The Luna Choosing Game

Chapter 0622

The butler showed me to Susie's room, and then quickly excused himself outside of her door. When he was gone, I knocked.

"Go away!" Susie called in a watery voice. She was crying.

I knocked more insistently as I pushed open the door.

*I said -* she started, cutting herself off she say me. "Piper?"

"Hi, Susie," I said.

"Oh, Piper!" She was sitting at her desk, the tears running down her cheeks. As I entered the room, closing the door behind me, she jumped from the chair and ran to me.

We shared a hug. Relief flooded through me.

I stepped back after a moment, to look her over. She didn't seem too worse for wear. Other than the crying, she didn't show any signs of abuse or neglect.

"What are you doing here?" Susie sniffed. "I'm sure word has gotten around by now."

*Rumors don't matter. Come back to palace."

*If you've heard the rumors, you know why I can't."

"Everyone will forget, the moment you appear. They'll all just think it's gossip and it won't matter," I say. "Since Jessica is the only other contender for Joyce, you wouldn't even have to face elimination."

*Piper," she sounded so sad. "I can't come. It's just not rumors. My parents... They know the truth about me."

*How could they?" I asked. She wasn't showing yet. Sure they might suspect, but to have real proof?

"I told them," Susie said.

I startled, speechless.

"I didn't want to lie anymore about any of it," Susie said. "I don't want to have to pretend to have feelings for Joyce, when the only one I really want is Mark."

my pocket near doubled, and I regretted holding it back even this

They are down in the sitting room with your parents,"

wouldn't have let him inside, he would have scaled the walls and

laughed a little at

stop him before he did anything drastic. Nicholas had a plan, as he always does, that his arrival at your door might open the way. My presence was required for this. It is, after all, more likely they'd let

"True."

parents knew who I

blushed a little. "I talk about you often. You were my

Though how much it hurt to hear she had

me to give you this." I held my palm out with the ring sitting

at

overdue," I told her. "He wants to ask you

to inspect it. She touched it with only her fingertips, treating it as a precious, rare, fragile

features. Then, in the next, she began to

said. "And even if they did. Or even if that didn't matter to me, Mark would be throwing his whole life away with this. He can't be

way to get it to work. If this is what you want,

at the ring for another minute or

to see him,"

nodded and we both headed for the doorway. With Susie leading, we didn't need the

Susie slid the ring onto her finger. I couldn't help my smile. When she saw

matter, Prince Nicholas, as I've consistently said "Susie's father was saying. He cut himself off when Susie and

*Susie..." her mom said.

on her. Then his gaze dropped to her hand, where she'd already put on

word overflowing with obvious

to Susie's parents,

Mark said, dropping into a deep bow. "Please

both went

love with your daughter," Mark

her condition!" Susie's father

was quicker. She touched

would raise it as my

is my Beta