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 distract myself from the

had become, brought all those feelings crashing back into Tome so

+15 BONUS

so different now that I couldn’t help but wonder if I was misremembering

wasn’t that

adding some bite to my own voice. The hurt made it

is a mistake, and I intend to correct

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

into the parlor. I thought he might slam the door behind him, as enraged

Elva continued resting, undisturbed.

wanted to hate him.

slammed that door. He might be a cruel, insensitive bastard but he liked children. He’d been kind

hate him, but

to my knees beside the couch where

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

was a

very far

to go home and

I

Elva’s on the cushion. I was so drained, from the trip, from seeing Nicholas again, from…

quickly, my own

Excuse me,

blinked open

pardon, miss, but the King Luna, and princes have arrived, I suggest you

my eye. “Wait, there’s

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

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

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

Luna are talking.”

“Okay”

my

family was standing atop some type of stage The King stood at the

The three princes flanked his other

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

voice camed far,

said, calming the crowd and gaining their

pleased by your presence and look forward

and whispered something in