I'm alone. In the study, reading my book, but I'm not thinking about that. I'm thinking about Daphne. All of a sudden I hear footsteps coming down the hallway, and I know it can't be Maris because you never hear Maris walk. The door opens and Daphne's head peeks in. She's smiling, her brown hair in curls down her shoulder. She opens the door and steps in, and to my absolute delight she's wearing the red dress I had her put on once when I told her I was shopping for Maris. When I see her my heart stops because she is so outrageously beautiful. Her feet are bare as if she took of her shoes to get comfortable, and she's not wearing any jewelry, not even her choker with the crystal attached to it. She closes the door and leans on it, pressing her palms against it. "Hello, Daphne," I tell her. "Hello, Niles," she whispers. As she begins to walk over to me, the entire world as I know it slips away. Maris doesn't exist. Daphne isn't forbidden to me anymore. All that matters is she and I in this room, right now. She reaches me and sits on the arm of my chair. Had it been anyone else it would have bothered me, but as of now I barely even notice. She gently grabs my tie and pulls me in tightly for a kiss, one that makes my heart race like nothing I have ever felt before. It is the sweet sensation of love finally expressed, full of the passion, the devotion, the desire that I feel for her. She pulls away from me and says, "I love you, Niles." I touch her beautiful face and tell her, "I love you too, Daphne. I love you more than anything else in the world. All I want is for us to be together forever." She nods. "We will. Just wait."