The Moon to My Stars [ONC 2023]

Chapter 1

SKYE

The sound of people chattering outside her house was the perfect alarm on an early Saturday morning. Needless to say, Skye wasn't pleased. Rubbing her eyes groggily, she peered out of the window to see what the commotion was about, only to see a group of women downstairs gathered outside her neighbour's house.

From the second floor, Skye could vaguely hear what the ladies were discussing. It certainly helped that they were such loud talkers, especially when they were too engrossed in their conversation to remember that it was only seven in the morning. As they donned activewear with hair neatly tied up in a ponytail or a loose bun, they looked to be the group of ladies who enjoyed brisk walking around the neighbourhood in the mornings.

"That must be the president's son. Maybe a secret one! He's so secretive."

"He could be a celebrity!"

"Hey, why would a celebrity live here?"

"Why not? What's wrong with our little neighbourhood?"

"Nothing. It's perfect. I just don't think anyone rich and famous would live here."

"That's why they'd be here, where people least expect them to be!"

Skye raised an eyebrow. Why would they suddenly start wondering about the identity of the new guy next door? She had had days of peaceful and quiet mornings, so why would they suddenly gather outside and fill the early morning air with their talking?

Changing out of her pyjamas and into more presentable attire, Skye dashed down the stairs and through the front door to join the gossip. As a victim of their chatter, she surely didn't want to contribute to the neighbourhood's unwanted alarm. "What happened? What's the buzz?" she asked in a normal speaking volume, hoping to get the others to subconsciously quiet down.

"The guy just left his house in a car," Flora replied. She waved her hands in the air to form an imaginary rainbow in front of her face. "with tinted windows!"

"We were walking through this street when we saw him leave!" Kelly chirped. "We found it strange because no one uses tinted windows. Not here, at least. Why is he so secretive?"

Skye scratched her head. "Maybe he doesn't like people looking at him when he's driving," she suggested. Of course, she also found it strange. As far as she knew, the only people who used cars with tinted windows were celebrities or the incredibly wealthy for the sake of their safety, particularly from the paparazzi. Their cars could even be bulletproof!

Penny shrugged. "Well, I guess we'll never know. Come on, ladies! We have to move!" She clapped twice and led the way to continue their daily brisk walking. As quickly as they had arrived to wake her up, they disappeared.

With that, Skye headed back into her house. Her new neighbour had moved in a few days ago. However, during the renovation of the house, the ones who visited to check on the progress were an elderly couple. Where did this young man come from? Could he be their grandson? But where were the elderly couple? She remembered welcoming them to their town, and they had thanked her, so she was certain they were her new neighbours.

Skye prepared a cup of coffee with the machine and opened her laptop to work on her next bestseller. At the age of seventeen, she published her debut romance novel. She hadn't expected it to become popular in a short span of time, earning her a decent income and the motivation to make writing her full-time job. Ten years into her career, Skye Rowland had six published books to her name, all of which were romances. As a romantic, she loved writing stories of two people finding love despite never being in a relationship herself. Reading was her secondary experience in love.