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

to focus on like work, and caring for Elva,

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

+15 BONUS

so different now that I couldn’t help but wonder if I was misremembering the past. Maybe he’d never been kind. Maybe I had

that young, innocent girl

adding some bite to my own voice. The hurt made

and

only woman who ever

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

Elva continued resting, undisturbed.

hate him. So

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

sunk to my knees beside the couch where

world, maybe 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

a nice

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

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

I

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

own eyes

me Excuse me,

blinked open my

King Luna,

from my eye. “Wait, there’s been a

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

sat up on the couch, watching me with curious eyes.

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

Luna are talking.”

“Okay”

my arms and camed

was standing atop some type of stage The King stood at

one side. The three princes flanked his other

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

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

said, calming the crowd and gaining their

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

in and whispered something in the