The Luna Choosing Game

“How long did you wait, Piper? A week? Two? It couldn’t have been long.”

He sounds like he’s jealous. Or was that an illusion? He doesn’t care about me and is just mad at me.

Maybe the latter is more logical.

His dark eyes burned into me, leaving my heart in scorched tatters. Never in a thousand years would i

have thought Nicholas would be so vicious to me.

“It wasn’t like that.” I said, to try to defend myself.

He crossed his hands over his chest. He wasn’t going to listen to me,

“Why even come here?” he asked me.

“My application was selected…”

“Why even apply? Were you trying to get to me?”

“No,” I said.

“Maybe you regret your child’s father. Maybe you want me back.” He laughed once, bitterly. “Like you

have a chance.”

The words sliced into me as surely as if he’d been holding a knife. He had changed since I’d known him.

Three w

years ago, he’d been kind and patient. I’d given him my heart and he’d gently cradled it. So many

nights, we’d laid under the stars, trading kisses and stories.

Once, when he’d spent all night looking at me, I had told him, “You’re missing the

starlight.”

He’d replied, “I can see it in your eyes.”

The man before me now was nothing like the one I had known. The man here was arrogant, indifferent. and imposing in how he carried himself.

Breaking up with him had never been something I wanted to do. It hurt me still, thinking upon it, so I had tried to push it to the back of my thoughts

for Elva, that I could successfully distract myself from

faced with him now and seeing what he had become, brought all those feelings crashing back into Tome so hard, they

+15 BONUS

couldn’t help but wonder if I was misremembering

wasn’t that

adding some bite to my own

and I intend to correct

ran along my spine. “You are the only woman who ever

walking out into the sitting room, and then out into the parlor. I thought he might slam the door

Elva continued resting, undisturbed.

to hate him.

that door. He might be a cruel, insensitive bastard but he liked children. He’d been kind to Elva. He didn’t take any of his

wanted to hate him, but I

sunk to my knees beside the couch where Elva

would have revealed his secret in time. Maybe the three of

a

My reality was very far from these golden fixtures and expensive

wasting time, staying here. I needed to go home and

I

Elva’s on the cushion. I was so drained,

quickly, my own eyes

Excuse me,

open my

King

rubbed the sleep from my eye. “Wait,

again, he was already disappearing out of the room. He left the door

the couch, watching me with curious eyes. “Is it time for more

We have to be quiet though, okay? No one can talk when

Luna are talking.”

“Okay”

into my

the parlor, the royal family was standing atop

Luna on one side. The three princes

the bills in my purse. He was pale with hollowed out cheeks,

camed far, like

he said, calming the crowd and gaining their attention “Congratulations on having

are very pleased by your presence and look forward

in and whispered