The Luna Choosing Game

Chapter 0269

No sooner had we all sat down, then Terry stretched his arm across the back of my chair. He leaned into me enough to whisper, “Should we make those two brothers jealous, Piper?” He reached up, snatched a loose strand of my hair, and tucked it behind my ear. His fingers lingered on my cheek.

I wanted to turn my entire body inside out to get away from that touch. “I think we should just focus on dinner.”

“Is that any way to treat the man who controls your entire future?” Terry asked.

I gave him a confused look.

His smile added teeth. “You had a poor showing at your last event, didn’t you? I know how important this one is to you and your standing. To dear little Elva, who is always so sickly. You want to stay in the contest, yes? To keep her healthy and happy?”

My stomach churned in disgust. I hated that he was right. I wanted to pull away, but I couldn’t. Not yet.

“Uncle,” Julian said sharply. “The cameras are waiting for your introductory speech. Unless you want me to cover for you…”

twitched. Julian hit him where it hurt. Terry would never miss an opportunity to steal the limelight. His arm retracted from my cheek. His other

waited for the cameras to zoom in on him. “Thank you to all my honored guests, for joining me this evening. I have followed the competition with

tonight is an event to be judged, I hope you will each

looked down at me. I did my best to avoid his gaze without

lifted his

me lifted our glasses as well, then took a sip. The taste of champagne wasn’t as good as I remembered, reminding me too much of when Terry

was not going to drink

nearby guests without paying me much attention. It was only as the entre arrived, after

to die for.” He speared a piece of the meat and held

the attention of several nearby candidates and the cameras. The candidates gave me pitying looks. The cameramen moved in closer.

it was akin to accepting his advances. If I rejected, it would be like a slap in the face. I might as well show myself out now for how much standing I would lose,

clenched my stomach, ignoring the way disgust swirled within it,

leaned forward, closed my eyes, and accepted