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

like work, and caring for Elva, that I could

now and seeing what he had become, brought all those feelings crashing back into Tome so hard, they stole my breath

+15 BONUS

if I was misremembering the past. Maybe he’d never been kind. Maybe I had been

I wasn’t that young, innocent

some bite to my own voice. The hurt

and I

woman who ever dared to break up with me. Piper. I’ll never allow the same mistake

the sitting room, and then out into the parlor. I thought he might slam the door behind him, as enraged as he was, but instead, he

Elva continued resting, undisturbed.

hate

children. He’d been kind to Elva. He didn’t take any of his misconceptions

wanted to hate him, but

my knees beside

stayed together, maybe he would have revealed his secret in time. Maybe the three of us could have been a happy little

a nice

was very far from these golden fixtures and expensive

to go home and look for

I

was so drained, from the trip, from seeing Nicholas

my own

me Excuse me,

blinked open my

official hovered over me. I beg your pardon, miss, but the King Luna, and princes have arrived, I suggest you hurry to the

uh.“I rubbed the sleep from my eye. “Wait, there’s been a

up again, he was already disappearing out of the room.

sat up on the couch, watching me with curious eyes.

be quiet

Luna are talking.”

“Okay”

into my arms and

the parlor, the royal family was standing atop some type

one side. The three

bills in my purse. He was pale with hollowed out

voice camed far,

he said, calming the crowd and gaining their attention

presence and look forward to

Luna leaned in and whispered something in