Chapter 45: Artistic Breakthrough

The pungent smell of acrylic paint and turpentine lingered in the air throughout Olivia's studio as soft classical music played from the weathered speakers. Sunlight poured through the big windows, casting a warm hue over the many canvases thrown about the room. At her easel, Olivia held a brush in her hand—that portal to her lost world of color and emotion. Before her, the canvas was a riot of color, with bold strokes of yellow and orange breaking through swirls of deep blues and purples. Unlike anything she had done before, it was pulsing with new energy and hope that were reflections of the changes themselves. Olivia was so absorbed in her work that she didn't hear the knock at the door or the sound of it opening. It wasn't until a familiar voice called out that she was jolted from her artistic reverie. "Liv? You in here?" Olivia glanced up as Mark stepped into the room, silhouetted with a limp brown paper bag in one hand and a tray of coffee cups in the other. Then his eyes roa