The Luna Choosing Game

Chapter 0443

“Hi, Piper!” Susie said, suddenly rushing past me. “Bye, Piper!” She took the stairs of the stage.

Bridget’s gaze never left mine. She didn’t say anything more, just winked at me, then turned to follow Susie up the stairs.

I stared after her for a few long moments, shaken inside and out. Just what had Bridget meant by that? A true kiss of passion, she’d said. With Nicholas?

No. I couldn’t believe it. Nicholas had said he won’t kiss anyone he didn’t want to, and I couldn’t let Bridget’s words shake my faith and trust in him.

But what if Bridget was someone he wanted to kiss. The lights of the stage could be intoxicating, and Bridget was a good actress. If anyone could convince a man to kiss her, it would be Bridget.

My stomach twisted into tight knots. Maybe I shouldn’t watch at all. Maybe I should just return to the sitting room with Elva and wait for Susie to tell me what happened.

Yes, that was what I would do. Decided, I turned away from the stairs, only to notice a figure lingering at the other side of the backstage, half in shadow. No one really went to that side, since this side was far more convenient.

Yet I recognized that shadvenient

Julian.

My worries dimmed a little under the wave of determination that rolled over me now. I still needed to talk to him, and here he was. We could speak privately there, and an escape would not be easy for him.

Resolved, I started toward him.

Onstage, the scene began, with Bridget talking to Susie. Susie delivered her one line. Her voice trembled with obvious fear, yet she still managed to say the words. I was proud of her. I would tell her later. But for now…

“Julian, we need to talk,” I said.

Julian didn’t even glance at me. His eyes were glued to the stage.

said, more

Did he just shush

of the stage.

I got it. He wanted to watch this scene as much as I wanted to avoid it. Was he some kind of masochist? Liked the pain? Or was this way of dealing with the potential rejection? Did he need to see Bridget and Nicholas interact

way, if this was what he felt he needed.

+15 BONUS

annoyed though, and wouldn’t put it past him to try to sneak away again. So I reached out and clenched his wrist in a vice grip. If he wanted to escape me, he’d have to break my hold. That would be much

was sharing romantic words with Bridget. The scene made my stomach clench no matter how many times I

than before. It wasn’t like him to not be quick with a grin and a quip.

truth about what happened last night, I would still want to talk to him, to find

“Julian…” I whispered.

Piper,” he said, still not looking at me. “I’m watching

my mouth again. He really

meant I had to

the stage, it was time for the kiss. Beside me, Julian tensed. I tensed too, holding onto his arm for

see Nicholas’s face from here, only Bridget’s. She looked up at him with such pure devotion in her eyes. She was a great actress, but I wondered if not all of that

so slowly, they leaned

caught in my

No. Don’t.

last moment, Nicholas turned his head and

rush of relief

him, pressed herself

began to wildly cheer. So much

over mine, and I realized how tightly I was holding him. Still, I couldn’t

He looked like a statue, unmoving. When Bridget pulled back, smiling, he knocked away her hands then stormed off the stage.

moment. But then she corrected herself. She