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

like work, and caring for Elva, that I could successfully distract myself from the

faced with him now and seeing what he had become, brought all

+15 BONUS

was misremembering the past. Maybe he’d never been kind. Maybe I had

that young, innocent

adding some bite to my own

a mistake, and I intend to

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

turned and left me, then, walking out into the sitting room, and then out into the parlor. I thought he might slam the door

Elva continued resting, undisturbed.

to hate him.

hadn’t slammed that door. He might be a cruel, insensitive bastard but he liked children. He’d been kind to Elva. He didn’t take

wanted to hate him, but I

knees beside the couch where Elva

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

was a

reality was very far from these golden fixtures and

I needed to go home and look for

I

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

quickly, my own

me Excuse

blinked open my

King Luna, and princes have arrived,

my eye. “Wait, there’s been a

disappearing out of the room. He left the door

watching me with

my softest smile. It is. We have to be quiet

Luna are talking.”

“Okay”

pulled Elva into my arms and camed her

family was standing atop some type of

on one side. The

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

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

crowd and gaining their attention

We are very pleased by your presence and look forward to becoming more acquainted over the

whispered something in the King’s