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 the pain of his

and seeing what he had become, brought all

+15 BONUS

was misremembering the

wasn’t that

adding some bite to my own voice. The hurt made

mistake, and I

“You are the only woman who ever dared to

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

Elva continued resting, undisturbed.

hate him.

that door. He might be a cruel, insensitive bastard but 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 I

my knees beside the

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

a

reality was very far

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

I

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

quickly, my own

Excuse

open my

the King Luna, and princes have arrived, I

the sleep from my eye. “Wait, there’s

already disappearing out of the room. He left the door

watching me with curious eyes. “Is it time for more

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

Luna are talking.”

“Okay”

my arms and camed her

standing atop some type of stage The

The three princes flanked his

King looked older than he did on the bills in my purse. He was pale with hollowed

camed far, like he was accustomed to public

crowd and gaining their attention “Congratulations on having

presence and look forward to becoming more acquainted over the

in and whispered something in the