THE LUNA CHOOSING GAME - Season 6 Episode 69

Julian must have stormed out of the room, because in the next moment, he burst into the hallway. We were face to face, our eyes meeting, both pairs widened.

Was Bridget telling the truth? Did Julian truly have a crush on me?

Julian wasn’t denying it. But then, he wasn’t saying much of anything at the moment.

*Jul-an?” Elva asked.

Julian startled, as if he hadn’t realized she was there. He glanced down at her, and then back to me.

“Sorry, Elva,” he said, and then stepped around us and disappeared down the hallway.

Bridget came out next. “Don’t you dare ignore me, you – oh.” Her face, which had been twisted with anger, quickly shifted into a more neutral friendliness when she saw me. She didn’t smile, however, until she saw Elva beside me. “Good morning, you two.”

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“G’morning,” Elva mumbled.

I didn’t return the good wishes. Instead, as the shock of learning of Julian’s crush subsided, I began to comprehend the other words of the argument between Bridget and Julian.

Julian had seemed certain that Bridget had known Ronan. Was that true? I didn’t want to believe it, but Bridget was starting to acquire far too many coincidences for me to give her the benefit of the doubt. It seemed like every time something terrible happened to me, she always had motive or opportunity.

If she did in this case as well…

There were too many coincidence. She needed to start telling the truth and not deflecting like she usually did. Less and less people were ready to defend her now. Maybe this was the time she would finally give straight answers.

*Bridget, are you intimate with Prince Ronan?” I asked.

Her phony smile immediately dropped. “God, you are just like Julian. Are you going to accuse me too? Of having something to do with this?”

I didn’t directly accuse her, but I supposed my silence might have given my opinion on the matter away.

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Bridget puffed up her chest like a rooster about to crow. Her face split into an ugly glare. “Why would I need to interfere with the race, Piper? I’m the strongest swimmer and the best athlete here. What need would I have to cheat?”

“This isn’t about cheating,” I said. “I could have died, Bridget.”

“That’s not my fault. Maybe if you were a stronger swimmer, you wouldn’t have found yourself in that situation,” Bridget said.

I blinked, surprised by her cruelty. Was she… blaming me for my own near-drowning? No other species could swim as quickly and powerfully as even the laziest of the merfolk. Even a champion werewolf would not have been able to escape an attack like what happened to me.

“You are just trying to undermine my win,” Bridget snapped.

She was so out of touch. So self-absorbed. She couldn’t see beyond her own bubble, her own life. Maybe she really did have nothing to do with this, because she was too caught up in admiring herself to bother with me.

No, I couldn’t forget her hatred of me. Now that she knew Nicholas and I were secretly coupling, I imagined that hatred only grew.

I couldn’t write her off just because she was self-absorbed. I needed to remember that she was an actress and an expert at gaslighting.

“If you did have anything to do with Prince Ronan’s escape or his attack on me,” I said, “the truth will come out.” *The truth will show I’m innocent,” Bridget said firmly.

As the others began to arrive for breakfast, I dropped the argument with Bridget, who seemed content on never speaking to me again, and we all walked into the dining room.

The arrangements were similar to before. By now the third table had been entirely removed and two tables remained. Two chairs were at the second table, presumably for Bridget and Nicholas, while the other table housed enough chairs for the rest of us.