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

caring for Elva, that I could successfully

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

+15 BONUS

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

I wasn’t that young, innocent

to my own voice. The hurt made it easier.

and I intend

my spine. “You are the only woman who ever dared to break up with me. Piper. I’ll never allow the same mistake to

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

Elva continued resting, undisturbed.

to hate him. So

He might be a cruel, insensitive bastard but he liked children. He’d been kind to Elva. He didn’t

wanted to hate him, but

beside the couch

would have revealed his secret in time. Maybe the three of us could have been a happy little

a nice

very far from these golden fixtures

needed to go

I

was so drained, from the trip, from seeing Nicholas again, from…

my own eyes

me Excuse

blinked open my

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

sleep from my eye. “Wait, there’s been a

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

couch, watching me with curious

my softest smile. It is. We have to be quiet though, okay? No

Luna are talking.”

“Okay”

into my arms

royal family was standing atop some type of stage The

on one side. The three princes flanked

looked older than he did on the bills in my purse. He was pale

his voice camed far, like

crowd and gaining their attention “Congratulations on having

monumental event. We are very pleased by your presence and look forward to becoming more acquainted over

Luna leaned in and whispered something in the