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,

all those feelings crashing

+15 BONUS

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

wasn’t that young, innocent

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

is a mistake, and I intend to

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

then out into the parlor. I thought he might

Elva continued resting, undisturbed.

hate him. So

children. He’d been kind to Elva. He didn’t

wanted to hate him,

beside

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

a nice

reality was very far from these

go

I

I was so drained, from the trip, from seeing Nicholas again,

my own eyes

Excuse me,

open my

beg your pardon, miss, but the King Luna, and princes have arrived, I suggest you hurry to the parlor

the sleep from my

he was already disappearing out of the room. He

watching me with curious eyes. “Is it time for

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

Luna are talking.”

“Okay”

pulled Elva into my arms and

atop some type of stage The King

his Luna on one side. The three princes flanked

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

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

calming the crowd and gaining their attention “Congratulations on

for this monumental event. We are very pleased by your presence and look forward to becoming more acquainted over the

Luna leaned in and whispered something in the