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

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

what he had become, brought all those feelings crashing

+15 BONUS

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

wasn’t that young, innocent

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

a mistake, and

chill ran along my spine. “You are the only woman who ever dared to break up with

out into the parlor. I thought he might slam

Elva continued resting, undisturbed.

hate him.

liked children. He’d been

hate him, but

my knees beside the couch where

child. If we had stayed together, maybe he would have revealed his secret in

a nice

My reality was very far from these golden

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

I

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

own eyes

me Excuse

open my

your pardon, miss, but the King Luna, and

rubbed the sleep from my eye.

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

up on the couch, watching me with curious eyes. “Is it time for more pretty

have to be quiet though, okay?

Luna are talking.”

“Okay”

my

was standing atop some type of stage The King stood at the

Luna on one side. The three princes flanked his

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

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

crowd and gaining their attention “Congratulations on having

your presence and look forward to becoming more acquainted over the coming

and whispered something in the