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."

weight of the ring in my pocket near doubled, and I regretted holding it back even this

both. They are down in the sitting room with your parents," I said. Susie's eyes

have let him inside, he would

laughed a

at your door might open the way. My presence was required for this. It is, after all, more likely they'd let me in to see you

"True."

knew who I

"I talk about

in her life! Though how much it hurt to hear she had such a hard time

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

at

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

to her, to inspect it. She touched it with

face, softening all of her features. Then, in the next, she began to cry again. "What's

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 can't be Nicholas's

told her. "Nicholas will find a way to get it to work. If this is

the tears. She continued looking at the ring for another minute or

want to see

With Susie leading, we didn't need the butler to

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

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

*Susie..." her mom said.

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

said, the word overflowing with

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

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

parents both went wide-eyed.

love with your daughter," Mark said. "I

don't know of her condition!" Susie's father

She touched her husband's arm.

baby is mine. And I would raise it as my

my Beta and a loyal man besides. He will