Chapter 40

Liv’s POV The night was winding down at the bar, the clink of glasses and soft hum of conversation filling the air. The girls and I had settled into our usual rhythm, chatting about anything and everything. Rose was telling us some wild story about a mishap at the conference she went to, while Lara kept interrupting with her usual sarcastic one-liners. The laughter flowed as easily as the drinks, and for a moment, I could forget about the tension of the day—the confusion, the emotions I was trying so hard to make sense of. I was starting to feel at ease when Lara suddenly stopped mid-conversation, her eyes narrowing in the direction of the door. I followed her gaze instinctively, trying to figure out what had caught her attention. A man had walked into the bar. He wasn’t someone I recognized at first, but there was something undeniably magnetic about him. Tall, well-built, with dark hair that was just a little too messy to be intentional but somehow looked perfect. His sharp jawline an