“Place the canvas by the window,” Evelyn said, her voice flat but clear as she pointed to a wall still half-painted. “I want natural light to touch the first painting we’ll display.”

The technicians and decorators helping her quickly moved to follow her directions. The new studio was still in its final stages—an open space filled with the scent of fresh paint, wood dust, and scattered sketch papers waiting to be sorted.

Evelyn stood in the middle of the room. Her posture was upright, composed, yet her eyes were hollow. It had been two weeks since she ended things with William. Since then, not a single call or message had...