Chapter 2

Zoey bit her lip and said nothing.

I posed the same question to everyone else in the room. "If it were you, could you accept your partner having a friend of the opposite sex that they're this close with?"

My gaze landed on Michael next. "You want me to accept your relationship with Zoey? Sure. Just admit in public that you're only interested in men, then."

I had no problem with Zoey having a gay best friend.

But even though I'd never formally met Michael before, I'd long heard about how he changed girlfriends as often as he changed his outfits.

Michael scoffed. "Believe whatever you want, but Zoey and I are childhood friends. We've been inseparable since we were kids. Don't worry. No one's got their eyes on her. She's just like a sister to me."

The other classmates around started chiming in, one after another, all of them criticizing me.

"Neil, no offense, but you're being overly petty and jealous."

"That's right. They've been friends since childhood! If they were going to date, they would've gotten together ages ago. What makes you think you'd still have a chance with Zoey?"

All of our classmates knew that I'd relentlessly pursued Zoey the moment I met her.

At the beginning, she'd simply shown me an act of kindness. She handed me a plaster when I got hit by a basketball. But it was the first time anyone had ever approached me on their own.

After that, she'd remind me to turn in my assignments and urge me to prepare for the exams. On rainy days, she'd even ask if I'd brought an umbrella.

When I finally worked up the courage to ask her out for a meal, she readily accepted and even watched a movie with me.

Little by little, I became sure of my feelings and confessed to her, but she refused me by saying, "I only see you as a friend, Neil. If you want to be my boyfriend, you'll have to pass my test first."

Thus, I spent a year wooing her. I brought her breakfast every morning, helped her complete her lab reports, and even toned down my temper for her sake.

Everyone in our class said she was like a zookeeper who'd tamed the wild tiger—me.

Zoey would chuckle and correct them, saying, "Neil's actually a very kind person. You're all just intimidated by how he looks."

A year later, I finally got my wish when she agreed to be my girlfriend. We'd been dating for three years now, and not once had I ever seen her hang out with another guy.

Since I trusted her, I never checked her phone. I believed that she'd know where to draw the line with other guys.

Even though being born with XYY syndrome didn't actually make me a violent or aggressive person, the outdated misconceptions lingered in people's beliefs. Therefore, I made sure to always keep my emotions in check and keep my condition a secret as well.

After going to college, I only ever mentioned my condition to Zoey. Never would I have expected her to turn right around and expose my secret to Michael!

I stared at Zoey now, curious to see how she would react.

With a sigh, she said, "You really need to fix that temper of yours, Neil. Are you seriously trying to prove everyone else right when they call you a monster?

"Our classmates are right. Michael and I have a completely innocent relationship. If we wanted to date each other, we would've done it ages ago. I wouldn't even have agreed to go out with you."

I had no words. What kind of man and woman with a perfectly innocent relationship would kiss each other passionately in public?

To me, they seemed more like a couple than Zoey and me.

Michael shot me a gloating smirk, his gaze taunting. That was the final straw for me. I marched over and threw a punch.