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

and caring for Elva, that I

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

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

I wasn’t that

I said, adding some bite to my own voice.

mistake, and I intend to

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

out into the sitting room, and then out into the parlor. I thought he might slam the door

Elva continued resting, undisturbed.

wanted to hate him.

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

to hate him, but

sunk to my knees beside the

Elva would have been our child. If we had stayed together, maybe he would have revealed his

was a

My reality was very far from these golden fixtures and expensive

to go home and look

I

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

quickly, my own eyes slid

me Excuse

open my

but the King Luna,

my

up again, he was already disappearing out

up on the couch, watching me with

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

Luna are talking.”

“Okay”

pulled Elva into my

atop some type

Luna on one side. The three princes

on the bills in my purse. He

and his voice camed far, like he was accustomed to public

the crowd and gaining their attention

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

in and whispered something in the King’s