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

like work, and caring for Elva, that I

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

+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

wasn’t that

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

mistake, and I intend to correct

so coldly that a chill ran along my spine. “You are the only woman who ever dared to break up with

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

Elva continued resting, undisturbed.

to hate him.

He might be a cruel, insensitive bastard but he liked children. He’d been kind to Elva. He didn’t take any of his misconceptions about me out on

hate him, but I

sunk to my knees beside the

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

was a

My reality was very far from

I needed to go home and look

I

my head beside Elva’s on the cushion. I was so drained, from the trip,

my own eyes slid

Excuse

open

miss, but the King Luna, and princes have arrived, I

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

disappearing out of the room. He

sat up on the couch, watching me with

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

Luna are talking.”

“Okay”

I pulled Elva into my arms

the parlor, the royal family was standing atop some type of stage The King stood

The three princes

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

himself well and his voice camed far,

and gaining their attention

for this monumental event. We are very pleased by your presence

in and whispered something in