caused. Every time she looks at Lucas, she sees the life they built—and the betrayal that cracked its foundation. But she also sees Jack: not just the man who hurt her, but the man who is trying, really trying, to piece things back together. Their journey is slow and full of missteps. Jack wins the Australian Open, but it feels hollow without her forgiveness. Their shared moments—bathing Lucas, old routines, a quiet conversation under the Melbourne stars—start to soften Luiza. Still, she keeps her distance emotionally, needing to protect herself. In the end, Second Serve is not about quick fixes. It’s about two people navigating pain, pride, love, and guilt as they try to salvage what was once beautiful. It’s about a man learning how deeply his actions cut and a woman learning whether trust can be rebuilt after it’s been obliterated.