You Are My Sky

The Talk

Skyler pulled her hand away, her eyes filled with hurt. "Because you never tried to make it work! On top of that, you disappeared without a trace, and I had to pick up the pieces on my own."

Irvin sighed, his eyes fixed on the empty space in front of him. Skyler sat opposite him, her heart racing as she waited for him to speak. Finally, he sighed and began to talk.

"Sky, I left because I wanted you to become stronger,” he said, his voice low and measured. You were so vulnerable when I was around. That's not who you are. You're a resilient and independent person. It took me a while to realize that I was the one who made you weak."

Skyler felt a pang of anger at his words. She stood up abruptly, her hands clenched into fists.

"You're wrong!" she said, her voice shaking. "I was just!..." She stopped herself from saying more, trying to compose herself. She took a deep breath and looked at Irvin, her eyes flashing with emotion. "I would rather have you say that you don't love me instead of that lame excuse," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Irvin stood up as well, his eyes still locked on Skyler's. "It's not an excuse," he said firmly. "It was the truth. By the looks of it, you are doing fine without me now, right?!"

Skyler's heart sank at Irvin's words. She had spent years trying to move on and build a life without him. She had convinced herself that she was better off without him. But deep down, a part of her still longed for the love they once shared. And yet here he was, acting like it was all so easy.

....“You’re such a jerk, you know that?” Was all she could say.

The eyes of Irvin twitched, taken aback by what he said.

Her ringtone broke the tension. She quickly answered it when she saw the caller was Ethan. “Ethan, I’m here inside the cafe.”

Irvin narrowed his eyes instantly when he heard a guy’s name.

"Okay, I'll wait for you," replied Skyler before ending the call. She began to gather her things, ready to leave.

“Is somebody else with you?” asked Irvin.

Skyler nodded, putting on her 'wet cement' shoes. When she finished, she said,

“About the offer–”

"I’m not going to withdraw it," Irvin assured her, his voice calm and composed. "Let's focus together on the task at hand."

Skyler met his gaze, her eyes filled with a hint of surprise and disbelief.

“Very well then.”

Just then, Ethan walked into the cafe; his eyes found Skyler and rushed to her.

The expression on Irvin's face changed as soon as he saw Ethan. He remembered him from earlier.

Ethan handed Skyler the inhaler. “Here you go, Mis–”

“Thank you, Ethan,” interrupted Skyler as she quickly put the inhaler inside her pocket so Irvin wouldn’t see.

Ethan was utterly confused but brushed it aside when Skyler gestured for them to go.

Irvin noticed a sudden, quick action between the two but broke his gaze and tried to act casually.

“Oh wait,” said Skyler, nudged Ethan by the elbow “This is Irvin Yun, the film director.” She turned to Irvin. “This is Ethan.”

Irvin was hoping Skyler would say more of Ethan other than just his name. Now he was left hanging, not knowing who Ethan was to her.

Ethan’s eyes instantly locked onto Irvin. So this is the guy who broke Skyler’s heart. He extended his hand reluctantly, shaking Irvin's hand with a forced smile. "Nice to meet you, Irvin. I've heard a lot about your work."

Irvin nodded politely, his gaze shifting between Skyler and Ethan. "Likewise, Ethan. I apologize for not being able to attend the meeting today. I’ve failed to know your specialty."

Skyler cleared her throat and chimed in the void. "Ethan is my editor and also the person who takes care of all the business aspects of my writing career."

Irvin's eyes widened in understanding, and he gave Ethan a nod of respect. "Ah, I see. You play an important role in Sky's success then."

Despite being happy to hear that, Ethan didn't want to show Irvin his appreciation and didn't want to forget why Skyler was sad. "I do my best," he replied curtly.

As Skyler and Ethan left the cafe, Ethan couldn't help but notice that Skyler seemed to be lost in thought. He wondered if everything was okay but didn't want to pry. During the car ride home, Skyler sat silently, staring out of the window. Ethan respected her need for space and didn't say anything, instead focusing on safely driving her home.

As they pulled up to Skyler's house, Ethan turned off the car engine and turned to Skyler, concern etched on his face. "Hey, you doing okay?" he asked gently.

Skyler let out a tired sigh, her gaze fixed on the window. "Yeah, I'm fine," she replied wearily.

Ethan nodded, but he wasn't convinced. "Well, we're here," he said hesitantly.

Skyler snapped back to reality, realizing they had arrived. "Oh," she muttered, unbuckling her seatbelt and exiting the car.

Ethan followed behind. As they walked towards her front door, she suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned to Ethan.

"You know what, Ethan? You should go home for today. I just want to take a nap," she said with a small smile.

Ethan looked at her with concern. "Are you sure? I can stay and keep you company," he offered.

Skyler shook her head. "No, really, it's okay. You should go and enjoy the rest of your day. Plus, thank you so much for today," she said, her smile widening.

Ethan watched as she made her way inside and only left once she had safely entered her home.

Skyler had just closed the door to her basement room, using her back to do so. She felt exhausted and defeated as if she had just fought a losing battle. Slowly, she slid down to the ground, unable to hold back the tears that were welling up in her eyes. Her heart was shattered once again, but this time, it wasn't because of another guy - it was because of the same guy.

Irvin Yun knew exactly how to hurt her, and he had done it again. Skyler cursed herself for still finding it so hard to forget about him, even after all the pain he had caused her. As she hugged her knees tightly, she couldn't help but wonder if she could ever move on from this heartbreak.

...Knock, knock, knock.

There was a moment of shuffling from inside the office until Irvin opened the door.

“Stephen, it’s you.” he said, letting Stephen inside.

"Will told me someone got possessed," Stephen informed him.

Irvin raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"You!" replied Stephen, walking towards Irvin's desk.

Irvin sat down and leaned back in his chair, looking up at Stephen.

"Me?"

Stephen's face contorted into a skeptical expression. As a renowned director, Irvin was known to be extremely particular about the movies he directed, especially the ones that Will found for him. So when Irvin agreed to take on this particular movie, it left everyone puzzled.

"You are usually so picky. So let me ask you this, Irvin." Stephen leaned forward.

“Why Lar. D-Katz?”