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

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

become, brought all those feelings crashing back into Tome so hard, they

+15 BONUS

was so different now that I couldn’t help but wonder if I was misremembering the past. Maybe he’d never been kind. Maybe I had been too

wasn’t that young,

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

mistake, and I intend

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

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 gently

Elva continued resting, undisturbed.

hate him. So

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

wanted to hate him, but

sunk to my knees beside

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

a

wasn’t reality. My reality was very far from these

go home and look for another

I

was so drained, from the trip, from seeing Nicholas

own eyes

Excuse me,

open my

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

the sleep from my

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

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

softest smile. It is. We have to be quiet though, okay? No one can talk

Luna are talking.”

“Okay”

into my arms

the royal family was standing atop

The three princes flanked

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

far, like he was

he said, calming the crowd and gaining their

your presence and look forward to becoming more

Luna leaned in and whispered