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."

pocket near doubled,

are down in the sitting room

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

laughed a

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

"True."

knew who I was..."

talk about

much it hurt to hear she had such a hard time getting friends. She

tug the ring from my pocket. "Mark told me to give you this." I held

looked at it and

it's overdue," I told her. "He

and held it up closer to her, to inspect it. She touched it with only her

of her features. Then, in the

for it," she 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

told her. "Nicholas will find a way to get it to work. If this is what you want, Susie, you can't let it get away. You have

tears. She continued looking at the ring for another

want to see

With Susie leading, we didn't need the

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

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

*Susie..." her mom said.

Susie's eyes were on Mark, and his on her. Then his gaze dropped to her hand,

he said, the word

closer to Susie's parents, closer than even Nicholas was

into a deep bow. "Please allow me to marry your

parents both went wide-eyed.

your daughter," Mark said. "I cannot

know of her condition!"

quicker. She touched her

would raise it as my child,

can vouch for this man," Nicholas said. "He is my