Maya sat quietly in Elias’s guest room, her knees pulled up to her chest as she stared blankly at the wall. The soft hum of the city outside the window felt distant, almost like it belonged to another world. Her heart was heavy. 

Her studio—the one place where she had started to find herself again—was gone. Her dream, her hard work, everything had been tossed out like it meant nothing.

She had tried to be strong for so long. Tried to rebuild her life piece by piece. But now, it all felt like it was crumbling again.

A knock sounded gently on the door, followed by the quiet creak as...