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."

the ring in my pocket near doubled, and I regretted holding

are down in the sitting room with

If your parents wouldn't have let him inside, he would have scaled the walls and climbed through

laughed a

able to 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

"True."

parents knew who I

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

into another hug. How grateful I was to be in her life! Though how much it hurt to

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

looked at

I told her. "He wants to ask

to her, to inspect it. She touched it

in the next, she began to

matter to me, Mark would be throwing his whole life away with

to work. If this is what you want,

the

see

we didn't need the butler to guide us back downstairs to

help my smile.

"Susie's father was saying.

*Susie..." her mom said.

eyes were on Mark, and his on her. Then his gaze dropped to her hand, where she'd already put on the

said, the word overflowing with

Susie's parents, closer than even Nicholas

into a deep bow. "Please

parents both went

daughter," Mark said. "I

her condition!"

touched her husband's

"The baby is mine. And I would

my