It had been a brutal week for Sue. The demands of her psychology studies felt relentless, each textbook a new weight on her shoulders, each group project a fresh source of anxiety to overanalyze. As she left the library after another exhausting study session, her mind was a whirlwind of theories and case studies, the sterile air of the campus building doing nothing to calm her frayed nerves. All she wanted was to be with Liam, to escape the world of rigid structure and logical frameworks she was so deeply immersed in. She drove to his studio, her anticipation growing with every block that separated her from the campus and brought her closer to his chaotic, beautiful world.

Pushing open the heavy wooden door, the scent of turpentine and oil paint immediately replaced the sterile air she was used to, and the quiet chaos of his space was a stark contrast to the rigid structure of her study groups. There, she was the one organizing, leading, and overthinking every step. Here, she saw Liam, a splash of paint on his cheek, completely lost in a large, unfinished canvas. He didn't notice her at first, his focus absolute as he worked on a bold stroke of crimson. She smiled to herself, a sense of calm washing over her as she watched him exist in a world she often struggled to inhabit—one guided by intuition, not logic.