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

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

and seeing what he had become, brought all those feelings crashing back into Tome so

+15 BONUS

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

I wasn’t that young, innocent

some bite to my own voice. The hurt made

mistake, and I intend

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

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

Elva continued resting, undisturbed.

to hate him. So

He might be a cruel, insensitive bastard but he liked children. He’d been kind

hate him,

to my knees beside

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

a

was very far from these golden

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

I

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

quickly, my own eyes slid

me Excuse me,

open

miss, but the King

sleep from my

already disappearing out of the

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

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

side. The three princes flanked his other

he did on the bills in my

his voice camed far, like he was accustomed to

calming the crowd and

presence and look forward to

Luna leaned in and whispered something in the