 This is Chrysalis. Gilded Love, Book Two. Written by Kilby Blades. Narrated by Sebastian York. Epilogue, read by Aaron Malin. Prologue. I've got to stop this. It's the one thought that's repeated itself in my mind since I walked into the suite. That I can't let this be the end. That I shouldn't put her through a scene like this. What right do I have if I can't even bring myself to say it out loud? Snap Dragon is the safe word either of us can say to instantly end our arrangement. Instead of speaking it, I've gotten us the presidential suite at the Drake, crystal vases on every surface, overflowing with hundreds of snap dragon blooms. I've got to stop this. I think again. But I'm paralyzed. Staring inertly at the general manager's card on the nightstand while my hand palms my phone. I'm keystrokes away from making the call that will put this all in reverse. What we're doing still has to end, but it doesn't have to be like this. I can find a different way. My mind hurdles to think it all through. First, I'll have the hotel disable her key and I won't answer the door when she knocks. That way, she'll be forced to go back down to the front desk. When I'm sure she's back in the elevator, I'll leave the suite and meet her downstairs. I'll stall her with a drink at the bar for an hour or however long it'll take. That's when I'll have the staff remove all traces of snap dragons from the room. We'll make it back up here eventually and have the romantic weekend get away she thinks she's walking into. I'll call Dale with my resignation on Monday, extricating myself from the job transfer I've just accepted and the promotion I've worked tirelessly to achieve for more than two years. I'll still have to travel to Sydney for a while, long enough to wrap things up. In the meantime, I'll figure out how to have a different talk with Darby about a different ending for us. Then I hear it, the door closing, and I know she's arrived. A look back at the clock on the opposite nightstand confirms that I've let time slip too far. I close my eyes for just a moment, half stealing myself for the inevitable, half ruin the day I ever dreamt up this plan. A clean ending to our arrangement was what she said she wanted, but nothing about this feels right. When I hear a dull thud, my stomach plummets, but I have no right to be gutted. I agreed to this too.