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."

doubled, and I regretted holding

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

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

laughed a little

were 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 for this. It is, after all, more likely they'd let

"True."

who I was..."

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

How grateful I was to be in her life! Though how much it hurt to hear she had such a hard

to give you this." I held my

at it and

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

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

her features. Then, in the

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

If this is what you want, Susie, you can't let

at the

want to see him," she

for the doorway. With Susie leading, we didn't need the butler to guide us back downstairs to the sitting

couldn't help my smile. When she saw it, she smiled too, though

"Susie's father was saying. He cut himself off

*Susie..." her mom said.

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

he said, the word

stepped forward, moving closer to Susie's parents, closer than even Nicholas was

Mark said, dropping into a deep bow. "Please allow me

parents both went

with your daughter," Mark said. "I cannot live

her condition!"

She touched

And I would raise it as my child, with Susie

vouch for this man," Nicholas said. "He is my Beta and a loyal man