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

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

+15 BONUS

now that I couldn’t help but wonder if I was misremembering the past. Maybe he’d

that

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

and I

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

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

Elva continued resting, undisturbed.

to hate him.

children. He’d been kind to Elva. He didn’t take any of his misconceptions

to hate

knees beside the couch where 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 have been

was a

My reality was very far from

needed to go home and look for another job, as

I

head beside Elva’s on the cushion. I was so drained, from the trip, from seeing Nicholas again, from…

my own eyes

me Excuse me,

blinked open my

King Luna, and princes have arrived, I

from my eye. “Wait, there’s

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

me with curious eyes. “Is it time

my softest smile. It is. We have to be quiet though, okay? No

Luna are talking.”

“Okay”

Elva into my arms and camed her

the parlor, the royal family was standing atop some type of stage

Luna on one side. The three princes flanked

than he did on the bills in

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

and gaining their attention “Congratulations on having

event. We are very pleased by your presence

and whispered something