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

things to focus on like work, and caring for Elva, that I could successfully distract

brought all those feelings crashing back

+15 BONUS

help but wonder if I was misremembering the past. Maybe he’d never been kind. Maybe I had been too naïve

that young,

I said, adding some bite to my own

is a mistake, and I

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

left 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 as he was, but instead, he

Elva continued resting, undisturbed.

to hate

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

wanted to hate him,

beside the couch where Elva

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

a nice

very far from

was wasting time, staying here. I needed to go home

I

the cushion. I was so drained, from the trip,

my own eyes

Excuse me,

blinked open my

me. I beg your pardon, miss, but the King Luna,

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

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

couch, watching me with curious eyes. “Is

gave her my softest smile. It is. We have to be quiet though, okay? No one

Luna are talking.”

“Okay”

my arms and camed

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

side. The three princes

than he did on the bills in my purse. He was pale with hollowed out cheeks,

far, like he was accustomed

and

We are very pleased by your presence and look forward to becoming

whispered something