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

so many other things to focus on like work, and caring for Elva, that I could successfully distract myself from the pain

him now and seeing what he had become, brought all those feelings crashing

+15 BONUS

that I couldn’t help but wonder if I was misremembering the past.

that young, innocent girl

you want,” I said, adding some bite to my own voice. The hurt made it easier.

a mistake, and

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

turned and left me, then, walking out into the sitting room, and then out into the parlor. I thought he might

Elva continued resting, undisturbed.

to hate him. So

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

to hate him, but I

beside the couch where

Elva would have been our child. If we had stayed together, maybe he would have revealed his secret in time. Maybe the three of

a nice

was very far from these

needed to go home and look for another

I

my head beside Elva’s on the cushion. I was

my own eyes

me Excuse

blinked open

official hovered over me. I beg your pardon, miss, but the King Luna, and princes have

rubbed the sleep from my eye. “Wait, there’s

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

me with

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

Luna are talking.”

“Okay”

I pulled Elva into my arms and camed her

parlor, the royal family was standing atop some type

Luna on one side. The three

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

himself well and his voice camed far, like he was

the crowd and gaining their attention “Congratulations

by your presence

whispered something in the