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

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

away. 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

"True."

who I was..." I

"I talk about you often. You were my

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

give you

at it and

her. "He wants to

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

pure awe covered her face, softening all of her features. Then, in the next, she began to cry

"And even if they did. Or even if that didn't matter to me, Mark

to work. If this is what you want, Susie, you can't let it get away. You

She continued looking at the ring for another minute or two,

want to see

leading, we didn't need the

onto her finger. I couldn't help my smile. When she

consistently said "Susie's father was saying. He cut

*Susie..." her mom said.

his gaze

word

moving closer to Susie's parents,

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

parents both

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

know of her condition!"

She touched her husband's

confirmed. "The baby is mine. And I would raise it as my child, with

my Beta and a loyal man