"Are you sure this is the right way?"

"Honestly, Ken, are you always so gullible? Or do you just not trust me?"

"Uh... sorry."

After our date, Diana and I had become more like friends. Maybe it was because we’d shared some honest feelings with each other—or perhaps it was just the fact that we were deliberately ignoring any special emotions that lay beneath the surface. Either way, I now felt comfortable enough to speak to her informally.

And Diana seemed to think of me as just another companion from our escape.

'But my heart still aches.'

If I were rejected by Raphne, Emily, or even Mary, it would tear my heart apart. And especially if the reason for that rejection was because of a mistaken assumption about my gender.