The Luna Choosing Game

In my ear. Julian quickly whispered, “Pretend you don’t care.”

It seemed like sound advice this time, so I tried to take it. I wasn’t a great liar, but then, this lie wasn’t

too far from the truth. Other than being a minor annoyance, this really wasn’t that big of a deal.

“It’s a beautiful dress,” I said. “1 wish even more people could be given the chance to wear it.”

“Charming,” the producer said with a smile. “A woman of the people.” He nudged the cameraman.”

Close in on Lilliana now. Let’s see if she has a response”

Rolling my eyes, I returned my attention to Julian

“Very good,” he said. “One way to win against the drama–seekers is to always feign indifference. With no

drama, they get bored and move on. Wearing the same dress to this banquet could be a front page story.

or something limited to a footnote”

“It doesn’t even deserve to be a footnote,” I said

Julian laughed. “True”

At the end of the meal, as the royal family and the girls were standing from their chairs, Nicholas cleared

his throat to claim the attention of the room

He took one of Lilliana’s hands in his

My stomach dropped. This wasn’t anything unexpected. Despite our near–kiss, nothing had changed

between Nicholas and I. He was a prince in search of a mate, and Lilliana was his favored.

Even if she was wearing a mask so thick no one could see through it, not even herself.

“Lilliana, would you do me the honor of joining me for a second date? Nicholas asked.

Her smile did not reach her eyes. “Yes. Of course.”

Everyone politely clapped. I did, too, not wanting to draw attention to myself.

Nicholas deserved better than someone who was so fake, but it wasn’t my place to say so. After all,

wasn’t Nicholas also wearing a mask? He had claimed that he was searching for the perfect Luna, not the

perfect mate.

Perhaps Lilliana would be the perfect Luna.

But he would be so miserable if he could not be himself.

I was no caught up in my own downtrodden feelings, that I didn’t immediately notice the many eyes that had shifted to me and my dress.

One girl even slinked up beside me. “What are you wearing to the garden party, Piper?”

More girls joined in eager to

ear my response.

“Uh..” I was pretty sure we weren’t supposed to share that information.

“A trend–setter,” Julian said from behind me. “If you will excuse us, ladies, Piper and I need to say a few quick words to my brother.”

Any brief hope that Julian might have been about to save me smashed to pieces. “We do?”

Julian wrapped his arm around my waist and led me through the crowd. “Don’t you remember? You are my favorite, Piper, so of course I need to show you off to the cameras. Cameras which are currently zoomed in on my stuffy elder brother.”

I had a very bad feeling about this.

“Ah, Nicholas!” Julian called as we approached.

Nicholas’s face had been impassive, but now it seemed aggressively so, like he was fighting a battle to stay calm. A muscle ticked in his jaw.

“Allow us to congratulate you on your second date,” Julian said, slippery smooth. “With… um… what was All rights © NôvelDrama.Org.

your name again?”

He knew Lilliana’s name, of that I had no doubt. He’d likely just been trying to get under her skin, like he

did with everyone else.

But Lilliana had no reaction what–so–ever. She just smoothly filled in her name. “Lilliana.”

“Right.” Julian frowned at her before turning his smile up to full–blast for his brother. He hugged me closer to him. “Such a pity that you have to settle for an imitation of the real thing, brother. Good for me, though, since I get to have the best.”

My face burned in embarrassment. I wanted to

Julian and deny what he was saying,

but with my eyes on Nicholas’s face, I caught his sudden reaction. And it made me pause.