Chapter three; Skyla’s pov

It’s been three hours since my whole life went up in flames, three hours since I became homeless, bankrupt, and helpless

Three hours since my breakup with Steve, three hours since my fallout with my best friend, and three hours since my encounter with him. The past darned hours have been the worst miserable hours of my life.

I sat curled up on Ed's couch, my arms wrapped tightly around my knees. The ticking of the clock is a cruel reminder of how my life had crumbled in the span of a single evening.

“I give you a day off, and in just three hours you’ve managed to wreck your whole life, career. Heck, you are the most talked about on the Internet. Sky, what the hell happened?” Ed yells, the veins on his forehead popping as he paces the length of his tiny apartment in frustration.

The soft chime of his rickety dishwasher reverberates through the thin walls.

I could hear the frustration in his words, I could even taste the anger at the tip of my tongue, but all I could bring myself to do was to stare at the wooden floor boards, yet the hot steady stream of tears rolling down my face reminded me that this nightmare was real.

“Why do I always get the short end of the Stick Ed?” My voice cracks. “Why am I the only one who ends up hurt?”

Ed exhaled sharply, and dropped onto the couch beside me. “ Sky, why the hell did you give Steve access to your accounts? And why...” He turns to face me, his coffee brown eyes sharp with disbelief. “ Why did you put his name on the house? It is common sense Sky”

I sniffled, letting out a shaky breath as I thought of the words to say. “I thought he loved me, we were always planning our future Ed, and I didn’t want him to feel some type of way Ed, I trusted him with my everything, my life.... I am so stupid”

Ed sighed, rubbing his palms down his fac. “You know what, Sky, why don’t you shower? Get some rest, and we would figure this out tomorrow, Sky. I promise you we would find a way out of this” he rubbed small circles les across my exposed back, his warmth grounding me for a moment.

But then.....

“He is back Ed” I whisper softly.

I felt his hands still across my spine almost immediately, hot laboured breathes, escaping his nostrils.

“That is not possible, Sky. we vanished off the face of earth like his father wanted, right? Right?”

I swallow hard, already regretting the words i was about to utter, but with what Ed and i had been through, we already promised not to keep secrets.

“ I saw him tonight” and he hates me. He thinks I betrayed him Ed, he.... he mentioned something about dating his younger brother for six years, Ed. I am so confused” I whisper quietly, shaking my head frantically. “I don’t understand what he meant?”

Ed’s face darkened, his palms curled into a tight fist. I was worried he might cut off his blood flow. “ Sky.... if Xavier finds out that you are here..... I mean, after all these years” he mumbled, running his hands through his hair aggressively.

“I don’t know what to do, Ed,” I admitted, my fingers trembling. “I swear he’s got it all wrong, and he wouldn’t even let me explain.”

Ed stood up abruptly. “ Like I said shower, sleep we would deal with this tomorrow”

I nodded numbly and turned towards the dimly lit hallway before I could take any step.

“Are you still trying to reach Steve?” He asked, his voice tight with several emotions. He was never really a fan of Steve’s

I slowed in my tracks, slowly rubbing my palm against the length of my other hand. “He won’t answer.” My lips trembled, fresh set of tears cascading down my face. “ First, he cheats on me and then blames it on me, expecting me to understand. Then he takes everything.... and now.... I... I have nothing “ I mutter, my voice breaking slightly at the end.

“He did what?” Ed screeches in alarm, the intensity of his voice causing me to flinch back a little.

“He and Tanya are having a baby” I say, my bottom lip quivering aggressively as I try to get a wrap of the emotions that seemed to be rushing through me at once

Ed looked livid, like he wanted to throw something. “ That bastard.” He hissed, a low growl escaping his lips.

“Take a shower Sky, we would sort through everything with a clear head tomorrow I promise” he mutters, my hair muffling half of his words, as he drops a slight kiss in the centre of my head.

“Thank you, Ed... for everything” I whisper, slowly getting up, a queasy sensation crawling through my stomach.

He inhales a sharp intake of breath, the pity swirling through his warm coffee brown eyes startling. “You’re welcome, Sky. we would get your stuff from the old house tomorrow.

“Oh no, this can’t be happening, right now” he practically yells, his screams stopping me dead on my tracks as I slowly turn around to face, dreading every single moment.

His phone screen illuminated his face, his jaw twitching in anger as he read whatever was on it.

“What?” I ask, my voice is barely above a whisper, and I don’t know if he heard me or not.

“You no longer have a contract with any publishing house.” He ground out . “All your books have been put on hold. The book tour next week? Cancelled.”

“Wait Why?” I ask, faltering in my step as I rush over to where he seats, his agitation slowly rubbing off on me.

Ed squeezed his eyes shut. “Apparently, there’s a video of Tanya saying you coerced her into taking her books, something about you not being the real owner of the books you published?” He groans.

I let out a bitter laugh, fisting my palms tightly. I clenched my fists so hard I felt my nails digging into my palms.

Now I knew why Xavier asked me to buckle up

That conniving scheming thwart.

Tanya and Steve hadn’t just betrayed me. They were joining hands with the devil to destroy me.

“ Aargh.....

I let out a slow, shuddering breath. My hands trembled, but this time, it wasn’t from sadness, but pure unbridled rage.

“I am screwed Ed” I muttered, angry tears cascading down my face, the emotions that seemed to be raging through me unexplainable .

“Yeah right, we are both screwed” he scoffed