#Chapter 44 – Unresolved

Olivia's POV I leaned over my desk at Lunera Beauty, meticulously arranging the new ingredients. Each scent was another piece of the puzzle, something I could control. Unlike… everything else in my life right now. This project – this formula – was my grounding force, something truly my own, and today, I was going to pour everything into it. The small lab space around me was quiet, yet my mind was anything but. Images from the past week flooded my head: Isabella’s return, her doe-eyed looks at Ethan, and the way he’d tensed at her name. The thought of her was an itch I couldn’t scratch. With each tool I picked up, the jealousy I’d tried to brush off just simmered, rising like a bruise that just wouldn’t heal. A gentle knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts. “Liv, everything okay?” Mia asked as she slipped in, her eyes flicking from my scattered notes to my hands gripping a tool with white knuckles. “You seem... tense.” I gave a tight smile, trying to focus back on