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

so many other things to focus on like work, and caring for Elva, that I could successfully distract myself from

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

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

I wasn’t that young, innocent girl

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

a mistake, and

said, so coldly that a chill ran along my spine. “You are the only woman who ever dared to break up with me. Piper. I’ll never

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

Elva continued resting, undisturbed.

to hate

he liked children. He’d been kind to Elva. He didn’t take any of his

hate him, but

knees beside

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

was a nice

reality was very far from these golden

to go home and look for another job, as

I

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

my own eyes slid

me Excuse

open

pardon, miss, but the King

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

I looked up again, he was already disappearing out of

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

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

Luna are talking.”

“Okay”

into my arms and

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

on one side. The three

in my

camed far, like he was accustomed to

the crowd and gaining their attention “Congratulations on

pleased by your presence and look

and whispered something in the