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

work, and caring for

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

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so different now that I couldn’t help but wonder if I was misremembering the past. Maybe

I wasn’t that young, innocent

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

is a mistake, and I

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

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

Elva continued resting, undisturbed.

to hate him. So

but he liked children. He’d

to hate him, but I

to my knees beside

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

was a nice

wasn’t reality. My reality was very far from these golden fixtures and expensive

time, staying here. I needed to go home and look for another job, as

I

Elva’s on the cushion. I was so drained,

my own eyes slid

Excuse me,

blinked open my

pardon, miss, but the King Luna, and princes have

my

again, he was already disappearing

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

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

Luna are talking.”

“Okay”

I pulled Elva into my

the royal family was standing atop some

Luna on one side. The three princes flanked

King looked older than he did on the bills in my

his voice camed far, like he

crowd and gaining their attention “Congratulations on

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

and whispered something in the