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

many other things to focus on like work, and caring for Elva, that I could

with him now and seeing what he had become, brought all those feelings crashing back into Tome so hard, they stole my breath

+15 BONUS

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

wasn’t that

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

is a mistake, and I intend to

are the only woman who ever dared to break

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 gently closed

Elva continued resting, undisturbed.

hate him.

he liked children. He’d been kind to Elva. He didn’t take any of his misconceptions about me out on

to hate him, but

to my knees beside the couch

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

a

it wasn’t reality. My reality was very far from these golden

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

I

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

my own eyes slid

Excuse me,

open my

nervous official hovered over me. I beg your pardon, miss, but the King Luna, and princes have arrived, I suggest you hurry to the parlor

the sleep from my eye. “Wait,

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

sat up on the couch, watching me with curious eyes. “Is it time for more pretty

is. We have to be quiet

Luna are talking.”

“Okay”

Elva into my

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

The three princes flanked his

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

far, like he was accustomed to

said, calming the crowd and gaining their

your presence and look forward to becoming more acquainted over

Luna leaned in and whispered something in the