The Selection

Chapter 19

This story/plot belongs to Kiera Cass

𒊹︎︎︎ᴥ︎︎︎𒊹︎︎︎

 I told no one what    had happened between Jungkook and me, not even Marlee or my maids. It felt like a wonderful secret that I could revisit in the middle of one of Silvia’s boring lessons or another long day in the Women’s Room. And to be honest, I thought about our kisses—both the awkward and the sweet—more often than I expected I would

I knew I wasn’t just going to fall in love with Jungkook overnight. I knew my heart wouldn’t let me. But I suddenly found myself in a place where that was something I might want. So I thought about the possibility quietly in my head, though I was tempted to blurt out my secret more than once.

Particularly three days later when Olivia announced to the half-full Women’s Room that Jungkook had kissed her.

I couldn’t believe how shattered I felt. I caught myself looking at Olivia and wondering what was so special about her.

“Tell us everything!” Marlee insisted.

Most of the other girls were curious as well, but Marlee was the most enthusiastic. In the short time since she and Jungkook had their last date, her interest in everyone else’s progress seemed to be growing. I couldn’t tell what was behind the shift, and I wasn’t quite brave enough to ask.

Olivia didn’t need encouragement. She sat down on one of the couches and fanned out her dress. It looked like she was practicing to be the princess. I felt like telling her that one kiss didn’t mean she was winning.

“I don’t want to go into all the details, but it was quite romantic,” she gushed, tucking her chin into her chest. “He took me to the roof. There’s this place that’s kind of like a balcony, but it looks like it’s used for the guards. I couldn’t tell. We could look out over the wall, and the whole city was just glittering as far as we could see. He didn’t really say anything. He just pulled me in and kissed me.” Her whole body contracted with joy.

Marlee sighed. Celeste looked like she was ready to break something. I sat there.

I kept telling myself that I shouldn’t care so much, that this was all part of the Selection. And who’s to say that I’d really want to end up with Jungkook anyway? Honestly, I ought to consider myself lucky. It was clear Celeste’s malice had a new target, and after that whole episode with my dress—which I realized I’d forgotten to mention to Maxon—I was glad to see her move on.

“Do you think she’s the only one he’s kissed?” Tuesday whispered in my ear. Kriss, who was standing beside me, heard her concerns and piped in.

“He wouldn’t just kiss anyone. She must be doing something right,” Kriss lamented.

“What if he’s kissed half the room and people are keeping quiet about it? Maybe it’s part of their strategy,” Tuesday wondered.

“I don’t think anyone who kept quiet would necessarily consider that a strategy,” I countered. “Maybe they’re just private.”

Kriss sucked in a breath. “What if Olivia telling us all this is just some game? Now we’re all worried, and it’s not as if any of us would actually ask Jungkook if he’d kissed her. There’s no way to tell if she’s lying or not.”

“Do you think she would do that?” I asked.

“If she did, I wish I’d thought of it first,” Tuesday said longingly.

Kriss sighed. “This is much more complicated than I thought it would be.”

“Tell me about it,” I mumbled.